Dan Radcliffe Speaks to Papermag and Playbill About Preparing to Play Billy, Summer in New York, Tapdancing Mixups & More

In recent Inishmaan promo, Dan spoke to Papermag and Playbill. Below are just some of the things he said, and the full interviews can be read by clicking on the appropriate title. Left is a nice image (very Joycian methinks) from the Papermag photoshoot while the other image (with Dan sporting longer hair) from the mag is here, while one from Playbill is here.

Papermag

On learning to play someone with a disability... "I worked on the physicality for about three or four months with a voice teacher, who has a very mild form of cerebral palsy, which is what I had chosen to base Billy's condition on. It's definitely one of the challenges of the part, but I feel good about the place I got to. I see Billy as somebody who does not pity himself; he's very practical. He's an incredibly strong, dynamic character within his disability."

On social media mixups... "There was one very funny moment where my dad spotted something somebody tweeted about having seen me rehearsing for Inishmaan with a pair of tap shoes. I actually had been rehearsing for something else which required dance, and apparently somebody was like, 'Wait, does he tap in this production?' I'm not sure how much Martin would have approved of my changes to his play if I had been like, 'Hey, can I make this into a jazzy musical number?'"

On spending the summer in New York... "I love just going out and sitting down in the park along with the thousands of other people who apparently have no work to do during the day. People come up to me, but they are generally really nice. New York makes it easier, for me at least. People manage to be enthusiastic and sort of sane at the same time. And that's lovely."

Playbill

Daniel Radcliffe thinks. He thinks deeply about what he's doing and why he's doing it. He may only be 24 but he's been a star since he was 11, and he knows exactly how he wants to move forward and what it will take to get where he is going.
"I didn't just want to be famous, I wanted to be an actor," he professed during a delightful and wide-ranging conversation about his latest challenge, playing the title role in The Cripple of Inishmaan at Broadway's Cort Theatre.

And how does the physically agile and strong Radcliffe manage the physical demands of being folded almost in half for the whole play? "It's something that your body has to get used to, and builds up the strength to do. It's something I was keen to get right. When I played it in London I had months to adjust, but this time it's harder because I've been filming 'Frankenstein' right up to this week and my character is hunchback. So, different physical challenges, but both characters are similarly abused."

"You go from getting a couple of minutes of footage a day to telling an entire story in a night. It's a job that holds you accountable every day and if you give less than 100 percent every night the audience will know it. You can't fake it. That's the challenge."