Let’s Play Desert Island! Daniel Radcliffe Interviews with “Desert Island Discs” Podcast
Podcast presenter Lauren Laverne hosts Desert Island Discs, and the guest this time is none other than Daniel Radcliffe. We’ll find out what kinds of things Dan would take with him if he ever gets stranded on a desert island. Not only that, but we’ll get a chance to hear more about his professional struggles and personal life.
Right off the bat, Dan talks about his time after separating from the life of Harry Potter. Dan says he’s been lucky to be where he is today in his current career. “I want to earn my right to be doing these jobs,” Dan says. He says that being lucky is a big part of the job, despite what others may think. Laverne asks why.
Because I have been insanely lucky. I think probably out of a vague sense of guilt about having something so amazing happen to you so young, and I think I will always have a part of my brain that is going when I first walk into a rehearsal room. It’s particularly a neurosis of mine in theater. Not so much now, but I remember when I was first doing it, certainly when I was doing a musical, I went in and was sort of thinking, ‘Oh my God, everyone here just thinks you’re here because of Harry Potter.’ And in large part, they are right. So you have to make sure you are bringing something else to the table.
Dan moves on to talk about what he would bring with him to a desert island, should he ever find himself on one.
His first pick is Morecambe and Wise. Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise were an English comedy duo with a show on TV. Dan opts to enjoy the song that plays at the end of the show, “Bring Me Sunshine.”
His second choice is from Tom Lehrer. As an American songwriter, Lehrer was known for his humorous songs from the ’50s and ’60s. Dan decides to play “We Will All Go Together When We Go.”
Dan’s third choice for a desert island playlist is from the band Pixies. The song is called “Where Is My Mind?” Pixies are an alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, that started in the 1980s.
The next song is “He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s the Pilot” by Grandaddy. The indie band is from Modesto, California, and started in 1992.
During a break from the music, Dan goes back to talking about Harry Potter. But he speaks about it from a different perspective and growing up with the stress of living in the spotlight. During the filming of later Harry Potter movies, Dan says he started drinking pretty frequently. He doesn’t like to blame his drinking on Harry Potter. He is very specific in saying that he will probably never know if life as Harry Potter is what started his habit or if it was just the way he would have grown up anyway.
If I went out and if I got drunk, I’d suddenly be aware of there being an interest in that because it’s not just a drunk guy. It’s ‘Harry Potter is getting drunk in a bar.’ And that carries its own kind of interest for people and also a slightly mocking interest because it is inherently funny for people. I suppose those are the moments I first started being like, ‘Oh, that doesn’t feel good. I don’t like how I’m being looked at in this particular context.’ Then the way of dealing with that is just to drink more or get more drunk. So I did a lot of that for sort of a few years.
To finish off his list, Dan picks “Killer Parties” by the Hold Steady, “Into My Arms” by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “Emily” by Joanna Newsom, and “Attaboy” by Stuart Duncan, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile.
The entire interview is available to listen to on the BBC website.
