Daniel Radcliffe Birthday: From a Farting Corpse to a Horned Revenge-Seeker, 7 Weirdest Movie Roles Done by Actor Post His ‘Harry Potter’ Days!

Daniel Radcliffe, born on July 23, 1989, in London, has been in the spotlight from a young age, gaining worldwide fame as the titular character in the Harry Potter film series. Born to literary agent Alan Radcliffe and casting agent Marcia Gresham, Daniel was always destined for a creative path. He was only eleven when he was cast as Harry Potter, a role he played across eight films from 2001 to 2011. Even though he has now feuded with Harry Potter creator JK Rowling over the latter's transphobic views and has done roles that are quite different from being a boy wizard, Radcliffe will always be known to his fans as 'The Boy Who Lived'! Daniel Radcliffe Excited for Upcoming Harry Potter Series on Max, Keeps Cameo Plans Secret.

Beyond the Harry Potter saga, Radcliffe has carved out a diverse career, taking on roles that challenge and defy his early typecasting. We mean, he did the stage play Equus in 2007, which was about a teen who gets infatuated with his horse right when he was still shooting for Harry Potter movies. Beyond the magical blockbuster franchise, the actor has taken up roles he made sure are distinct from being a wizard. From being a baddie in Now You See Me 2 and The Lost City to doing romance (What If) to even doing queer roles (Kill Your Darlings), and even sticking to action and gritty thrillers, Radcliffe has been dabbling in various genres and roles. In the midst of doing those, Radcliffe has taken up some bizarre parts in his career.

In this special birthday feature, we look at seven weird, bizarre, and pretty quirky roles that Daniel Radcliffe took on!

1. The Woman in Black

In The Woman in Black, Daniel Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipps, a young lawyer sent to a remote village to settle the estate of a deceased client. He soon discovers the village is haunted by a vengeful ghost, leading him into a terrifying quest to uncover the dark secrets of the haunted house. It would have a usual horror protagonist if someone else played the role, but what makes this character weird is Radcliffe's casting - this was his first major role after getting out of the Harry Potter series. Imagine seeing someone play a teen wizard for more than a decade and then find him in his next role as a widowed father haunted by a spectre. That's a long jump into maturity!

2. Horns

In Horns, Radcliffe stars as Ig Perrish, a man accused of raping and murdering his girlfriend. After a night of heavy drinking, Ig wakes up to find horns growing from his head, granting him supernatural abilities that compel people to reveal their darkest secrets, which he uses to find the real killer. From playing a boy wizard to having literal horns on your head, this is quite the bizarre transformation.

3. Victor Frankenstein

Radcliffe portrays Igor, the loyal assistant to James McAvoy's Dr Victor Frankenstein. The film reimagines the classic tale from Igor’s perspective, focusing on his close relationship with Frankenstein and their joint obsession with creating life. While the film was a critical and commercial failure, Victor Frankenstein was noted for Radcliffe's 'hunchbacked' performance (of course, he loses that soon enough).

4. Swiss Army Man

In this surreal survival comedy, Radcliffe plays a flatulent corpse with mysterious powers, discovered by a stranded man named Hank (Paul Dano) who befriends the corpse and even has him function as a propeller boat using his farts to burst forward. What's more, the corpse even gets into a strange love triangle with his stranded friend and a woman named Sarah! Daniel Radcliffe Birthday Special: From Swiss Army Man to Escape from Pretoria, 5 Best Movies of the Star That Aren’t Harry Potter!

5. Trainwreck

In Trainwreck, Radcliffe makes a brief yet memorable cameo as "The Dog Walker" in a fictional movie within the movie, who romances Marisa Tomei. Even though it was a small role, Radcliffe catches our attention because of how bizarrely he appeared with several dogs being tied to his mid-riff with their leashes.

6. Guns Akimbo

In this black comic action thriller, Radcliffe plays a computer programmer who gets punished by having two guns bolted to his hands. Make what you want of that!

7. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

Daniel Radcliffe plays 'Weird' Al Yankovic in a biopic that spoofs all biopics, where 'Madonna' becomes a drug kingpin, and Al Yankovic even turns into a zombie. Can it get weirder than this?

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 23, 2024 09:11 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).