Daniel Radcliffe has responded to reports that he's backing Jeremy Corbyn for Labour leader, and to the Governor of Ohio chastising his atheism, in a new interview with ShortList.
After Harry Potter author JK Rowling came out in support of Owen Smith in the Labour leadership election, some media reported that Radcliffe was backing rival Jeremy Corbyn. However, it emerged that these quotes had been taken from a Big Issue interview published in September last year.
Asked by ShortList whether he is still a Corbyn supporter, Radcliffe said: “No, not really. I've never been a supporter of anyone, it's just one of those things where you're being interviewed and you express an opinion and then it becomes 'this is what he thinks, now and forever'.”
He added: “I always try and preface any comment I make on politics by saying that I don't belong to any party. When I first started talking about politics The Sun ran a huge thing about me being a Lib Dem, then later I was for Ed Miliband and Labour. First of all, I change my mind, and second of all I probably don't know enough at the moment to say who I support. I've been out of the country for most of the summer, and right now I don't know who I'd vote for. I should probably just stop talking about it because I'm on a hiding to nothing.”
Radcliffe has also recently found himself inadvertently in the political headlines in the USA. While on a tour of a bookshop in Exeter, New Hampshire, the Republican Governor of Ohio John Kascich spotted a Harry Potter book and announced: "You know that Daniel Radcliffe has declared himself an atheist? I'm serious. What a weird thing. Why would a guy who has had all that success just… I mean, what the hell is wrong with him?"
Asked how he'd respond to Kascich, Radcliffe told Shortlist: “Yeah, what the hell is wrong with me? I always find it really weird that people who are apparently super-secure in their faith would have a problem with someone not believing. I happen to not believe in God. I completely and utterly support anyone who does believe in God. I am not someone who thinks that religion is the root of all evil. I do think religion does a lot for people, it just so happens that I don't believe in it. It's hilarious that at some point that bugged him. He learned that about me somehow and that's filed away in his brain somewhere. That's very funny.”
The former Harry Potter star will shortly by appearing in Imperium, in cinemas from 23rd September, and Swiss Army Man, which is in cinemas from 30th September. Look out for the full interview with him a forthcoming issue of ShortList.
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