Daniel Radcliffe wins his first Tony for Merrily We Roll Along, says he had ‘no idea’ about career after Harry Potter
Daniel Radcliffe clinched his first ever Tony award for best performance by a featured actor in a musical for Merrily We Roll Along.
Daniel Radcliffe is reflecting on his first ever Tony win. The actor, best known for playing Harry Potter in the much-loved franchise, was emotional upon accepting the award in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical category for Merrily We Roll Along. The actor also talked about the point in his career when he had difficulty shredding off the image of Harry Potter and take his career ahead in a new direction. (Also read: Tony Awards 2024: Daniel Radcliffe, Jeremy Strong win big; check out full list of winners)
What Daniel said
Upon winning, Daniel took the stage to thank his parents, the cast and the crew of the play for providing him with the experience of a lifetime. "Thank you so much to our cast, everybody on that stage, it is an honor to be on that stage with you every single night. I will miss it so much…speaking of missing things — Jonathan [Groff], Lindsay [Mendez], I will miss you so much. I don’t really have to act in this show, I just have to look at you and feel everything I want to feel. I will never have it this good again.”
'Playing one character for a very long time builds up an anxiety'
Later in the press room, Daniel went on to tell reporters how it felt to be playing Harry Potter for such a long time. “When I finished [‘Harry Potter’] I had no idea what my career was going to be. I’d already started doing some stage stuff, but I didn’t know what the future held at all. To have had the last year playing Weird Al and also Merrily We Roll Along, it’s been awesome. Playing one character for a very long time builds up an anxiety, like, Do as many things as you possibly can. So yeah, I’m doing that right now.”
The Maria Friedman-helmed revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's musical Merrily We Roll Along won big at the Tony Awards. Apart from Daniel, the play also won Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, while Jonathan Groff won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category.