14 DAY TRIAL // What sets the “Harry Potter” stars apart from other celebrities of their age, they say, is not only their being so down to earth and not letting fame get the best of them, but also the fact that they seem to be incredibly mature and responsible – again, unlike other A-listers of the same age. The interview Daniel Radcliffe gave to the latest issue of Attitude magazine, in which he takes a stand against homophobia, is clearly an example of that.
Daniel’s birthday was yesterday: he just turned 20 years old. Spending most of his time in the spotlight did not influence him negatively, though, it is being said, since the actor knows very well what he likes about – and what he’d change – our modern society. One of the first things on that list would probably be prejudice and discrimination: homophobia, to be more precise.
“I hate any type of prejudice. 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.” the actor tells Attitude. He has come to think this way, Daniel further says, because he grew up in an environment where he got to meet all kinds of people, with different opinions and, of course, orientations, so that he now knows that prejudices are simply wrong and out of place. As a matter of fact, the actor explains, he was the only one in his class to have been brought up in such an environment, which would explain why so many people are not as open-minded as he is.
And it’s not only certain social issues that trouble the young star, since politics is also a major concern of his, as he reveals in the same interview. Daniel Radcliffe will vote for Liberal Democrats next year when he turns 21, and the reasons he offers for doing so are well supported and documented, to say the least, several US and British publications point out.
“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. 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 tells Attitude.