Daniel Radcliffe is looking forward to sharing his movies with his 3-year-old son. Becoming a father has added another reason to enjoy family-friendly projects, even as the Harry Potter actor hopes to postpone explaining his celebrity status.
Radcliffe, 37, discussed his latest role at the November 8 world premiere of Steps in New York City. He voices the Prince in Netflix’s animated Cinderella adventure, joining cast members including Amanda Seyfried, Ali Wong, Stephanie Hsu and Bette Midler at The Plaza Hotel.
Speaking to PEOPLE in an interview published November 14, Radcliffe said voice acting had appealed to him long before parenthood. “I’ve always loved doing voice work. It’s really, really fun,” he said.
His child isn’t ready for those movie nights just yet, although Radcliffe expects that to change soon. He shares his son with longtime partner Erin Darke, and the couple has kept the boy’s name private since welcoming him in April 2023.
Steps Puts Cinderella’s Sisters Ahead of the Royal Romance
Directed by Alyce Tzue and John Ripa, Steps begins with Lilith, voiced by Wong, growing tired of living in Cinderella’s shadow. She steals the Fairy Godmother’s wand and disrupts the royal ball alongside her sister Margot, voiced by Hsu.
Their interference allows Priscilla, a villain played by Nikki Glaser, to seize the throne. Lilith then has to work with Cinderella, voiced by Seyfried, to repair the damage. Their journey brings encounters with biker trolls, pursuing henchmen and the Screaming Woods as they try to save both the kingdom and their relationship.
During his premiere interview, Radcliffe was asked why Cinderella has remained appealing across generations. He joked that if he knew exactly how to create a timeless story, he would probably be writing more of them himself. He pointed to the character’s underdog status and the audience’s longstanding desire to see her succeed.
He also welcomed the chance to approach that familiar story from a different perspective. The royal romance remains part of the film, but Radcliffe said it appropriately takes a secondary role to the sisters’ relationships.
Netflix describes his character as an unconventional Prince. Midler voices the Fairy Godmother, while Peter Dinklage plays Roderick, Young Mazino plays Gef and Damian Priest voices Cracktor. Amy Poehler, Jane Hartwell and Kim Lessing produced the film, which arrives on the streaming service November 20.
A Broadway Commercial Left His Son Wondering Where Dad Had Gone
Radcliffe’s comments about keeping fame out of his son’s world came in a separate interview published in May. He recalled watching the Winter Olympics with Darke when an advertisement for his Broadway production, Every Brilliant Thing, unexpectedly appeared.
Radcliffe had just left the room. His son recognized him on the television and reacted with confusion, apparently wondering whether his father had walked away and somehow ended up inside the screen.
“Dada?” the boy asked, according to Radcliffe’s account. The actor explained that his son had never watched any of his work before, leaving him without a way to understand what he was seeing.
Trying to describe acting to a small child had presented its own challenge. Radcliffe joked that occupations such as doctor or firefighter were easier to explain because their purpose was recognizable. For his profession, he had tried comparing the work to the stories in his son’s books and describing how actors perform them.
Radcliffe and Darke first met in 2012 while making Kill Your Darlings. He played poet Allen Ginsberg, while she portrayed Gwendolyn.
Shortly after their son’s arrival, Radcliffe told Entertainment Tonight that he had planned to take time away from work. He acknowledged the privilege of being able to spend that period at home with the baby and Darke.
His Son’s Unpredictable Accent Made His List of Brilliant Things
At the Tony Awards Meet the Nominees event on May 14, Radcliffe was asked about the things that brought him happiness. The question connected directly to Every Brilliant Thing, whose central character builds a list of reasons life is worth living.
Radcliffe told E! News that his own list was filled with things his son said and did. Among his favorites was the boy’s developing accent, influenced by his English father and the American voices around him.
Individual words could come out differently from what Radcliffe expected. “You can never predict how he’s going to say a word. It’s really pretty great,” he said.
Audience members participated in Every Brilliant Thing, requiring Radcliffe to connect with people in the theater throughout the performance. He described that interaction as both exciting and stressful, and a major reason he wanted the role.
His performance earned a Tony nomination for leading actor in a play. According to the Internet Broadway Database, Radcliffe completed his run on May 24, with Mariska Hargitay taking over two days later.
The actor joked that a sequel to the play could follow its characters into parenthood and draw on the many good things that happen while raising children.
