After nearly giving up on having an acting career, Dan Radcliffe’s co-star Joanna Christie
tells how she got the
Equus audition – and eventually the part - and what it’s been like working with Dan.
Quote:
I had taken a job in public relations. When I stopped getting auditions I thought that I would have to find something else, and started working in an office of a public relations company. Until that point I'd done lots of random jobs – dog walking, temping – which meant I could still go to auditions.
Taking the job in public relations was an admission to myself that I was going to do something other than acting.
Luckily, she hadn’t informed her agent of her decision.
Quote:
That was the one phone call I was terrified of making, and I'd put it off. She called one Friday to say that the Equus audition was on the following Monday. I decided that would be it, I would go for this one audition and if I didn't get it, I would work in public relations.
After thinking she didn’t do well in the audition, she threw away the script – only to find out the next day that she’d gotten a call back audition with Dan Radcliffe.
Quote:
I didn't really have time to think about the fact that it was him I would be reading with, because I was busy trying to reprint my scenes at work.
Once I stopped and thought about the fact that Dan plays Harry Potter, I was a little bit nervous, but from the moment I met him he was so grounded.
The anticipation was the strangest thing, but as soon as I went into the room he was really friendly and relaxed. There really was absolutely nothing starry about him.
After her third call back, Joanna got the news from her agent that she’d won the part.
Quote:
She left a message asking me to ring her mobile. She'd never done that before, so I knew it must be good news.
I ran out into the street and was just shouting and screaming. To go from thinking I would never make it as an actor to getting this part within a matter of days was just unbelievable.
So what’s Dan Radcliffe really like?
Quote:
During rehearsals Dan and I just got on really well, he's just a friend – I'm used to Dan just being Dan.
But it's when things like the fans turn up that I suddenly remember that he is actually very famous. I come out of the stage door and there are hundreds of people there waiting to see him.
The incredible thing is how well he takes it. He just sees it as a part of his job; it's a part of his life. I know he appreciates how much people support him and I think that's really important to him.