I can’t find the original source for these comments by Daniel Radcliffe, so I tend to think he must have said this during some kind of Harry Potter presser. Everybody’s favorite wizard sort of goes off on nudity and being naked. This kid is a constant amazement to me – I find him so charming and interesting, but this interview seems very Shia LaBeouf-esque. Daniel talks about how he grew up “walking around naked” and how he’s “seen my mum naked, seen my dad naked…I don’t actively seek to find them naked, but it’s never been a particularly big deal.” I love that part – where he says he doesn’t “actively seek to find them naked”. Daniel is such a funny young man, it hurts. I can almost see this kid shaking with anger as Puritanical America cowers in fear of the full frontal.

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has admitted he grew up “walking around naked” in his house. The 20-year-old actor said that nudity was never an “issue” in his household and he later stripped off for his stage role in the play Equus.

He said: “I grew up always walking around naked, well not always, but it was never an issue in my house. I’ve seen my mum naked, seen my dad naked. I don’t actively seek to find them naked, but it’s never been a particularly big deal.”

However, Daniel admitted he doesn’t believe that it’s an easier thing for men to be naked on stage than women.

He said: “There’s this whole myth that it’s easier for me to get naked on stage than it is for women, which is absolute crap in my opinion. If there’s a naked woman on stage, that’s fine, the guys are happy to see a pair of t*ts.”

“As a man you feel like you’re being more assessed which is frankly not the way I’d choose to have my assessment done; in front of 2,000 people every night.”

Daniel also said that his Equus co-star Richard Griffiths has seen him without clothes more often than his past girlfriends.

He said: “I’ve now come to the worrying realization that I’ve been naked in front of Richard Griffiths more than any of my girlfriends!”

Daniel admitted he doesn’t want to be the kind of actor who lets fame go to his head and he has started helping out on set.

He said: “You hear horror stories about actors having hissy fits, but you don’t need to do that. I want to be a different type of actor. I want to help, do stuff. Jackie Chan helps move sets; I have started trying to do that, to pitch in.”

[From Everythingy]

One of my favorite quotes of all time about male nudity came from Ewan McGregor. Ewan was talking about how he’s naked in so many films, and he said, “I love it. I’ve been naked in quite a few films. It’s for the sisters.” Why do I get the feeling our little aspiring feminist Daniel Radcliffe feels the same way? He’s already gone out of his way to defend his “sister” Emma Watson - and I tend to think Daniel feels that male nudity should be treated the same way as female nudity. I love this kid.

Daniel Radcliffe is shown at the premier of Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince on 7/7/09. Credit: PRPhotos

My love for Daniel Radcliffe grows with each interview I read, and this one is a doozy. Young Daniel decided to pose for the cover of Britain’s Attitude Magazine, which, from what I gather for an American audience, if like two parts Advocate and one part Details. Daniel says lovely things about his serious pro-gay everything stance. In Daniel’s words, “I just loathe homophobia. It’s just disgusting and animal and stupid and it’s just thick…” Sounds like Daniel is a little intolerant of people who are intolerant of homosexuality. Always an interesting dilemma for the average liberal. But Daniel isn’t just discussing his love of gays, he’s also getting down and dirt about British politics. He’s like the accented, elfin version of Sean Penn, I swear:

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has confessed in a frank interview to a gay magazine – he is a Liberal Democrat. The handsome actor – who turned 20 yesterday – appears on the latest cover of Attitude and inside reveals his true political feelings. He tells of his deep dislike for Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Tory leader David Cameron.

The multi-millionaire also tells how he grew up surrounded by his parents’ gay pals and hates anyone with a homophobic attitude.

Radcliffe – who is not gay and is dating actress Laura O’Toole – said: “I just loathe homophobia. It’s just disgusting and animal and stupid and it’s just thick people who can’t get their heads around it and are just scared.”

“I grew up around gay people entirely. I was the only child in my class who had any experience of homosexuality or anything like that.”

He said: “I rather like Nick Clegg. At the next election I will almost certainly vote Lib Dem. If all the people who liked them voted for them you could change politics overnight and we could have a proper three party system.”

Asked about Gordon Brown he said: “Paul Merton said, and I agree with him, ‘it’s a tragedy that this man has waited all his life to do this job – and now he finds out he can’t do it.’ I don’t like the New Labour thing. I never experienced the optimism of New Labour, I was too young but I hear everyone was up and it was fantastic. I’ve only seen the bad years of it.”

Radcliffe’s opinion on David Cameron is no more positive. He raged: “No! No, no, no, no, no! David Cameron is barely distinguishable from Tony Blair.”

He added: “I think the reason why people don’t vote is because the politicians are all so central now, it doesn’t seem to matter who you vote for.”

[From The Sun]

Next up for Daniel will be a visit with Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, right? Harry Potter and the Motley Mojito! I’ve been finding Daniel a bit precocious lately, and who amongst didn’t mouth off politically when we were 20 or 21 years old? As for the homophobia thing – well, I think that’s one of Daniel’s strongest points, actually. I’m not sure how British kids are, but with American kids, one of the biggest American stars could mouth off about politics, and pretty much everyone would roll their eyes. But let that celebrity choose some cause close their hearts – like say, gay rights – and stick with it, they’ll get a lot respect. This is the route I hope Daniel takes, because I really think gay rights are issues close to his heart. He speaks with such passion – GLAAD needs to give him an award or something.

Daniel Radcliffe is shown at the NY premiere of Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince on 7/9/09. Credit: WENN.com

Oh, no! One of my latest favorites, Daniel Radcliffe, has just admitted that he’s got a girlfriend! Sob. What will I do to mend my broken heart? Daniel’s girlfriend is older than him… by all of four years. Does that qualify as a “cougar”? Screw it, I’m calling her cougar. Her name is Laura O’Toole, and she’s a 24 year old Irish girl. Daniel and Laura met in the fall of 2007 when they were costarring together on Broadway in Equus. At the time, there were rumors that the two were dating, but I have no idea if they‘ve been dating straight through for nearly two years, or if they‘ve had some breaks in between. I find Laura to be cute, but she’s not a stunner. Rather plain, in my opinion, but she looks like she’s probably a very nice girl. Uncomplicated. You can see Laura below and in the old promotional shots for Equus.

Star: Tell us something about yourself that will shock Harry Potter fans.
DR: I write verse! I’m not sure if it’s any good. I don’t write under my own name – that would be a bit scary – but I have had a private book published, and it’s appeared in some magazines.

Star: How has your Harry Potter fortune changed you?
DR: I’ve made some sensible investments… bought a flat in London, I keep it reasonably tidy. I’ve been there for nearly two years. I still take the washing around to Mum occasionally though! And I’ve bought a painting by Jim Hodges, a New York artist, that I love. There’s a bit of calligraphy in the middle that spells “Oh for crying out loud!” – which is something my mum says a lot. That’s its appeal.

Star: And what about your love life?
DR: My girlfriend is Laura O’Toole, and she was in Equus with me, but I don’t really want to talk about that, because she’s not here and it’s not fair. Sorry!

[From Star Magazine, July 27, print edition]

So did Star Magazine pull that quote from an old interview, or is Daniel really dating this girl? I actually think it’s a genuine interview, and he really is dating Laura. TimeOut London just confirmed it in a new interview with Radcliffe. I just skimmed the interview, but it seems to have a lot of Harry Potter questions – obviously, because that’s the film he’s promoting.

On a side note: In the TimeOut interview, there was this interesting exchange: the guy asks Daniel about the whole Christian Bale on-set, expletive-ridden tirade against a coworker, and Dan replies “That shocked me. I’m not going to judge him, as I don’t know anything about it. If it was as unprovoked as it sounded, it’s outrageous. But I’m sure there was other stuff going on. I’ve always looked up to him, because he was one of those people, like Jodie Foster and Elijah Wood, that made that transition from childhood actor to adult actor really well. Foster did it rather brilliantly. And Christina Ricci.” Uh-oh. That’s when it’s bad, Christian Bale. When child stars no longer put you on their list of people who have transitioned into full-fledged adult careers. It’s because of the all-important caveat: Have a career without being a dick. Words to live by, Bale.

Here’s Daniel outside The Late Show on 7/9/09. Credit: WENN.com

To promote the new Harry Potter film, Daniel Radcliffe gave another one of his charming interviews to Moviefone. I’m all over this kid – his interviews crack me up, and I’m finding him to be rather deliciously funny and intelligent. In previous interviews, we’ve heard how Daniel is an atheist, and how he prefers the company of cougars.

Most people are latching on to one of the first questions in the interview, where the Moviefone guy asks Daniel how he feels about Dumbledore being a gay icon. Daniel sort of goes off on the whole gay thing, but in a really funny way. He describes himself as “quite camp” and he thinks it’s “awesome” that people think he’s gay. I liked other parts of the interview too – it seems in addition to being an atheist, our Daniel is something of a budding, conscientious feminist too – he totally sticks up for his girl Emma Watson, and says that she’s got it a lot harder with the press and paparazzi because of her womanity. He also discusses Madonna (no-go on the cougar front), Robert Pattinson (“good luck to him”) and the bass guitar Gary Oldman gave him (“bass isn’t an instrument particularly that gets you laid”):

How do you feel about Dumbledore becoming somewhat of an icon for the gay rights movement?
It’s wonderful. I grew up around gay people my entire life, basically, that’s possibly why I’m quite camp, and some people think I’m gay when I meet them, which I think is awesome. It’s always good to keep them guessing [laughs]. I don’t go on any blogs or chats or anything, but my friends are demons for them, and apparently someone said “Daniel Radcliffe is gay. He’s got a gay face!” [Laughs] I really don’t know what a gay face is. But I think it’s wonderful that Dumbledore was outed as gay … Half of me thinks Jo Rowling just did that to see if she could piss off the right wing, but I’m not sure how true that is. I think she had it planned, I think she always knew he was gay.

What do you make of the ‘Harry Potter’- ’Twilight] rivalry that’s been brewing?
It’s very funny. It’s very much like the ‘Lord of the Rings’ rivalry, in that it was a rivalry mainly built up by the media, for the media. I met Elijah Wood once, I met Peter Jackson, I met Orlando Bloom, and they’re all really cool. Did we talk about the rivalry? Did we [ever]. Having Rob Pattinson be in both films is quite funny. I’ve never even seen ‘Twilight,’ to be perfectly honest with you, and it’s actually really interesting to me. Being such a central part of the ‘Potter’ thing, being so in the middle of it all, I have no idea how the rest of the world sees the ‘Potter’ franchise, which is why it’s quite interesting for me to watch the ‘Twilight’ franchise explode globally and have some sense of how people must view us.

So let’s fuel it – any trash you want to talk to Robert Pattinson?
[Laughs] No, I’ve nothing but good things to say at Rob. I’ve worked with him. I won’t pretend to know him really well or anything. It’s interesting because people assume that because I’m famous I know all famous people. And so people come up to me on the street and say “Do you know Rob Pattinson? What’s he like?” And I say, “Well, he’s very nice. I haven’t seen him in four years, but he’s doing very, very well for himself and good luck to him, I hope he’s doing alright.”

You were never worried about your junk being all over the Internet [from Equus]?
It was just going to happen, wasn’t it? Somebody was going to get a picture up. It’s not me looking my proudest, if I’m honest with you, it’s not me in my best [laughs]. But, hell, the pictures were always going to get out, and I knew that. And frankly, there’s not even one part of me that feels I shouldn’t have done it. It was the best thing for me, to get back to what I love doing, which is acting.

Has it been odd to watch not only yourself, but also Rupert and Emma go from child star to sex symbol?
It’s been funny with Emma. Yeah, it’s been very strange to watch that suddenly happen, because there was that weird time when she was like 15 or 16, and guys kind of knew they fancied her, but no one could say anything. She’s always been a very, very pretty girl, and now suddenly that she turned 18, everyone’s like “OK, now she’s fair game! Paparazzi!” It is kind of creepy, I did feel bad for her. Men will never know the kind of humiliation of having an upskirt done, which poor old Emma had. We talked a few days after her birthday, and she said, “It was awful, they were all over me. They were trying to shoot up my knickers!” It’s incredibly invasive. That’s why I do think it’s much, much harder for girls being famous than it is for guys.

You’ve said recently that you would like to date older women. You know who’s older, single now and likes British guys? Madonna.
Oh, Christ. I don’t think that I’d do my chances of working with Guy Ritchie any good. I don’t know which one I’d rather do … I’m not sure I’d be her cup of tea.

Gary Oldman reportedly taught you bass guitar on the set of ‘Potter.’ Have you ever considered starting a band?
No, he gave me one bass guitar lesson. He taught me how a bassline comes together [imitates sound of bassline]. Sounds better on a bass. But I’ve never considered it. I’m not nearly good enough. I haven’t played bass in years, I gave it up because I wasn’t getting any better. You have the realization of going, “I don’t know what I’m going to do with this.” And also bass isn’t an instrument particularly that gets you laid. On its own, cool, but not like guitar, you can’t really be a flash bastard with bass.

[From Moviefone]

Sigh. I love this kid. Isn’t he charming? I really like the idea of being a “flash bastard”. That’s such a cool way of saying it. I also enjoyed the Madonna bit – he wouldn’t date Madge because he wants to work with Guy Ritchie. Who knows, Guy might hire him for something. Here’s a question – do you think Radcliffe is jealous of Pattz? I don’t think he is – perhaps Daniel feels competitive, but not jealous. But what young guy isn’t jealous of Pattz these days? Sigh… wizard sparkles.

Daniel Radcliffe is shown at that NY premiere of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince on 7/9/09. Credit: Janet Mayer/PRPhotos

It ended up raining buckets at last night’s premiere of Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince in London, but fans didn’t seem to mind. Fans in costume and with faces painted to support the Gryffindor quidditch team weren’t about to let the sudden downpour keep them from seeing the stars of the wildly popular series.

I love everyone’s outfits – Emma Watson’s wrap dress is so elegant while Daniel Radcliffe went whimsical and bold in a bright pink shirt and old-fashioned suit. Rupert Grint is hopefully over his swine flu because he got all wet in his cute suit with a cool skinny tie. The three lead stars of the Harry Potter series are everything that young celebrities should be – friendly to fans, gracious to the press, smart, and forthcoming. They’ve also avoided scandal and we haven’t heard that much gossip about their personal lives:

Emma Watson’s wardrobe malfunction’s may have been the star of the London premiere of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” but there was plenty to see besides Hermione Granger’s eminently sensible nude-colored knickers. Whoops!

Daniel Radcliffe, wearing a slightly odd suit (a frog closure? Really?) and bold salmon-colored shirt, and Rupert Grint, who’s apparently on the mend from swine flu, got soaked during the downpour in Leicester Square.

Helena Bonham Carter walked the red carpet in character as Bellatrix LeStrange, if LeStrange had decided to do her major-event shopping at Joyce Leslie. Back in 1986. J.K. Rowling looked smashing in a low-cut electric blue gown.

Some of the actors wore white ribbons around the wrists in memory of actor Rob Knox, who played Ravenclaw student Marcus Belby, and who was stabbed to death outside a bar last year.

[From The NJ Star Ledger]

I think the wardrobe malfunction they’re referring to is that Watson had to re-tie her wrap dress, but it didn’t look like more than just a minor embarrassment to her.

The Half Blood Prince is more adult than we’re used to and as a movie geared for teens it has some romantic moments as well as some funny bits. It’s also darker and scarier than the previous Harry Potter films, according to interviews stars Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe gave to CNN’s Myleene Klass.

It looks as incredible as the last Harry Potter films. I’m a real fan of the series and love the way that the movie bring the books to life and transport you to another world. You’re really taken to a place with it’s own set of magical rules and characters, and the best part is that you don’t have to check your brain at the door. Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince opens in the US and many countries next Wednesday, 7/15. It will be released around the world by July 24.

Also shown at yesterday’s premiere are Harry Potter author JK Rowling, Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), and Michael Gambon (Professor Dumbledore). Credit: WENN.com

Daniel Radcliffe is the cover boy for the August issue of Esquire UK. It’s no secret that I find Daniel very charming and wiser than his years – but this is perhaps the most candid interview I’ve ever read with the little wunderkind. No subject seems to be off-limits, and Daniel reveals some very intimate information. The biggest headlines will probably be in his discussion of sex and in the part about his co-star Emma Watson. But I also think the whole “Daniel Radcliffe is an atheist” thing might get some headlines:

On living on his own for a year: “I’m a demon with a microwave… I cook myself dinner, though it’s mainly pasta with a load of cheese and a load of tuna; trust me, it’s awesome. I went away for a week and when I cam back the flat stank. I’d left a half-finished bowl of cereal and milk had just totally congealed.”

On Michael Jackson (Radcliffe was interviewed before Jackson’s death, and the rumor around the British papers was that Jackson had personally invited Radcliffe to come): “I can’t think of anywhere I’d less like to be [than Jackson’s comeback show in London]. I don’t like Michael Jackson’s music. Nothing against the man… but no.”

On Religion: “I’m an atheist, but I’m very relazed about it. I don’t preach my atheism, but I have a huge amount of respect for people like Richard Dawkins who do. Anthing he does on television I will watch… There we go, Dan, that’s half of America that’s not going to see the next Harry Potter film on the back of the comment!”

On Sex and Love: He says he had his first girlfriend at 14, whom he met through his co-star Emma Watson, and he confirms he lost his virginity at 16. “It was a good age. ‘I’m legal – right, come on!’”

On On-Set Hookups: “There was a period when we were the only boys and girls any of us knew… And so, you know, we were all unbelievably horny from about the third film to probably about the end of the fifth; then it all settled down. But, God, for a few years… There was never anybody I fancied that much in the cast, though the conspiracy theorists always like to say that me and Emma are dating. We know it’d be everything the fans ever wanted. I’m sorry guys, it’s not happening. It’s just not. There’s something really incestuous about the idea of it.”

On School: He’s done with his formal education, but has “twice weekly lessons with his English teacher.” “[Because] I don’t want to stop school and suddenly stop learning.”

Upcoming Non-Harry Potter Films: Radcliffe is considering taking a film role of a father, “which is very strange. I’m very excited about one day having kids… Three of four, but I think we’d have to see how the first one goes because I finished my parents off.”

[From Esquire UK print edition, August issue]

Doesn’t he seem sweet? I mean, obviously, he’s some kind of boy genius, but I just find it thrilling that there’s a big actor in his late teens/early twenties (Daniel turns twenty July 23rd) where we don’t have to make excuses for all of the dumb crap he says. Daniel doesn’t say anything dumb – the worst that can be said about him is that he’s a bit too honest for someone whose words will be endlessly parsed. But that’s his charm! And he likes cougars too! Sign me up.

Scans via DanRadcliffe.com

I’m starting to find Daniel Radcliffe cuter and cuter. He’s always seemed like a sweet enough boy, but reading this interview in Parade just made me like him more. He uses words like “pedantic” and makes a comparison to himself and George Clooney. He also describes himself as “an old man in a young man’s body” – which is sort of sweetly endearing, and probably true. The best part is when the soon-to-be 20-year-old talks about how he doesn’t care for girls his own age – he says that all of his serious flings have been with girls in their twenties. My guess is that when Daniel gets to his twenties, he’ll starting dating girls even older – that’s when I’ll strike!

Daniel gave this interview to promote the soon-to-be released Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but he ends up talking a lot of his turn on the stage in Equus, where Daniel played “an unbalanced stable boy with a religious and sexual fascination with horses.” He was naked. And he looked pretty good too:

“From the moment I walked onstage [performing in Equus], I could hear them talking and getting very excited,” Radcliffe recalls, shaking his head. “Then they started talking to me: ‘Dan! Dan! Look over here, Dan!’ ” He pauses. “I’m not somebody who particularly gets angry about stuff like that. In my professional life, I rarely get angry at all. And yet, I came offstage seeing blood. I was so furious!”

But not at this point. Significantly, Radcliffe’s smooth cheeks show a haze of dark whiskers. Gossip columns have linked him with a succession of slightly older actresses, and he doesn’t deny his taste in women: “Girls my own age are not really an option,” he tells me. “I find, generally speaking, they have to be entertained more than older girls do. So most of the girls I have had serious things with are generally sort of in their 20s.”

So was Equus his declaration of independence?

“I didn’t set out to shock people. I set out to do something different from Potter. If I had wanted to shock people,” Radcliffe says, “I would have played, you know, a gay drug dealer. But, equally, you have to tread a very fine line. If, say, my next film was another fantasy film, everyone would just go, ‘Well, he’s not stretching himself.’ Then, if I played some drug dealer, everyone would turn around and go, ‘Oh, this smacks of desperation to stop being typecast.’ ”

Still, he hasn’t cut the cord just yet. Radcliffe is—as might be expected—extremely respectful of the Potter story, its creator J.K. Rowling, and all that the franchise has done for him. “I’ve had a happy and very healthy, really enjoyable childhood, and a fantastically interesting one,” he says. “I genuinely think I am a better person for having done these films than I possibly would have been had I not.”

Not to mention a much richer one. His salary for the most recent Potter picture was a reported $25 million; overall, he’s said to be worth at least twice that. He’s been declared England’s richest teenager.

“I think it’s amazing,” Radcliffe says. “I have been very, very fortunate. But I’m not going to spend it on flashy cars or particular extravagances. What it does in terms of my career, which is how I like to look at it—it gives me the thing that George Clooney has, where he can go off and do a big-budget movie like Ocean’s Eleven, make a lot of money for it, and then go and do stuff that won’t pay as much. It gives you room to maneuver, basically. It means I can relax, and I think that’s the best thing it can do. It’s one thing in my life that I am incredibly fortunate not to have to worry about. Money will never be the focus for me. That’s not how I’ve been brought up.”

And what about the prospect of—gulp—turning 20 next month?

“I’ve noticed I make noises when I get up and sit down now,” Radcliffe says in all seriousness. “I mean, my knees are rotten bad—I refused to wear knee pads too many times when I was doing stunts, and I just clobbered them up a bit. I am an old man in a young man’s body.”

[From Parade]

See, he didn’t really compare himself to Clooney, he just sort of said that he and Clooney both do the big studio films to make money, so they can work on their little projects. That being said, Daniel’s stage turn in Equus was a huge deal, and I bet the theatre made buckets of money on the production. It would be really cool if Daniel continued to challenge himself and our image of him in such interesting, artistic ways. I’m just thankful he’s not already some drug-and-drink soaked wanker who lives inside the hottest clubs. Not my Daniel!

Photos are from Parade.com, where they have many more.

Stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Helena Bonham Carter were photographed on the set of the second-to-last Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1, in Wales. Producers made the decision to stretch out the seventh and final book in the wildly popular series into two films for maximum profitability.

It’s been nearly two years since the last Harry Potter film was out and I can’t wait for the new one. The sixth film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, is out this summer and has a release date of July 7 in the USA, July 7 in the UK and July 15-16 around the world.

From these photos it looks like Helena Bonham Carter is in costume, but she dresses so eccentrically daily it’s hard to tell except for the fact that she has on her character’s teeth. She plays evil witch Bellatrix Lestrange.

There are also plenty of photos on from the upcoming Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. These might contain potential spoilers, so don’t open these thumbnails or look too hard if you haven’t read the books and don’t want to spoil it.

Thanks to Fame Pictures and All Movie Photo for these photos. The new photos on set are the last ones here toward the bottom. All other photos are from the next movie coming up, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Forbes has released its list of Hollywood’s Most Valuable Young Stars. The list came out as part of Forbes’ recent Star Currency Survey, which evaluated star power of 1,400 actors in Hollywood. The choices, meant to give a cross-section of Hollywood, was sent to 157 people working in all parts of the movie industry, who evaluated actors based on certain factors.

Criteria used were:
-The amount of financing that flows to a project is significantly determined by the individual actor’s presence in a film.
-The individual actor’s presence in a film guarantees theatrical distribution.
-The individual actor’s presence significantly drives the film’s theatrical box-office performance.
-If the individual actor’s involvement is essential in securing rights deals for revenue streams, including DVD, pay/free TV, video-on-demand and online/downloading/streaming (when applicable), as well as a project’s ultimate financial performance in those areas.
-If the individual actor can attract audiences in any film genre.
-If the individual actor can attract other top-line talent based on his or her involvement in a film.
-If the individual actor is popular among most demographic groups.
-Whether media exposure the individual actor receives (positive or negative) enhances his or her ability to attract financing and audiences to a project.

[from Forbes]

The survey participants then ranked each actor based on these questions. The young Hollywood list was extracted from this survey and had the criteria that the actor be 19 or younger on February 10, 2009. Most of the young thespians on the list are actors who have potential staying power: Abigail Breslin, Daniel Radcliffe, and Dakota Fanning, for example. Miley Cyrus also makes the list not necessarily because of her potential for an adult career, but because she has yet to go wrong with her project choices, and continues to bring in the dough. Here’s the list:

1. Daniel Radcliffe (age 19)
2. Miley Cyrus (age 16)
3. Dakota Fanning (age 15)
4. Abigail Breslin (age 12)
5. Hayden Panettiere (age 19)
6. Emma Watson (age 18)
7. Freddie Highmore (age 17)
8. Keke Palmer (age 15)
9. Emma Roberts (age 18)
10. Anton Yelchin (age 19)

Most of these are not surprising, except for Anton Yelchin, who has been doing projects for a while but hasn’t made a celebrity name for himself yet. He’ll be starring in Terminator and Star Trek this summer. The article about the young Hollywood list makes a good point that’s worth quoting: “In the past, someone like a Shirley Temple was limited,” says [producer Rick] Alvarez. “She was playing herself, and she was the cute little girl with the patent-leather shoes and the curly hair. How do you go from that to playing Cleopatra or Mary, Queen of Scots?” I can see Abigail Breslin, Dakota Fanning, and Freddie Highmore going on to do just that – if they decide to keep going. Fanning, for one, was recently in the movie Hounddog, which included a rape scene that was too graphic for many audiences. Can you imagine Shirley Temple doing something like that? As for the rest of the actors on the list, it will be interesting to see how many of these names we see in Forbes’ Most Valuable Hollywood Stars in a few years. I’ll bet that Miley’s name will be nowhere near it.

The excitement hasn’t ended yet for the new first daughters, Sasha and Malia Obama. “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe personally offered to take the girls on a private tour of the set of Hogwarts, the fictional magic academy where Harry and his friends have their many adventures.

On Tuesday Barack Obama becomes our new president. We happen to be seeing each other in a very American week. Does it make you feel overly British to be here right now, or less so?

[Daniel Radcliffe:] I feel privileged to be here for Obama’s inauguration. But I do tend to go doubly British when I am away from home. I have picked up certain phrases while here in America that I plan to eradicate as soon as I get back home.

Examples?

“I know—right?” That phrase and its little rhythm there is very American and not really used in England. I’ve started saying that and people are picking up on it when they come over. But getting back to Mr. Obama. I am so proud and happy for this country. He is everything the rest of the world liked about America and now likes again. He is both Martin Luther King and JFK. He is a pioneer. He is a symbol of progress which is what we dig about this country. What you love about England is all the old buildings and such. The traditions. I love that, too. But this is what we want from you.

And may I? I’d like to take this opportunity to issue a public invitation to the Obamas that if their daughters would like a private tour of the Harry Potter set, I would be honored to be their personal tour guide.

[From the Daily Beast]

The girls have already hung out with Miley Cyrus and The Jonas Brothers, and are reportedly big fans of the Harry Potter series of books. Barack Obama is said to have read the series with the girls throughout the campaign. How lucky are these kids? My daughters are going to be so jealous when they hear about this.

Here’s Sasha and Malia with their parents handing out food at a food bank in November. Image thanks to Newscom. Header of Daniel Radcliffe signing autographs in August. Image thanks to Fame.