Whatever else Daniel Radcliffe does in his career, for millions he will always be Harry Potter. The good news is that the actor largely seems ok with being part of the massive franchise. However, Radcliffe does say there is one place he tries to avoid getting too close to, but does find himself walking past at least occasionally: the Harry Potter store in New York City.
Daniel Radcliffe recently appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show where he spoke about the Harry Potter reunion special and how nice that was for him, as well as the incredible Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park land at Universal Orlando Resort. Radcliffe says he hasn’t been to Universal Orlando since the grand opening of the land, so there’s no chance anybody will happen to find themselves sitting next to him on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. However, he says there is one Harry Potter related location he does go by, but then tries to get away from quickly. He explained…
They’ve just opened a massive Harry Potter store in New York. And I’ll walk past there and suddenly get there like, ‘Oh no, I’m here, I have to not be here very quickly, I have to run before somebody sees me.’
Daniel Radcliffe lives in New York, and while that’s a pretty big city, it sounds like the actor has at least one friend who lives in the vicinity of Harry Potter New York, the flagship store where Harry Potter fans can buy just about anything connected to their favorite franchise. For this reason Radcliffe has found himself walking by it on his way to visit them. But when he discovers he’s there, his first reaction is to get the hell away. But considering the iconography of the franchise, who can blame hiM?
I’m not sure anybody would blame him. While the actor seems to be happy dealing with fans in general, and Radcliffe has found a strategy for dealing with paparazzi, there are going to be times he doesn’t want to deal with all that and walking down a street in New York City is probably one of those times. And of course, there are few places in the world where the guy who played Harry Potter is going to be more likely to be recognized by a Harry Potter fan than standing outside the Harry Potter store.
Although now I have to wonder, how many times has Daniel Radcliffe walked within feet of Harry Potter New York without being seen. Especially since it was likely full of serious Wizarding World fans. I almost feel bad for those fans who have no idea how close they might have come to an even bigger Harry Potter experience than the store itself.