After years of playing Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe finally revealed his favorite film. It’s not one that most would choose, but Radcliffe has some good reasons for his choice.
Daniel Radcliffe didn’t know it, but by taking his first major role in a film, he was tying himself to a legendary character for eternity. Radcliffe played Harry Potter, the glasses-wearing orphan who discovers he’s a wizard, in all eight of the Harry Potter movies.
It’s been roughly 18 years since the first Harry Potter movie was released, and Radcliffe is still answering questions about this role. Despite having more acting credits outside of his Harry Potter roles, the fans just always want to know more about the Boy Who Lived.
So, there’s no surprise that a Potter question when Radcliffe was featured in a WIRED autocomplete interview, where celebrities read off their most-searched questions on Google. Radcliffe answered which was his favorite Harry Potter movie and surprisingly it’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Radcliffe said of his choice :
"I love the last one, but I also really love the fifth, which is not a lot of people’s favorite. I love it because of the relationship between Harry and Sirius Black."
In The Order of the Phoenix, Harry is met with resistance from the Ministry of Magic after revealing to the wizarding world that Voldemort is still alive. But what seems to be Radcliffe’s favorite part about the film is working with Gary Oldman, who plays Potter’s godfather, Sirius Black. In the movie, Harry spends the most time with Sirius within the confines of the Order of the Phoenix’s headquarters, which happens to be Sirius’ official residence.
Radcliffe’s choice is a surprise because, as he mentioned, the film is not necessarily a fan favorite. Most fans and critics measure the films by how well they worked, and diehard fans rate the films based on how much they resemble the novels. The Order of the Phoenix was one that didn’t really satisfy either measure adequately.
To be honest, The Order of the Phoenix wouldn’t have been my first choice either, because it was a bit drab considering Harry was almost kicked out of Hogwarts and was isolated due to rumors started by propaganda that painted him as a needy celebrity. Harry didn’t even have Dumbledore’s support in the matter because Dumbledore avoided Harry in fear that Voldemort would use him to get to Dumbledore.
Much of Harry’s support in the film does come from his godfather, who he spent a great deal of time with in the film. Radcliffe was admittedly captivated by the bond between Harry and Sirius. Harry spent most of his early life with no sense of what family was because he’s an orphan, and his aunt and uncle treated him poorly.
During the Order of the Phoenix, Harry finally got to be with Sirius, someone who truly loved him as his own family. The relationship between the two stands out as a remarkable example of love. I imagine that the relationship between Radcliffe and Oldman made it an even more likable experience.
In an interview with ABC, Radcliffe also revealed his favorite scene from the movies. Like his favorite film, Radcliffe’s choice was based on the experience as much as the final product. Radcliffe’s favorite scene is from the Deathly Hallows. Potter, Hermoine, and Ron use polyjuice potion to transform themselves into deatheaters that include Bellatrix Lestrange in an attempt to break into Gringott’s. Radcliffe felt the technical challenge was a fun one to get right and a cart ride in an underground bank protected by a dragon, sounds like a really good time to me too.
Radcliffe may not be on the same wave as the rest of the Potterhead fans, but his choices are all relatable.