Advertisement

Here’s How Committed Daniel Radcliffe Is to Nude Scenes

Daniel Radcliffe. Credit: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images
Daniel Radcliffe (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)

In 2009, Daniel Radcliffe got a significant amount of press for performing a full-frontal nude scene in Equus on Broadway. The Harry Potter star received a lot less attention for his next risqué career move: an explicit sex scene with Dane DeHaan in the 2013 indie film Kill Your Darlings, in which Radcliffe played Beat poet Allen Ginsberg and DeHaan portrayed Lucien Carr. Granted, some of the more graphic moments didn’t make the final version. (“I cut three penises out of the movie,” director John Krokidas told Entertainment Weekly in 2014.) Nevertheless, Radcliffe was willing to go all out — as evidenced by a hilarious story that Krokidas recently told Vulture as part of the site’s fascinating roundup of interviews with directors about filming love scenes.

Dane DeHaan and Daniel Radcliffe in 'Kill Your Darlings' (Photo: Everett)
Dane DeHaan and Daniel Radcliffe in Kill Your Darlings (Photo: Everett)

“Allen Ginsberg was one of the most renowned gay artists of the 20th century, and I felt that not including his sexuality as part of the story would be a crime,” Krokidas said, explaining why Kill Your Darlings’ sex scenes were so important to him. Radcliffe was onboard and had “no issue doing the scene whatsoever,” the director recalled.

“His only question was, ‘Just so I know, how naked do you want me to be — movie-naked or Equus-naked?’ I said, ‘I hate when people block sex scenes in order to play hide-the-genitalia — that feels so forced. So let’s just block it, and if it falls into frame, we’ll shoot it,'” the director told Vulture.

And then a potential problem occurred to him.

“But then I remember going, ‘Oh s***: You’re British, and Allen Ginsberg is one of the most famous Jews of the 20th century. On second thought, I don’t think we’re going to go Equus-naked,'” said Krokidas. “And Dan said, ‘John, my mother’s Jewish, and I’m circumcised. Play the scene any way you want.’ God bless Daniel Radcliffe — he commits to all of his actions.”

For further details of Radcliffe’s sex scene, check out the full article, which also includes amazing director anecdotes about the sex scenes from American Psycho, Love and Basketball, Bridesmaids, and Showgirls, among other films.

Related: American Psycho Screenwriter on Patrick Bateman’s Legacy and That Controversial Ending

Watch a Kill Your Darlings trailer: