Daniel Radcliffe: 'I Didn't Expect' 'Harry Potter' To Get An Oscar Nomination

Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe

The Huffington Post   First Posted: 01/27/2012 12:48 pm Updated: 01/27/2012 12:49 pm

Muggles the world over were upset and dismayed by the lack of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Best Picture Oscar nomination this year, but it seems the film's star, Daniel Radcliffe, isn't that disappointed.

In Toronto promoting "The Woman In Black," Radcliffe seemed positively zen about the lack of Academy recognition.

"I didn't expect it to be nominated for Best Picture, and no, it doesn't faze us," Radcliffe told Moviefone. "Just because we've been around for a long time, and made a lot of movies, I don't think when you come to the end of that series that anyone's obligated to say you're best picture. Obviously it would have been lovely, but I don't think it's something we're going to be losing sleep over."

Not surprisingly, Radcliffe doesn't really place a lot of weight on the Academy Awards as a whole -- and sits on the fence when it comes to winning one as an individual.

"I have mixed feelings about awards for actors in general," he said. "Obviously it's a lovely thing to be recognized by the public or by your peers, and I'm sure that's a very gratifying thing. But I always have a moment when I watch those big ceremonies... we love to pat ourselves on the back in this industry, and we like to tell ourselves how well we've done and how amazing we are. It's all very self-congratulatory."

As for some British press talk of him winning an Oscar for "Woman In Black"?

"That's very kind, but very insane."

Check out Radcliffe in "The Woman In Black," opening in theaters on Feb. 3. Come on back to Moviefone for our full interview with Radcliffe next week!

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Muggles the world over were upset and dismayed by the lack of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Best Picture Oscar nomination this year, but it seems the film's star, Daniel Radcliffe, isn...
Muggles the world over were upset and dismayed by the lack of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Best Picture Oscar nomination this year, but it seems the film's star, Daniel Radcliffe, isn...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Judith Mason
10:06 AM on 01/30/2012
Dan is focused and has his feet firmly on the ground -- thank goodness! I've enjoyed watching him grow up on the screen -- and on the stage, too (Equus was a heavy dramatic role for a novice actor with no stage experience, followed by How to Succeed in Business in which he sings and dances). Bless him, and I wish him well. May he keep the paparazzi and all media at a comfortable arm's length. The more famous you become, the more they want to tear you down.
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02:18 PM on 01/29/2012
I'm so glad he came out and said this. I do hope he'll be around for a long time, because he seems to have a good perspective on everything. There are reasons he didn't expect to get any major nominations, and he was right in believing so.
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bikefolder32
My micro bio is an honor student.
06:27 AM on 01/28/2012
There is a world of difference between a movie that is liked because it's entertaining, and a movie that is Oscar-worthy because it's well-crafted and lifts the collected consciousness of the industry.

While the Harry Potter films are entertaining, there was nothing remotely ground-breaking about the acting or how they were crafted. Radcliffe wasn't chosen to be Harry because he was a natural acting talent. He's done well for himself to land other acting roles and perhaps has grown into being a natural actor at this point, but I've heard no one praise him for being particularly gifted. That doesn't stop anyone from having a fine career - but an award-winning career is another thing entirely.

Let's wait another 5-10 years when the HP 'buzz' has faded to see if he's still being chosen for roles. Good or bad, the reason he was chosen for Broadway roles is because he's the kid who played Harry Potter - they're expecting tickets to be sold based on that alone.
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02:08 PM on 01/29/2012
This is so true. There was no serious reason to believe the film, or Alan Rickman, should have been nominated. It's just Harry Potter fans getting carried away.

Daniel is quite a good actor, but he's also still very young. So time will tell if he will get those "award-winning" roles.
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FSMbaby
Life is good!
09:25 PM on 01/27/2012
The final movie was fantastic. If that movie doesn't deserve an award, I don't know what does.
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awa611
She's a snarl-toothed seether.....
06:27 PM on 01/27/2012
He's on the money on this issue. It doesn't take an academy award to make a film exceptional. Judging from many past winners, it's definitely political. I've never been a fan of those types of awards shows because they always miss some great performances. Personally, I don't think his performance is worthy of any award. But many of the actors involved in the films deserve some recognition.
10:11 AM on 01/30/2012
I personally don't think actors on the screen don't deserve recognition, actors on Broadway do. why! because of all the outtakes on big screen films.You don't get that on Broadway. The film, story, direction, yes, give awards for that. Check out the extras on DVDs, some times there more entertaining than the film. Watching these so called great actors being told what to do by the directors, look sad, now happy, we need a tear, they direct them, just like Daniel when he was a kid with no experience. So I personally think he knows it and accepts it. I bet if you had a good director you could also be an "actor" You just need the right franchise of movies to do it. So yes 'he's on the money on this issue".
KenInd
We too shall get through this.....
06:24 PM on 01/27/2012
Good Lord. Daniel moved beyond the Harry Potter franchise when he performed Equus.

The residuals will do just fine, thanks.
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zlohcuc
"Serving millions from atop the Allegheny"
05:55 PM on 01/27/2012
Gasp ...a genuine person speaking frankly about the fluffy trappings of the movie business, what's a muggle to do? Radcliffe is a wise young man to put this nonsense in prospective. He is the featured player in one of the greatest movie series of all time. He has enjoyed success on Broadway and will undoubtedly continue to continue to work in his profession. As John Lennon once said after a performance..."Thank You and I hope you enjoyed the audition." This guy does not need an award to be validated.And neither do the greats past and present who have one them.
KenInd
We too shall get through this.....
06:25 PM on 01/27/2012
He will be the biggest 'thing' in ten years. I hope he moves into management.
06:53 AM on 01/28/2012
Well stated!
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GreshamGuy
The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence"
05:39 PM on 01/27/2012
Actually, the greatest measure of the "quality" of a film is the amount of money it rakes in over time. "Critically acclaimed" means that critics like it. Income indicates that it resonates with people who watch films.

The film archives are filled with "classics" which have no audience. The Potter films will never have that status. It really doesn't matter if the deep literary or cinematic qualties aren't there - the stuff that lasts is the stuff that counts - lasting engagement with the audience.
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Chapin Smith
I am His Noodly Appendage
06:10 PM on 01/27/2012
[snort]

I guess that would make the Transformers movies some of the very best of the decade. lulz
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bikefolder32
My micro bio is an honor student.
06:13 AM on 01/28/2012
The quality of a film has absolutely nothing to do with the money it earns. People buy tickets to awful movies all the time.
The classics get played and have an audience decades later - you may not be interested in them, but that doesn't mean you alone are the arbiter of good movies!

Of all the HP movies that have been released, it's only the first one that gets replayed over and over on TV as a "classic" - and that's only as a child's movie at holiday time. They aren't going to stand up a half-century from now as "good" movies.
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GreshamGuy
The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence"
12:04 PM on 01/28/2012
Repeats on TV? Is that the gold standard? ABC Family plays ALL of the Potter films (except the most recent, because they haven't been released to TV yet) at high frequency, more often than TNT does LOTR.

Box office, rentals, DVD sales, and downloads are a good measure of audience engagement - the audience is engaged enough to buy the films repeatedly. It doesn't measure classic literary quality, but I believe that the Potter films will be in the cultural psyche long after many of the most celebrated "quality" films have been forgotten.

Again, I am judging cultural impact, not academic measures of quality.
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05:22 PM on 01/27/2012
He sure knows the company he's keeping eh. Good for him. There's way too many big heads on the big and small screen.
05:00 PM on 01/27/2012
I really appreciate Radcliffe's attitude about the Oscars. He is a well grounded young man with a very healthy self image, not needing to be congratulated for a performance in a series for children. If the actors themselves did not expect a nomination, why the uproar?
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sprootles
Taking on Baggies one at a time...
05:16 PM on 01/27/2012
The series stopped being for children after the second one. Just sayin'...
-swift
Can you put your country before your party?
05:33 PM on 01/27/2012
After the second film, it got a little tense and scary for young children. But all the books are written for preteens and up. I am more upset that J.K. Rowling did not get nominated for a Nobel Prize. None of the other authors on the list had 11 year-olds carrying around their 700 page books.
04:32 PM on 01/27/2012
I thought "Deathly Hallows, Part One" was a better movie, especially since it was built around the slow-moving trek that took up about half of the final book. The producers thought they were saving the best for last by making the last movie about the assault on Hogwarts. But then they pulled their punches. Rowling's description was thrilling. The movie blunted the attack's impact by not showing much onscreen. The violence was implied, likely because it's a series for kids.
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luvbrothel
Slower Traffic - Keep Right
04:25 PM on 01/27/2012
The last one was definitely one of the worst, not really worthy of anything. Not saying it was bad, just nowhere near the artistry of 3 (Alfonso Cuarón) and 4 (Mike Newell). They were the serie's Irvin Kershners.
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cjsim
an 86 yr. old progressive democrat
04:20 PM on 01/27/2012
Very astute comment! I didn't think the last Potter films were that good either. cjsim
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AJ in ATL
34 years of being a Liberal and proud of it!!!
04:09 PM on 01/27/2012
Harry Potter was easily one of the best films of 2011 in both terms of acting, visuals, and direction. For it to not get an Oscar nod shows how out of step the Academy is with fims these days and how meaningless the award has become.
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02:15 PM on 01/29/2012
If you are arguing it should get best cinematography because the "visuals" were one of the best, that couldn't be because it's very heavy on CGI. Visuals win awards when the DP can create, literally, the best "pictures".

And in terms of the acting, Maggie and Alan are the only true "actors". The 3 kids-turned-adults learned on the job, and definitely have something missing from their acting. Daniel is quite good. Certainly not saying the 3 leads were bad, because I did enjoy the last film and wasn't disappointed in their acting, but to say they deserve an Oscar is going way too far.
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Nosybear
Liar, damn liar, statistician and brewer
03:55 PM on 01/27/2012
It was very entertaining; however, world-shaking CGI battles are passe. "Potter" was not Oscar material but then, this year, it just may have been the best picture.