Daniel Radcliffe is no longer Hogwarts’ resident boy wizard. After portraying Harry Potter in eight successful blockbusters, the British actor demonstrated his versatility in a number of films (Horns, Swiss Army Man, The Lost City), TV projects (Miracle Workers, Mulligan, The Simpsons), and Broadway shows (Equus, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Merrily We Roll Along). Now he’s hoping to score another touchdown with his latest comedic endeavor, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins.
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Premiering on February 23, the TV series follows the titular Reggie Dinkins (Tracy Morgan), a former NFL superstar haunted by a public betting scandal. To repair his tarnished image – and possibly earn a spot in the Hall of Fame – Reggie recruits Oscar-winning director Arthur Tobin (Radcliffe) to film a documentary about his life. But Tobin seeks his own redemption, having experienced a fall from grace after throwing a hissy fit on the set of a Marvel flick. Could this odd couple… who initially don’t click… prove to be key to each other’s comeback? Possibly, as back-and-forth banter ensues.
Radcliffe spoke to ComicBook about The Fall and Rise’s 30 Rock vibe, embracing physical comedy, the art of not cracking up, Wolverine fan casting, and the upcoming Harry Potter TV series.
ComicBook: What makes people laugh can be subjective. How would you describe your sense of humor?
Daniel Radcliffe: I don’t know. Weird. Cartoonish. I like anything that can bounce between really, really smart and really stupid, but I use “stupid” as a positive word there. I think the greatest comedy movie made is Airplane. I feel that gives you as much as you need to know about my sense of humor.
Growing up, were there certain comedians you wanted to emulate? Or, given your body of work, did any of your co-stars help you hone comedic timing?
I grew up watching a lot of Alan Partridge and Steve Coogan’s character. I think the various iterations of that character are some of the most brilliant comedy stuff that has come out of the UK. Obviously, I grew up in the heyday of The Office and 30 Rock. Those were all things that were really key to what I love about comedy. Honestly, the biggest step forward that I have made in comedy was I did a musical in 2011 called How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. There’s something about doing a comedy live, with a live audience, night after night. That will teach you more about timing. You have the same script and over 300 performances. How can you find the nuances? “OK, it’s not working that way. If it didn’t work at the matinee, how can you try it in the evening to find a new way of working it?” Having that kind of test lab to experiment over the course of a year, and also doing a show with John Larroquette… who is obviously an incredibly experienced, brilliant comedic actor… I would say to anybody that the best thing you can do to learn about comedy is do it in front of a live audience.
Circling back to 30 Rock, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins boasts numerous alumni from that TV series, including actor Tracy Morgan, producer Tina Fey, as well as creators Robert Carlock and Sean Means. Was that a big selling pint? How do you feel Fall and Rise captures that 30 Rock vibe?
Yes, the chance to work with Tina and Robert Carlock, and Sam Means was a huge part. When you sign on to something in TV, you read a pilot episode, but you are really putting faith in the writers to be able to keep up a certain standard over a certain amount of time. If you know anything about those guys, you know they can do that. If they are going to write something brilliant, they are going to write it brilliantly for many years. With the show, it has the 30 Rock-style of jokes, where there will be a brilliant, universal, incredibly funny joke that everyone can get. Then, two lines later, there will be a reference that is so niche that only three people will get it, but they will be laughing hysterically. I feel they just balance that really well. And this is so joke-heavy that you know if you don’t like a joke or you didn’t get a joke, then you don’t worry about it because there’s going to be another one in literally three seconds, and you will probably like that one.
The pop culture references stand out. Was that aspect something that jumped off the page for you?
Yeah, particularly for my character because he is in the film industry. He feels like the vehicle for a lot of the industry jokes. There was a line about Adrien Brody’s art exhibitions that I am not sure if it’s still in there or if it got cut, but that one really made me laugh. There is a lot of very specific film references that if you are in the film industry, you will probably like, but if you are not, it won’t bother anyone.
Outside of the show’s pedigree, what else excited you about the part of Arthur Tobin?
The fact that he is sort of pretentious, a director, and from the film industry meant there was already a lot to hold onto and enjoy about him. But, also, the relationship over the course of the season… the arc of the relationship that he has with Reggie… And Reggie is really sweet for going from somebody who doesn’t think he has anything in common with this man to realizing they are not only more similar than they thought, but also, their interests and prospects are intertwined as they move on. One is really going to need the other one – they are both going to need each other equally – if they are going to come back from their respective downfalls.
The series isn’t just a documentary-redemption story for Reggie. How much of a journey will we see with Arthur?
I think he grows to realize that if he is going to find a way back to where he wants to be, it is going to come through his connection with Reggie. At the beginning of it, Arthur is trying to remain objective and not get involved. As the series goes on, he just realizes that he likes these people and they are kind to him. He has to drop his highfalutin ideas of documentarian ethics.
What’s fun about playing the straight man, especially against Tracy Morgan’s energy?
You have to play the straight man against Tracy Morgan’s energy. Tracy is such a unique performer. There are line readings that Tracy has access to that truly couldn’t be said by 99 percent of actors, with any degree of them making sense. But he just does in his world. It’s incredibly fun. Tracy is a comedy legend, and he is that for a reason. He’s been around for a long time. To be in his orbit and to be the straight man to this very funny man is an honor.
What do you enjoy about the physical comedy in addition to the witty dialogue and the deadpan stares?
I am very willing to throw myself around. It will always be funnier to watch somebody fall down or hit themselves in some way than it will be to watch somebody fake that. I am very willing to run into things. I was allowed to do so many stunts on Potter that I am sure I wouldn’t be allowed to do today as an adult. I would do stunt training with them a lot of times. The physicality was a big part of those films. People don’t really let me do that kind of big stunt work anymore, so I feel like the path that those skills have all taken has been channelled into as much physical comedy as I can get out of it.
The pilot features Arthur doing stuff off in the distance, such as having a meltdown and smashing his cell phone.
That is a rule of comedy, as well. Stuff is very funny far away. All the Naked Gun movies, where there’s a very serious conversation happening up front and then there’s somebody running around on fire in the background, is the best.
What is the trick to not cracking up in the moment, take after take?
Honestly, it becomes much easier when you have other actors there, who are doing really good work, because you generally ruin a take. If you are laughing and you are on camera, you kind of screw it up for everybody else. The fear of ruining somebody else’s excellent take or performance is generally what keeps me intact. There was one moment where Tracy was doing incredibly sweet, heartfelt, beautiful acting. It was so funny at the same time, but I laughed in his face. I was like, “No, I can’t ruin this beat for him. It’s so good what he is doing.” I got there on the second take. I gave myself that one and apologized to him. I went back and got it the second time.
That not-breaking-during-takes skill should be listed on a resume.
It definitely should not be on my resume. There are people who are truly brilliant at not breaking, and I know that I am not one of them.
Looking back at your career, audiences were surprised that your first feature film after wrapping up Harry Potter was The Woman in Black. It seems you never play it safe. What is your philosophy about picking and choosing projects?
I am really lucky that I get to pick and choose things. Most actors will never have that kind of autonomy, so I am very lucky to have that, for a start. The play I am about to do on Broadway is called Every Brilliant Things. There’s part of it that sits very naturally for me in my voice and feels very much within my comfort zone. Then, there’s another part of the play that is totally outside of my comfort zone and something totally new. Whenever I find something that has a bit of both, a bit of “I know what I am bringing to this,” and I am bringing something that is useful and authentic… and then something that is going to totally test me… that’s really the sweet spot that feels the most exciting to work in.
Audiences were clamoring for you to pick up the mantle of Wolverine. Even for a split second, was that ever a consideration?
It was not. It was never real. It was a very flattering internet rumor. I was very happy about it, but it was never suggested in any kind of way by anybody with any power to make that happen. And, honestly, you would be stupid not to consider something like that, but if they do other Wolverines, being the person who follows Hugh Jackman is not on my bucket list for anything. For any role of his, particularly the role he has made the most iconic of his career, I am happy not to be doing that and let him keep doing it.
Are you a superhero guy? Would you consider joining the MCU or DCU?
I am so out of the loop. I feel like I don’t know what cycle we are on of the Marvel movies, and I have some catching up to do if I ever end up on one of them. But, yes, I am certainly not averse to it. I would never rule anything like that out. But, also, I am not necessarily clamoring to be in it or seeking that. I am lucky that I can judge any job by the quality of the script. So, if a script came in that was exciting, different, weird, and cool, then I’d be up for it no matter what it was.
At the same time, those superhero roles tend to lock actors into long-term contracts. In what way did Harry Potter shape your view on franchises?
It meant that I got mine out of the way. It was wonderful, but I feel a lot of people I know were like, “I’m not necessarily looking for a franchise, but looking for something that could give them the recognition in the industry and the kind of financability to be able to give them autonomy over other projects.” And, honestly, the financial stability to be able to pick or choose. To have all that really young, it freed me up to do whatever I wanted next. I think it’s very easy to be dismissive of franchises or big movies like that. And I feel like it’s really hard to make them well. People who do it’s an incredible skill. Just because people look at those sets and go, “Oh, they’ve got a trillion dollars, so it can’t be hard to get anything done,” but it really is. You are competing with so many forces that so many people want to have their say on movies like that. If you are a director, writer, or actor that are making really good work in that environment, that’s an incredible achievement. I would be very happy to get back on one at some point, but not anytime soon.
A Harry Potter TV series is on the horizon. How curious were you about the casting as names were being announced? Did you keep tabs on who they were bringing in for these roles?
They contacted me just before they were announced. They let us know they were about to announce them. All I did was say, “I would love to write the boy playing Harry. When you have his name, if you could send me his name… I don’t need anything in advance, just let me know when it is appropriate to write to him to congratulate him and wish him luck.” Other than that, not particularly. I’m very happy there’s going to be a whole other group of people to field the answers to Harry Potter questions. I am going to start passing those questions over in a few years.
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins starts its regular run on February 23 on NBC, running through to April. What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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