Protests from parents of boy wizard Harry Potter's young fans failed to dampen the enthusiasm of actor Daniel Radcliffe, who discarded his boy wizard's cloak to bare it all in his West End stage debut 'Equus'.
The 17-year-old actor, who plays a mentally disturbed stable boy Alan Strang who sadistically mutilates horses, stripped for the play, which opened at the Gielgud Theater on Tuesday. For the play, Radcliffe also sported a stubble.
After publicity shots of a naked Radcliffe made their appearance, parents of impressionable pre-teens and teens who are avid Harry Potter fans protested that the actor's decision to appear nude for the play might affect their children who look up to him as a role model. The actor, however, defended his decision and said nudity was an essential element of the scene. “That iconic scene is the physical and emotional climax of the play. So if I do that with pants on, it would be crap,” he was quoted as saying earlier. The play also contains smoking scenes and simulation of sexual acts.
Dismissing the protests over the nude scenes as an implication that 'nudity was gratuitous', Radcliffe said he was little nervous about baring his body for the play to begin with, but soon overcame the shyness. “After the first couple of previews, I didn't really care anymore,” media reports quoted him saying. The Peter Schaffer play also stars Richard Griffiths, the actor who plays Harry Potter's villainous uncle in the Hollywood series. In
Equus, Griffiths plays a psychiatrist who is treating Strang.
Not surprisingly, a number of Harry Potter fans turned up to see their favorite boy wizard outside the theater, with or without his cloak. The fans wanted to get Radcliffe's autograph but
Equus producer David Pugh strictly instructed the actor to refrain from autographing Potter memorabilia and stick to
Equus merchandise. “I have told him that he can meet his fans at the door but only sign
Equus stuff. We have had hundreds of people at the stage door every night and he is very good, he always meets them,” Pugh said. The fans, however, proved to be a bit of a bother for Griffiths and actress Jenny Agutter, both of who were forced to exit through the side window to avoid the mayhem.
Meanwhile, though Radcliffe's daring experiment met with the approval of art and films circles, it irked a non-smoking group Action on Smoking and Health UK, which condemned the actor's smoking scenes in the play. The group said the scenes will only lead to impressionable young fans of Harry Potter trying a puff themselves after seeing their favorite hero light up.
Nevertheless, co-star Griffiths, a veteran actor himself, lauded Radcliffe for his talent and his ability and willingness to take on new roles. “You keep forgetting he is only 17. He handles himself with such aplomb,” he said.
