Long before he became a global sensation and a new father, Daniel Radcliffe cherished simple joys: Bart Simpson, ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,’ bouncy castles, and vinegar-drenched fries on what he fondly calls ‘English beaches.’ These small pleasures are now central to his latest Broadway endeavor, where he portrays a man compiling a list of life’s wonders to help his mother cope with suicidal thoughts.
Radcliffe, now 36, had fully intended to step away from theater after his acclaimed performance in the 2024 revival of ‘Merrily We Roll Along,’ which earned him a Tony Award. With a young child, a new TV show, and a writing project underway, he felt he had a full plate.
However, a persistent director managed to get the script for ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ into his hands. Radcliffe, who had never seen the show, was immediately struck by the kind of challenging, even ‘perilous,’ opportunity that has defined his unconventional career. ‘Sometimes I can feel myself getting a little bit too comfortable,’ he shared, ‘like it’s been a little bit too long since I’ve done something that truly is scary.’ He cited a David Lynch quote about learning through new experiences, believing this play would offer just that.
The unique aspect of ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ is its interactive format: Radcliffe is the sole cast member on stage, yet the audience plays a crucial role. This means the actor, known globally for playing Harry Potter and inspiring deep emotions in millions, will be engaging in a blend of improv and role-playing with strangers eight times a week. He acknowledges the potential complications of audience members’ strong reactions to his fame, but hopes the widespread affection for Harry Potter will encourage people to ‘take the plunge’ with him.
‘Every Brilliant Thing’ is an 85-minute exploration of gratitude, grief, resilience, and human connection, infused with music. It began as a short monologue by Duncan Macmillan two decades ago, later expanded with comedian Jonny Donahoe. The show has since been performed in 66 countries and 44 languages, with notable turns by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Minnie Driver. Donahoe himself starred in an Off Broadway production in 2014.
Radcliffe has deliberately avoided seeing any previous productions, aiming to forge his own interpretation. He has, however, immersed himself in the script’s 73 footnotes—Macmillan’s evolving collection of insights and anecdotes from past stagings, including a nod to Bart Simpson, a detail tailored for Radcliffe’s well-known fandom.
An Everyman Quality
Radcliffe is preparing for the play at the Hudson Theater, the same 975-seat venue where ‘Merrily’ was revived. During an interview there, he playfully insisted on moving our seating away from a cast photo of himself, laughing off the impromptu reflection.
In person, Radcliffe is notably grounded, thoughtful, and articulate about his craft. We discussed the impact of his fame on a solo show with significant audience interaction. He noted that intense interactions with fans are not new to him. ‘I’m used to some very intense interactions, and sometimes really lovely ones, and sometimes ones where I say, you should talk to someone else about this,’ he explained.
Jeremy Herrin, co-directing the Broadway run with Macmillan, believes Radcliffe brings a unique element to the role: the audience’s memory of him as a child, which adds depth to the character’s childhood narrative. Herrin praised Radcliffe’s ‘everyman quality,’ his ‘optimism, and a resilience about him.’
Radcliffe views his connection to the character differently. ‘There’s a lot about this character that I relate to, both in the way that sadness hits them, and in the way that they find joy,’ he said. He spoke of experiencing sadness and the helplessness of watching loved ones struggle, adding, ‘If you get to the age of 36 and you haven’t known anyone who has struggled, you’d be quite a rare person.’
‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ set to begin previews on February 21, is just one of Radcliffe’s current commitments. He’s also starring alongside Tracy Morgan in ‘The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,’ an NBC sitcom about a disgraced football player (Morgan) and a fallen filmmaker (Radcliffe).
Morgan spoke warmly of his new colleague, describing Radcliffe as humble, kind, and funny, and added a humorous benefit: ‘Working with Daniel Radcliffe,’ he quipped, ‘I became a cool dad.’
Radcliffe’s career choices post-Harry Potter have been marked by their unpredictability. Bryan Cranston, who also transitioned from screen to stage, remarked, ‘Not many people have been able to make that transition as smoothly as he did, and he’s focused on theater, and it’s a great vehicle for him.’ From his naked Broadway debut in ‘Equus’ (2008) to playing a flatulent corpse in the film ‘Swiss Army Man,’ Radcliffe prioritizes creative fulfillment over financial gain. Robert Carlock, a ‘Reggie Dinkins’ creator, observed, ‘It looks like he’s having a lot of fun.’
Radcliffe acknowledges the rare privilege of choosing projects based solely on his artistic taste. ‘One of my strengths as an actor is having a good idea of what I’m good for and what I’m not good for,’ he stated. ‘Anything that sits in a zone of sweet and kindhearted but also a little bit weird or a little bit dark — that’s a place I really like to be in.’
When asked why he continues to work despite not needing to, he found the question amusing. ‘I’ve worked since I was 9,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what life is without some sense of this. We’ve all got to do something to distract ourselves until we die, and acting is a great, fun thing to do that with.’
New Commitments
Fatherhood has, however, introduced new considerations. ‘The bar for what will take me away from my family has definitely got higher,’ Radcliffe revealed. It also motivated him to quit smoking. ‘I started, honestly, just having intrusive thoughts about my own death, and not being around for his growing up.’
He initially declined ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ in London due to his life in New York with his girlfriend, Erin Darke, and their son. But he embraced the opportunity to do it on Broadway, as evening performances allow him to spend days with his child.
‘He’s just this ball of joy — so happy and funny and sweet — which I find both beautiful and heartbreaking,’ Radcliffe said of his son. ‘I get really protective, and I suddenly understand every instinct every parent has of home-schooling and moving to the woods.’
His son is currently too young to grasp his father’s profession or the world of Harry Potter. Radcliffe plans to read the books to him if he shows interest but won’t push them, confident he’ll discover them eventually. He’s even content with the idea that his son might first encounter Potter through the forthcoming HBO series, ideally without having to watch his dad in it. On his past disagreements with J.K. Rowling regarding gender identity, Radcliffe offered ‘no comment,’ stating that discussing it would overshadow everything else.
Radcliffe is scheduled to perform ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ until May 24. He hopes ‘Reggie Dinkins,’ filmed in New York, will become a long-running series. He also has a role in the Vietnam War thriller ‘Trust the Man’ and ultimately aspires to direct his own films.
‘Directing is the thing I would love to do, not on stage, because I do not have an instinctual understanding of how to make things theatrical-wise,’ he explained. ‘But if the Malcolm Gladwell rule is true, I have many thousands of hours on set now, so I should be able to figure out how to run a film set.’ He’s been working on a script ‘for ages’ and is now revising it. ‘I’ve always wanted the first thing that I’ve directed to be something that I had written,’ Radcliffe added, ‘because that way, if I screw it up, at least I’m screwing my own material up.’
But first, his return to Broadway demands quick thinking and genuine interaction with theatergoers. Macmillan describes managing the audience participation as ‘a high-wire act, for sure.’
Before each performance, Radcliffe and his team will discreetly seek out audience members willing to read items from his character’s growing list of ‘brilliant’ things and to portray key figures in the story. Radcliffe emphasizes that participation is strictly voluntary: ‘No one will be forced to do anything.’
He recently gained firsthand experience as a guest speller in ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.’ This month, during ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ rehearsals, stand-in audience members are helping him navigate the show’s variations and potential challenges. ‘What people are going to bring to this show is going to make it so much fun to do every night,’ he affirmed.
For Radcliffe, the motivation goes beyond enjoyment. ‘I’m doing it because it’s fun and interesting and a cool theatrical experience,’ he stated, ‘but also I think there’s something really important in the message of it, and something that might be vital for somebody to hear. I’m not saying this show saves lives, but this show wants people to stay alive.’ Additional cinematography by Gus Aronson.