Daniel Radcliffe Confesses He's 'Intensely Embarrassed' By His Early Harry Potter Days

It's hard not to cringe when you think about the ways you acted during your adolescent days. It's a formative time in everyone's life when they are figuring out who they are, what they like, and pretty much shaping their whole identity! Now imagine spending those uncertain years consistently starring in mega Hollywood blockbusters that will be seen by millions and go on to gross over $7 billion. That's a level of pressure only a select few ever experience. 

Now entering his third decade in the limelight, 31-year-old Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe recently admitted that when he looks back on playing the young wizard he can't help but feel embarrassed. In a recent interview with Empire Magazine (via CinemaBlend) Radcliffe said, "I'm intensely embarrassed by some of my acting, obviously. But yeah, it's like asking, 'How do you feel about your teenage years?' There's so much in there that it's almost impossible to single out one feeling." But he went on to say he was "incredibly grateful for the experience" because it showed him the career he wanted to pursue for the rest of his life. "To find out early on what you love is really lucky," he said.

Not only were Daniel Radcliffe and his co-stars, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, faced with the task of playing some of the most popular book series characters in the world at the time, they were having to face the spotlight from worldwide fame before they became teenagers.

Radcliffe's massive success at an early age sprung him to stardom but also exposed him to heavy scrutiny. In an interview with the show, Off Camera with Sam Jones, Radcliffe detailed how he would feel "watched" whenever he'd go out with friends as a teenager. "Part of the thing is the expectation that you should just be delighted all the time, you know?" he said. "You have a great job, you're wealthy. You don't have a right to ever feel sad or to not be, like, excited about the whole thing all the time. I think that's a pressure as well." He turned to alcohol, admitting that he would show up some days to the Harry Potter sets drunk. "I can honestly say I never drank at work on Harry Potter," Radcliffe said in an interview. (via Buzzfeed) "I went into work still drunk, but I never drank at work." He added, "I can point to many scenes where I'm just gone. Dead behind the eyes."

But Radcliffe has since quit drinking and with help from his parents and friends has learned to cope with the downsides of fame. The actor has also moved away from Harry Potter-esque characters, taking roles in comedies like Miracle Workers and the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt TV movie.