Daniel Radcliffe: Dirty Harry

You suffer from dysplaxia—which is a kind of physical dyslexia. Rote physicality is difficult for you to comprehend. How has that affected you as an actor?

I have a very mild form of it. I’ve gotten it mostly under control now. I played a lot of videogames as a kid which really helped it. It basically surfaces as bad coordination. Another example of it is how terrible my handwriting is because I can never quite tell when the pen is going to land on the page.

As for the emotional technique to acting, I read that you were a big fan of the poet John Keats.

Exactly. The biggest.

I was wondering if his theory of negative...

...capability.

Yes. Do you use Keats’ theory of negative capability in your approach to acting? He came up with the theory after seeing Shakespeare—that the deepest truths are found in uncertainty and doubt and mystery and not in “the irritating reach for fact and reason.”

Absolutely. You’ve found me out. The truth is to be found in the things that are not certain and not solid and not easy and not simple. Keeping your childlike attitude is important too. Having a sense of wonder about everything in the world. Harnessing that wonder is what acting is about.

One of the main themes of the Harry Potter books is the loss of innocence. Has there been a parallel loss of innocence in your own life as the films made you such a star?

There hasn’t been such a loss of innocence in my own life. There’s nothing more fun than being a 13-year-old kid on a film set. It’s fantastic. But that’s the difference between star systems in America and England. Kid stars in America are treated like stars first and kids second. But in England you’re just treated like a kid. You’re always being told don’t get too big for your boots. That’s why I’ve been able to maintain a relatively level head through it all.

Who are you reading now? I know that you’re a big reader.

I’m being really indulgent at the moment and reading P.G. Wodehouse. Lots of Jeeves and Wooster.

That’s the saddest thing you’ve said all day. You really are homesick, aren’t you.

I am. Just this morning I was listening to Noel Coward singing, “I went to a MAAAAAAVELOUS party with Nunu and Nada and Nell...”

I thought you liked punk rock.

Yes. Well. That’s what being abroad has done to me.

One last question. Have you shagged Dame Diana Rigg yet?

Not yet. Though I long for it to happen, I still await the day.

It’s been nice meeting your sibling, Daniel.

I know—right?

Kevin Sessums is the author of the New York Times bestseller Mississippi Sissy, a memoir of his childhood. He was executive editor of Andy Warhol's Interview magazine and a contributing editor of Vanity Fair and Allure. He is a contributing editor of Parade. His new memoir, I Left It on Mountain, will be published by St. Martin's Press.