Daniel Radcliffe is going nude and Harry Potter fans are alarmed. Mothers are threatening boycotts of the next Potter film!

Is the actor doing this for purposes of exploitation? No, to play the troubled young man in Equus, a wonderful play that has been with us for 35 years. (And which I saw two years ago in a stunning production at East West Players, brilliantly directed by Tim Dang and starring George Takei. Please note: In general I use the word “brilliantly” only sparingly. It’s a remarkable play, and this was a remarkable production.)

I have no idea if Radcliffe can pull off what is a very challenging role — and do it eight times a week. I don’t believe he’s ever had a stage role before, let alone one that plumbs these emotional depths. But the idea that he is “betraying Harry Potter fans,” which seems to be a recurrent theme in the media coverage, is ludicrous. Perhaps he might like to do other things in his life — like act.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 31st, 2007 at 8:26 am and is filed under On reading, On seeing, Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.