Actor Daniel Radcliffe is perhaps best known for starring in the Harry Potter movies, a role that he’s still famous for today. After starring in those eight titles (which are streaming with an HBO Max subscription), the 36-year-old actor has established himself as a versatile star of stage and screen. The Harry Potter star has been real about his unhappiness and alcohol use as a young person, and he recently opened up about what’s changed in recent years.
Years ago Radcliffe admitted he turned to alcohol to deal with the Potter fame, after having intense anxiety about being watched in public. He’s been away from that for some time now, and in a recent conversation with Project Healthy Minds CEO Phil Schermer moderated by PEOPLE, he reflected on the happiness he feels now. The actor said:
There have been times in my life when I have been deeply unhappy, particularly when I was much younger. I spent today with my 3-year-old son walking along the street, with him just holding my hand and being gorgeous and fun and silly — and I’m so happy. If you showed them to me when I was 20, I would not have recognized myself.
While Daniel Radcliffe drank to quell the panic of fame in his youth, it sounds like the Tony-winning actor has been able to find peace. He became a father in 2023, and has kept super busy with film projects and on Broadway, recently returning to The Great White Way in Every Brilliant Thing. And that sense of fulfillment would seemingly have felt impossible back at the height of his Harry Potter fame.
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For his longtime fans, seeing the Lost City actor thriving creatively and personally is definitely heartwarming. Radcliffe’s comments about parenting are relatable, but so is his transparency about struggling mentally. Later in that same conversation, he spoke about hope and change, saying:
There is such potential for profound happiness in the future, even if it’s not where you are right now. It’s always worth giving the future a chance to prove you wrong.
That’s certainly a heartening message, one that many people out there might need to hear. The Harry Potter icon has been able to find true happiness in his 30s after having some major mental health struggles. And if he can do it, so can others who might think that the future is looking bleak.
Considering the level of global fame Radcliffe dealt with at a young age, it’s certainly understandable that it became an untenable situation. He’s got a perspective on what it feels like to be in a low place, as well as what it’s like to reach the other side. And now he’s living his best life with a family and a thriving career.
Daniel Radcliffe currently stars in Every Brilliant Thing on Broadway, as well as NBC’s The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, which airs new episodes Mondays as part of the 2026 TV schedule.