The Wizard of Odd: Daniel Radcliffe’s weirdest film roles

You're no longer a wizard, Harry!

In all honesty, Daniel Radcliffe’s most straightforward acting role to date is probably that one time he played a small wizard with a gigantic lightning-bolt scar in everybody’s favourite book series turned movie franchise. Harry Potter might be the 28-year old’s best known part to date, but depicting the adventures of a child who holds the key to defeating an evil villain named Voldemort is small fry on the weird scale in comparison to some of Radcliffe’s subsequent roles. Don’t believe us? This is why Daniel Radcliffe has to be the ultimate Wizard of Odd.

Miles, Guns Akimbo

Fans of Daniel Radcliffe were left bewildered this month when some confusing new photographs of the boy wizard turned movie star emerged from the set of upcoming action film Guns Akimbo. Wearing what appears to be Vernon Dursley’s manky dressing gown, and brandishing two guns in the middle of the street, it looks like things went a little pear-shaped after his Hogwarts graduation at first glance. Don’t even get us started on the giant monster slippers or rubber duck boxers.

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Currently in production, details about Guns Akimbo are skant; however, we do know that in the film Miles (played by Radcliffe) “relies on his newly-acquired gladiator skills to save his ex-girlfriend from kidnappers”. Well, that clears things up!

The Dog Walker, Trainwreck

Daniel Radcliffe’s unexpected cameo in the Amy Schumer-penned film Trainwreck left many wondering if the actor was pursuing a dramatically different career path. Strolling effortlessly around New York, with a cigarette in one hand and approximately nine dogs attached to his custom-made dog walking belt, his appearance in the 2015 film is a fleeting one. Thankfully the one-liner “that’s ‘cos I walk a big dog” makes a lasting impact.

Radcliffe didn’t exactly audition for the role. Instead, the film’s director Judd Apatow swung by his dressing room while he was in New York for the Broadway production of The Cripple of Inshmaan, and invited him down to the set. ‘Yeah! Ab-so-fucking-lutely, I’ll go in and screw around for a day with Judd Apatow!'” Radcliffe responded, speaking to Buzzfeed. Fair enough.

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Alan, Equus

As filming for the long-running Harry Potter series began to draw to a close, it was time for Daniel Radcliffe, then aged 17, to branch out into other, less wizard-focused film roles. Fans speculated that he might pursue a more “mature” type of performance. However, it’s safe to say that nobody expected The Boy Who Lived to wax his arse crack and get naked with a horse in 2007.

As well as featuring Harry Potter’s bare bottom, the stage show Equus follows the story of Alan – a boy who is sexually attracted to a horse called Nugget. “I was shit-scared and 17 when I did Equus, which is the age when you’re most self-conscious,” the actor told Playboy. “I was very aware that a certain percentage of that audience was coming to look at my dick every night. Looking back, that was mental. I have a lot of respect for myself for having the balls to do it, so to speak.”

Manny, Swiss Army Man

Not content with acquiring multiple dogs, stopping the traffic in his novelty slippers and getting naked and chasing a horse around a stage, Daniel Radcliffe also found time to play a likeable talking corpse in the years following Harry Potter. In the 2016 film Swiss Army Man, he takes on the role Manny; a farting corpse that can be ridden like a jet-ski. Hopefully he didn’t prepare for the role with any method acting.

As if that wasn’t weird enough as a character introduction, the washed-up corpse and his new best friend Hank then embark on a journey of discovery around the island they’re marooned on, using Manny’s erection as a compass. Ok then.

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