Daniel Radcliffe, most well-known for his titular role in the eight-film “Harry Potter” series, has become a Broadway star, appearing in plays like “Equus,” “The Cripple of Inishmaan,” and most recently, “Merrily We Roll Along.” For the latter, Radcliffe received a Tony award for “Best Featured Actor in a Musical,” and in his emotional acceptance speech, thanked his girlfriend and son.
Starring alongside Broadway legends Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez, Radcliffe paid homage to the creators of the musical, as well as the director and his costars. “Thank you to Stephen Sondheim and George Furth for writing this unbelievable show and these incredible songs that are just a gift to get to sing every night,” he said, adding, “This has been one of the best experiences of my life.”
Addressing Groff and Mendez, he said, “I will never have it this good again.” But at the end of his speech, after thanking his parents, he addressed his longtime girlfriend, actress Erin Darke.
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“And my love, Erin,” he said. “You and our son are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love you so much. Thank you so much.”
The couple has kept a very low profile; they do not have any presence on social media, and he rarely discusses their relationship with media beyond a few occasional mentions. Discussing his career with the Atlantic, Radcliffe recalled their awkward meeting — a sex scene in the movie “Kill Your Darlings,” in which Darke appeared as a librarian. He said he worried that she would know immediately that he truly liked her, and their relationship has been strong since then. “I have learned so much from her about my own boundaries,” he said. “Very occasionally, people will come up to me in the street and be very weird or rude or something like that. And she has given me a sense over the years of: ‘You don’t have to just be nice to everyone when they’re weird with you.’ She’s given me some sense of my own autonomy, I guess.”
Radcliffe and Darke welcomed their son last year, and he expressed surprise at how much he has enjoyed fatherhood in an interview on “Today with Hoda and Jenna” in November. “It’s awesome. I think a lot of people said, like, ‘Just get through the first six months, then after that it gets better,’ but I’ve kind of really enjoyed the first six months,” Radcliffe said, adding, “I don’t know what I imagined, honestly, but it’s great. He’s incredible and I’m just, like, in awe.”
