Harry Potter gave me confidence: Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe has revealed that making the Harry Potter films boosted his self-esteem after being called stupid by a teacher.

The actor, who was just 12 when the first movie in the saga was released, was a hyperactive child and felt the education system didn’t suit him.

‘I’m not necessarily someone people think of as having failed a lot in real life but at the age of 12, I was made to feel stupid,’ says Daniel, 23.

‘I was called stupid by a teacher. I needed to move to be able to think.’ As he gained so much confidence from making the films, Daniel refutes suggestions that making them at such a young age may have had a negative impact on him.

‘People say to me all the time: “Do you think you didn’t have a childhood?”’the actor tells Metro.
‘No. Kids who were abused, they didn’t have a childhood. The confidence I never had as a kid came from doing these films.’