Daniel Radcliffe's Lack Of Harry Potter Knowledge Would Fail Him Out Of Hogwarts

"Harry Potter" is one of the most successful franchises of all time, with an incredibly popular book series and an equally popular movie franchise. At the time of its release, J.K. Rowling's book series had the world in a choke hold as kids eagerly anticipated each new volume. Warner Bros. made the correct choice to adapt the series for the big screen, earning the studio billions of dollars at the box office.

The "Harry Potter" movies made many of their stars household names, especially child actor Daniel Radcliffe, who spent most of his formative years filming the series, signing on when he was 10 and wrapping up Harry's story as a 20-year-old. That's probably why he has a hard time rewatching the movies now.

Considering Radcliffe grew up in the spotlight of such a massive franchise, one would think that like most kids at the time, he was a big fan of the series, reading every book along the way. Most actors, especially ones connected to that significant of a property, tend to read up on the source material, a tried-and-true method of preparing for a role. However, that wasn't the case in Radcliffe's situation since the "Harry Potter" star has a surprisingly low level of knowledge about the wizarding world.

In 2015, author Sue Blackhall released "Daniel Radcliffe: The Biography," depicting the actor's challenges growing up as a child star and the face of the "Harry Potter" franchise. In the book, Radcliffe reveals that, even though he landed the titular role, he wasn't a fan of the book series, having trouble getting past the second book, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."

"I found it really hard to get into them," he told Blackhall. "I couldn't get into any books when I was that age. A lot of the other boys in my class know I've read the first one or two and they've read all of them and they're a bit angry because I had read the least Harry Potter books."

Even though his on-screen persona eagerly anticipated returning to Hogwarts year after year, Radcliffe never felt that way about his schooling. In 2009, he told Parade that he always struggled in school, which may have led to his dismissal of reading the "Harry Potter" series. He eventually chose to forgo traditional education, electing instead to finish school with his on-set tutors.

As for his lack of  "Harry Potter" knowledge, Radcliffe relied on his costars to get him through many press tours before he began filming. In Blackhall's biography, he recalled an interviewer challenging him to some "Harry Potter" trivia. One question asked of the young actor was what Voldemort's real name is. Although Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) was there to help him out, people caught on to their scheme, forcing Radcliffe into reading all the books.