Daniel Radcliffe became reliant on alcohol — at 18

Daniel Radcliffe has confessed he became “reliant” on alcohol when he was 18. The 22-year-old actor — who shot to fame in 2001 when he first played the titular role in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – says he started drinking heavily while working on the sixth movie in the franchise, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, because it’s what he thought he should do.

“I became so reliant on alcohol to enjoy stuff,” Dan told GQ. “There were a few years there when I was just so enamored with the idea of living some sort of famous person’s lifestyle that really isn’t suited to me.”

Daniel says he gave up alcohol last August and now enjoys spending quality time with his girlfriend Olive Uniacke rather than partying.

“I’m actually enjoying the fact I can have a relationship with my girlfriend where I’m really pleasant and I’m not f***ing up totally all the time,” he said. “As much as I would love to be a person that goes to parties and has a couple of drinks and has a nice time, that doesn’t work for me. I do that very unsuccessfully. I’d just rather sit at home and read, or talk to somebody that makes me laugh. There’s no shame in enjoying the quiet life. And that’s been the realization of the past few years for me.”