Everyone seems so fixated on how rare it is that we’ve had the privilege of seeing a young actor like Daniel Radcliffe grow up on screen in front of us.
Well big whoop. That’s not anything new.
Radcliffe’s basically following in the steps of Drew Barrymore, only his movies fall neatly into one clean, seven-chaptered story, whereas Drew’s maturity was chronicled over a broader, more controversial range of work.
Sure, kudos to Dan for blossoming into a handsome young man and honing his acting chops over the years, but frankly, Barrymore’s been there and done that…in more ways than one.
Only 12 years old at the time, Radcliffe burst onto the scene in 2001 with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, playing the young, curious wizard who met a cast of powerful, magical creatures with wide-eyed awe.Barrymore mastered the doe-eyed-curiosity bit much earlier in her own introduction to global audiences, when she played Gertie in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, released when she was 7. Score one for Barrymore.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets came out in 2002 and showed our young hero Harry discovering more about his powers while evading and eventually killing the mysterious monster who was terrorizing him and his loved ones.
In 1984, Barrymore starred in the science fiction thriller Firestarter, playing a girl who—after she discovers she has the power of pyrokinesis—must flee and eventually kill a group of mysterious and malevolent government agents terrorizing her and her father. One point for Barrymore, one for Radcliffe.
In 2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban came out, and we watched as Harry drew his own conclusions between warring adults when he realized Sirius Black was a friend instead of foe.
Twenty years prior, Barrymore starred in Irreconcilable Differences and played a girl drawing her own conclusions when she decided to sue her warring, divorcing parents. Barrymore wins this one, and not just because her parents were played by Shelley Long and Ryan O’Neal.
Radcliffe was 18 when Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix came out. Potter fans witnessed their favorite band of magicians trapped by the Death Eaters and Harry nearly murdered and possessed by his nemesis, Voldemort, before he was able to return to the safety of Hogwarts.
Barrymore was just 11 when Babes in Toyland was broadcast on NBC. She played a young girl who was attacked by a monster, imprisoned, and threatened by her nemesis before she returned to the safety of her bed. Radcliffe wins. So far, a tie.
Though complain that not much happened in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 when it came out in 2010, audiences were treated to tricks involving doppelgangers and the wizards battling their own inner demons and mental and emotional struggles.
Harry isn’t much like the seductive, scheming teen Barrymore played in 1992’s Poison Ivy or the pistol-packing denim-loving bad girl she played in 1992’s Guncrazy but darker alter-egos and doubles play an integral part of her 1993 film Doppelganger. Radcliffe a half point, Barrymore 1.5.
And now there’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the concluding chapter of the saga, where the young wizard meets his match for the ultimate showdown with Voldemort. When the movie hits theatres this weekend, Radcliffe will be just 21 years old, barely mature enough to legally enjoy a cocktail to celebrate the debut of the film—should he herald its release in the U.S.
Drew Barrymore was only 18 when she faced off with her nemesis on screen in 1993, playing 16-year-old Amy Fisher in the made-for-TV movie The Amy Fisher Story.
Sure the “The Chosen One” has nearly nothing in common with the Long Island Lolita, other than an admirable amount of determination and strong personal sense of right and wrong, but they do nicely wrap up Radcliffe and Barrymore’s parallel arcs. The jury is out on this last movie for Muggles, so Barrymore wins by a non-plastic surgeried nose—such a rarity in Hollywood!
To celebrate the release of Part 2 of the Deathly Hallows story, we asked Elad Zvi of the Miami-based beverage consulting service Bar Lab for a Potter-inspired potable. Zvi serves as the mixologist of the Living Room Bar at the W South Beach and has created cocktail menus for a number of others in Miami including Devito South Beach and the Gansevoort Miami Beach Hotel.
For Potter-philes over the age of 21, real life witches or warlocks, or those who want to discuss their own similarities to Drew Barrymore or Daniel Radcliffe’s on-screen portfolio over cocktails, Zvi offers this recipe for “Black Magic.”
Black MagicCreated by Elad Zvi of Bar Lab
1 oz. Aperol½ oz. balsamic reduction*1 oz. fresh lime juice1 oz. honey infused with rosemary, thyme and oregano1 oz. grappa4 raspberries
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add all of the ingredients. Shake for about ten seconds and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with rosemary, thyme and oregano.
*A balsamic reduction can be created by placing balsamic vinegar and heating the pot until vinegar simmers and is reduced until syrupy. Process takes a bit over two hours and can be stored at room temperature once it cools. Or, if you’re feeling impatient, you can likely find it in a local store.