The cause of Daniel Radcliffe’s drinking problem may be directly linked to his role as Harry Potter, according to a source close to Radcliffe.
“Playing Harry was a huge part of Dan’s life,” said Radcliffe’s mother, Janelle Radcliffe. “In fact, it became his life. Sometimes, I feel as if he would’ve responded better to Harry than to Dan. It was very frightening to me.”
Radcliffe spent the majority of his life focused on the Harry Potter movies, so it comes as no surprise that he immersed himself into the life of Harry. However, the link to Radcliffe’s drinking problem is not very clear.
“In the books, Harry is never seen as an alcoholic,” said Mrs. Radcliffe. “Sure, he enjoys a butterbeer once in a while, but it’s not portrayed as a serious problem. Harry didn’t show up drunk to Hogwarts like Dan did.”
A close friend to Radcliffe, who wished to remain anonymous, believes he has found the reasoning behind Radcliffe’s spiral into alcoholism.
“It started after the sixth book was published,” the source said. “Which is when Harry started having feelings for Ginny Weasley.”
Radcliffe often discussed his worries that Harry would end up marrying Ginny, said the source. He would become intensely upset and sometimes even knock things over in his rage.
“Once he even expressed his fears of having, and I quote, “ginger children,'” said the source.
Rupert Grint, friend and co-star in the Harry Potter movies, told of a time Radcliffe approached him with questions. “He asked me once how it felt to have no soul,” said Grint, laughing. “I thought he was joking. But then he asked if it was passed down to the children. Bloody hell.”
After the seventh book was published, Radcliffe was found barricaded in his room, tearing out the pages to the epilogue, said the source. “I hope J.K. Rowling burns in hell,” Radcliffe reportedly said, over and over again while taking massive swigs of scotch.
Radcliffe was recovering from a massive hangover and unavailable to comment.
