Daniel Radcliffe: Hollywood is undeniably racist

Daniel Radcliffe has said that the existence of racism within the Hollywood system is ‘pretty undeniable’.

The Harry Potter star was appearing on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme, speaking about his new movie ‘Imperium’, in which he plays an FBI agent undercover in a white supremacist group.

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He explained that while the movie system might seem outwardly progressive, that in fact it’s ‘lagging behind’.

“It’s pretty undeniable,” he said.

“We like to think of ourselves as being a very, very progressive industry, but we have been lagging behind in all kinds of areas.”

He added that there’s also an issue with actors coming out as gay, because ‘I suppose then people just want to cast you as gay’.

Radcliffe was invited to the become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last year.

He was among a new draft of younger, more diverse invitees to the near 6000-strong group that decides the winners of the Oscars.

Naturally, Radcliffe was also asked whether he’d be playing Harry Potter again, should J.K. Rowling’s stage play ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ make it to the big screen.

“No-one’s asked me about it and I definitely don’t think that I would do it at this point, certainly,” he said.

“It’s only been six years [since last playing Potter] and I’m really enjoying being able to do lots of different stuff at the moment.

“Maybe if 30 years had passed I would be thinking differently. They will be doing remakes, and I could play his dad, or something.”

‘Imperium’ is out on September 23 across the UK.

Image credits: Cover Media/Lionsgate