Daniel Radcliffe can’t just throw an invisibility cloak over the last 13 years, although at some points it seems that the British child star would do anything to distance himself from his most famous character, Harry Potter.

In an interview with New York Times Magazine, the 24-year-old actor, who is currently starring in the dark, dramatic television series “A Young Doctor’s Notebook,” says he didn’t feel he missed out on childhood, but definitely grew up in a fast-moving bubble. At 17, the British star moved out on his own and confessed that he felt “entitled” and wanted to get out from underneath his parent’s grasp so he could give in to his own vices.

“I can be honest about this now, because I know my parents know — but I wanted to smoke,” he said. “I was hiding it like a fiend.”

His love for lighting up wasn’t the only addiction that Radcliffe fell prey to; not long after he got his own place, he developed a serious drinking problem. “I became a nuisance,” Radcliffe told the magazine. “I became the person in the group who has to be looked after.”

His struggle with alcoholism reached a fever pitch in August 2010, at the age of 21, when he awoke from a blackout, bruised and unable to remember the previous night. It was then that the “Kill Your Darlings” star decided to put the bottle down and open up to the media about his problem, which had largely been a very well kept secret until then.

“I wanted to close the gap between the real me, what was going on in me, and the person that people perceived,” he explained.

 

Radcliffe claims his problem, which he was able to hide while he lived in New York City performing on Broadway, stemmed from this idea that he would never be able to make the leap from Hogwarts to a real Hollywood career. The star also dished that he’s kicked his drinking habit, but has continued a few other guilty pleasures like chain-smoking cigarettes, drinking Diet Coke after quitting his Red Bull addiction, endlessly watching the NFL, binging on cheeseburgers and pizza, and living like a sometimes-slob.

Although one item he may have left off that list is his obsession with work.

Those around the actor, including his “HP” director David Yates, say that his constant stream of post-Potter projects, stretching from his brooding portrayal of Allen Ginsberg to his chilling performance in “The Woman in Black,” borders on compulsion. Radcliffe, on the other hand, claims he’s simply dedicated to diversifying his portfolio and his work ethic simply comes from the values his parents instilled him. In the Times piece, he referenced a letter his father wrote to him when he turned 21.

“On a film set there’s always going to be somebody who’s going to be causing a delay,” Radcliffe recalled the letter saying. “Try and make sure it’s never you. … Constant vigilance is kind of our motto.”

“Kill Your Darlings” arrives in movie theaters on October 16. Article Link…