Daniel Radcliffe spoke to heroin addicts to prepare for his role as a morphine-dependent doctor in revolutionary Russia — and drew on his own “addiction” to fantasy football.
The Harry Potter star has filmed a second series of The Young Doctor’s Notebook with Mad Men actor Jon Hamm for Sky Arts, where the first was the channel’s biggest hit to date.
Speaking at a screening at Bafta in London, Radcliffe, 24, said: “I’m fortunate enough never to have been addicted to morphine. But I’m a really addictive personality. I’m addicted to fantasy football. You draw on it and magnify it.”
The new series sees him sing opera, attempt ballet, and dance with co-star Hamm, 42. The stars play older and younger versions of the addicted doctor.
Radcliffe said that during filming he was waiting to see what “mad things” he was going to have to do. But he said the biggest challenge was dialogue in French. “I’m okay with not being the best but when I can’t do something at all, it’s really demoralising. I really can’t speak French.”
The dramas are based on stories by Russian novelist Mikhail Bulgakov.
The Young Doctor’s Notebook starts on Sky Arts on November 21
