Harry Potter Star Daniel Radcliffe Reveals How The Franchise Made Him An Alcoholic

During a recent interview, Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe admitted that he has struggled with alcoholism, and suggested that the franchise that made him famous has not always helped in that regard. Little surprise there, since teen stars (especially those whose stardom comes suddenly) often struggle with the huge expectations placed on them and angry internet mobs that seem to be omnipresent. Radcliffe, who has been sober since 2010, revealed that it started almost by accident, with the realization that when he would go out and get drunk, people would find it amusing that "Harry Potter" was out drinking with them.

Eventually, though, it turned a little more sinister: he had some identity issues, trying to come to grips with who he would be after he wasn't Harry Potter anymore. And that, he said, was a darker time for him personally.

"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," the actor told BBC Radio 4 (via The Independent).

if it was celebrity that led him to drink (or at least enabled it), it was his family and friends who helped him through his numerous attempts to stop, Radcliffe has said.

The actor, whose recent movie Guns Akimbo ended up losing a planned theatrical release and heading stread to streaming video on demand after the director started attacking critics on Twitter, has since found ways to reinvent himself frequently, appearing in a wide variety of roles including some incredibly eccentric, like Swiss Army Man.

Of course, all these years later, Radcliffe is still answering frequent questions about Harry Potter.

"It is very strange but also genuinely lovely when somebody comes up and says 'you were a huge part of my childhood'," Radcliffe said recently. "For me, The Simpsons was a massive thing and the idea that I could occupy a similar place in someone else's life is so crazy and wonderful. I always say I'm incredibly lucky to have got famous with Harry Potter because it is a genuinely beloved thing."

And of course there is the ever-present talk about rebooting Potter, or making a sequel set in his adult years, or whatever, although Radcliffe has generally dismissed any possibility that he would be involved in something like that.