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Old 03-15-2011, 05:03 PM
masterofmystery masterofmystery is offline
 
Post Video: Daniel Radcliffe talks How to Succeed musical, Harry Potter on The Today Show

Daniel Radcliffe did his press rounds for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on NBC Today's Show earlier this morning, discussing the challenges of the play, as well as what he misses now that the Harry Potter films have completed. Unfortunately, Dan did not do a number as rumoured; the clip can be seen below.


Meredith Vieira: Back at 8:20. He's best known as Harry Potter but did you know Daniel Radcliffe is also a wizard on his feet? He's now singing and dancing in the stage production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." Great to have you here. You debuted in "Equus" where you were nude on stage. There was controversy about that.
Daniel Radcliffe: Yes.

Vieira: Which is harder, being nude in front of an audience or singing and dancing?
Dan: I don't know. probably -- well --

Vieira: They're different.
Dan: Very different reasons. Singing and dancing, dancing isn't something that came naturally to me. I did a lot of lessons to do that.

Vieira: Being nude on stage comes naturally?
Dan: Well, anyone can do it. If I have to choose one to do eight times a week it would be singing and dancing. Over a long period of time that's more preferable.

Vieira:
You are a terrific dancer in this, but it took a lot of effort. You were not a natural.
Dan: Not at all. When I wasn't filming Potter I was doing nine hours of training a week and on my days off from Potter I would do three hours. I didn't want Rob, our director, a fantastic choreographer, to have to censor himself in terms of toning down what he would want me to do. I wanted him to have as wide an array of tools at his disposal as he could which he now kind of does. I did -- as opposed to a couple years ago I couldn't have almost done my left from my right in terms of dancing. Now I'm a lot better.

Vieira: Yeah. In the play, you play J. Pierpont Finch. He's a go-getter. Starts as a window washer and ends up as chairman of the board. When you were a kid, you were discovered in a theater.
Dan: Yeah. That's the romanticized version of the story. That's when I met the producers of Potter for the first time. I don't think I'm nearly as cut throat as J. Pierrepont Finch is but it was fun to play somebody unashamedly ambitious and completely obsessed by the idea of rising to the top.

Vieira: Are you ambitious?
Dan: For myself, definitely. I don't think I would ever let ambition get in the way of my morality which is the thing that separates me from Finch. Finch is somebody who -- yeah, is quite willing to do things that aren't necessarily mother-in-morally upstanding to get ahead. But it's a testament to how well the character is written is you still like him despite the fact that not everything he does is kosher.

Vieira: This is the 50th anniversary of the musical. You're following in big shoes. Robert Morse, Matthew Brodrick. You're 21 and they were older in their 30s. Fill in the blank. If they had age and experience, I have --
Dan: The confidence of youth. I don't know. It's one of the things that I think makes it a different production and what I bring to it is the fact that because he is -- well, because I am so young playing him so young it kind of makes you forgive a lot of the reprehensible behavior. Oh, he's young, he doesn't know any better. whereas the temptation with an older person may be that he's manipulative. When somebody's 21 you forgive more.

Vieira: The last film of the Harry Potter franchise comes out this summer. I know you said you have moved on, did your mourning, but what do you miss the most?
Dan: Working with, you know, the crew on those films every day. I was close with the crew. Being able to see some of my best friends every day was very, very special. I will miss that a huge amount.

Vieira: We're glad that you are sticking around. That's for sure. Great reviews you are getting.
Dan: They're not out yet, but people are enjoying it.

Vieira: Standing ovations, I understand. even though you don't read the reviews.
Dan: No, I don't read them.

Vieira: Daniel, thank you so much.
Tickets for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, which has now begun previews and opens on March 27th, can be ordered at Broadway.com. For special fan exclusives and discount tickets, head to the official fan page for the musical.
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