Daniel Radcliffe has said that being the famed Harry Potter caused him to become an alcoholic.
Radcliffe, 30, was on BBC Radio 4′s “Desert Island Discs” where he spoke of turning to alcohol as a way to deal with fame and when the movie franchise ended.
“If I went out and if I got drunk, I’d suddenly be aware of there being interest in that because it’s not just a drunk guy,” the actor said. “It’s ‘Oh, Harry Potter’s getting drunk in the bar.’”
Radcliffe, who was only 11 when he started filming the movies, said that when they finished it was a “panic”.
“A lot of drinking that happened towards the end of Potter and for a little bit after it finished, it was panic, a little bit not knowing what to do next – not being comfortable enough in who I was to remain sober,” he recalled.
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Daniel continued: “You can also just see people go to drugs and drink because it’s fun and they’re available and it seems like a good idea, and there’s nobody around you talking about the consequences or being honest about that.”
Radcliffe has now been sober since 2010 and gives credit to his parents and co-stars “who were able to give me enough perspective on my life and help me at key moments.”
Last year, the “Guns Akimbo” star told Off Camera, “In my case, the quickest way to forget about the fact that you’re being watched is to get very drunk. And then as you get very drunk, you become aware that ‘Oh, people are watching more now because now I’m getting very drunk, so I should probably drink more to ignore that more.'”
