Daniel Radcliffe Reveals He “Ruined” ‘Harry Potter’

Though he has continued to star in other projects, there’s no doubt that Daniel Radcliffe has become synonymous with his iconic character, Harry Potter.

Daniel Radcliffe, who starred as Harry Potter in all eight films from 2001 to 2011, racked up quite the earnings from the franchise, which saw an impressive $9.58 billion combined at the box office. Now, more than a decade since he played the role, Radcliffe is still constantly tied to the Harry Potter franchise and character.

Recently, Daniel Radcliffe shared on The Kelly Clarkson Show how he regularly surprises and amuses young fans by “ruining” his iconic character for them. Radcliffe playfully mocked the reactions of fans who are taken aback when they meet him in person.

The first film in the franchise, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), was released more than two decades ago. Over the years, Radcliffe’s appearance has changed significantly, a fact that can be particularly surprising for younger fans grappling with the concept of object permanence.

During the interview, Clarkson and Radcliffe drew parallels between their experiences. Clarkson recounted inadvertently spoiling Frozen for her children by explaining that movie characters, even animated ones, are portrayed by real people. Radcliffe shared how young fans are similarly shocked by his appearance, especially when comparing it to his look in the franchise’s final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011).

Daniel Radcliffe, alongside the talented duo Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), collectively brought the magic of J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world to life on the silver screen. Born in 1989, Radcliffe was just 11 years old when he portrayed Harry Potter for the first time.

Though the Fantastic Beasts franchise has kept the Wizarding World alive, as well as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood, it’s been more than a decade since the original franchise came to a close. The stage play- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child– has been a big success, but there have been no reports of this being turned into a movie.

Instead, Warner Bros. has announced plans to make a television series based on the books, with eight seasons that will dive into each of J.K. Rowling’s books. The cast and the timeline for when the show will be released on the streaming platform MAX have not been announced.

Inside the Magic reached out for comment on the new series, and Warner Bros. shared there were no new details to share at this time.

Despite the massive success of the Harry Potter films, Radcliffe has maintained a relatively low profile. It’s conceivable that many young fans have only seen him in the wizarding context. Following his time in the spotlight, Radcliffe chose smaller productions, such as Swiss Army Man and Imperium. His return to a more mainstream production in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, with an $8 million budget, marks a recent shift back into larger-scale projects.

What do you think of these hilarious comments from Daniel Radcliffe? 

This post is originally appeared on Inside the Magic.