Daniel Radcliffe says it’s a ‘rite of passage’ for English actors to play villains in US films

‘There’s a rich tradition of English actors being the bad guys in American movies,’ actor said

Daniel Radcliffe has said that playing a “bad guy” in US film is a “rite of passage” for English actors.

The Harry Potter star can currently be seen opposite Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock in The Lost City, where he plays an eccentric, evil billionaire.

In a new interview with Empire, Radcliffe admitted that he’d revelled in portraying a villain on screen.

“There’s a rich tradition of English actors being the bad guys in American movies,” he said.

“When you watch those kinds of performances, like Tim Curry or Alan Cumming, these people who are great at playing bad guys, they seem to really revel in it.

“There is something about watching those actors where the theme is – and I’m a very different actor from both of those people – but the theme is that you see how much they are enjoying it.”

Radcliffe said that while he was “nervous” to play a villain, it was fun to play around “being this insane person”.

“There were no specific influences or people that I drew from, but I think generally, it’s a bit of a rite of passage, being the English bad guy in something,” he said.

The Lost City is released in UK cinemas on Friday 15 April.