alcohol

Daniel Radcliffe says he used alcohol to manage the unmagical bits of 'Harry Potter' fame

Speaking while promoting his Broadway appearance in play "The Lifespan of a Fact," former "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe spoke about his love of stage acting and enjoying what he believes is "the best job in the world." (Sept. 7) AP

Daniel Radcliffe, one of the most famous faces in the world thanks to his title role in "Harry Potter," is opening up about the toll of playing the boy wizard during his teenage years.

Radcliffe catapulted to fame at age 12 after the release of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in 2001. He went on to star in seven more of the fantasy films over the span of a decade.

During an interview with Off Camera With Sam Jones Tuesday, the English actor, now 29, revealed that he turned to alcohol to cope with the massive amount of attention he received,with his every move heavily scrutinized. 

More: The 5 best 'Harry Potter' movies to binge-watch before 'Fantastic Beasts 2'

"In my case, the quickest way of forgetting about the fact that you were being watched was to get very drunk," he said. "Then as you get very drunk, you become aware that, 'Oh, people are watching more now because now I'm getting very drunk, so I should probably drink more to ignore that more.' "

Radcliffe added that there's "no blueprint for starting young and working stuff out," expressing empathy to fellow child stars who face the pressure of growing up in the public eye. 

"That's like when people have a go at Justin Bieber and drag-racing cars. I'm like, 'Yeah, but ya know … stuff could be super-crazy for him right now,' " Radcliffe said. "You don't quite know how overwhelmed it's possible to get."

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Daniel Radcliffe started as Harry Potter when he was only 12. (Photo11: PETER MOUNTAIN, WARNER BROS.)

Radcliffe said he was able to pull himself out of the darkness of alcohol abuse with the help of close friends, who genuinely cared for his well-being and offered great advice.

"It took a few years and it took a couple of attempts," he said. "Ultimately, it was my own decision. ... I woke up one morning after a night going, 'This is probably not good.' "

Radcliffe adds that he doesn't miss drinking and is much happier without the "chaos that I used to invite into my life."

Despite the insecurities that came along with fame, Radcliffe says he doesn't regret taking on the role of a lifetime.

By "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe had made eight "Potter" films. (Photo11: Jaap Buitendijk, AP)

"Even at the lowest point, I still loved my job so much and I loved going to set and there was never a day where my own (expletive) would affect how I was on set," he said. "There was never a point where I was like 'I wished this didn't happen to me. I wish I wasn't Harry Potter.' Like, that just didn't happen."

Related: Daniel Radcliffe isn't going to see 'Cursed Child,' because – Potterheads

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Daniel Radcliffe Turned To Alcohol To Deal With Harry Potter Fame

Daniel Radcliffe's life changed forever when he was cast as Harry Potter, and that road wasn't always fun or easy. Over the course of 10 years Radcliffe made eight movies as "the boy who lived" and became one of the biggest celebrities in the world. The actor admits that it was difficult to go out in public where he would be recognized, and sometimes he would deal with, what he viewed as constant attention, by applying alcohol. According to Radcliffe...

While lots of people are famous, and many of them became famous while very young, there's probably nobody in the world who has had a life experience comparable to Daniel Radcliffe. He took on a major film role as a kid and then spent the next decade doing essentially nothing else. The movies were all massive hits, which made Radcliffe a star.

This led to him having difficulty doing simple things, like going out for a drink. He admits that he doesn't even know if he was being watched by everybody else to quite the degree that he felt that he was, but either way, that pressure would get to him, and he relieved the pressure the same way a lot of us do, with drinks.

It doesn't sound like things ever got too out of hand, beyond occasionally getting seriously drunk, but as Radcliffe tells The Off Camera Show, it did effect him mentally. Eventually, he did realize that things needed to change, and with the support of the people around him, he was able to keep things from reaching the point where they truly spiraled out of control. He says the drinking never impacted the work, mostly because he still loved the work and never wanted to quit. He still loves the work and is glad that he played Harry Potter.

Today, things seems to be a lot better for the still very young actor. Radcliffe has gone on to a career making movies in much more varied roles and he says he doesn't even get recognized as Harry Potter very much anymore, which likely makes going out in public much easier than it once was.

Radcliffe himself says that he expects a reboot of Harry Potter will happen someday. Hopefully whoever gets cast in that role doesn't go through quite the overwhelming experience that Daniel Radcliffe did.

Low/No-Alcohol Beverages Are A Growing Trend Worldwide, Says New Report

According to the International Wines and Spirits Record (IWSR) based in the United Kingdom, research for its 2019 “Low- and No-Alcohol Report” suggests the recent …” and “…providing new opportunities for the global beverage alcohol industry.”

If that statement seems like a paradox it isn’t for producers of low-alcohol or no-alcohol products.

Brandy Rand, President, IWSR, United States, says, “The rise in mindful drinking, along with health and wellness, is a trend that is here to stay. In order to quantify this growing space, our clients asked us to provide a global benchmark for low-and no-alcohol in order to define the opportunities and understand the underlying consumer motivations.”

The resulting IWSR report claims that in the U.S. 52% of adults who drink alcohol are either trying now or have tried before to reduce their alcohol intake. The report indicates, however, “…at present, the low- and no-alcohol sector is poorly served, with few clear category leaders…in the U.K., for instance, low/no alcohol brands represent only 1.3% of the country’s total beverage alcohol market. In the U.S., that number is even smaller, at 0.5%.”

You might ask, if people want to drink alcohol-free products, why not go for soft drinks?

The answer is: They like the taste of beer, wine and spirits, not necessarily in that order. 

For this report, IWSR surveyed bars and restaurants worldwide. They found most bars that offered non-alcoholic beer did not offer non-alcoholic wine. The report also states that the low-alcohol beer category shrinks while the non-alcoholic beer category grows. Surprisingly, the study indicates retailers offer “significantly more selection of low- and no-alcohol products than bars and restaurants.” Could that be a reflection of bartender ambivalence to no/low-alcohol products?

The report identifies some specific market trends. 

In the U.S., while just over half the consumer respondents said they were trying to reduce their alcohol intake , 70% said they have yet to consider drinking low/no-alcohol beverages. But IWSR claims key beverage alcohol companies are investing in the category with an aim to attract new and younger consumers. Part of their motivation is a moderate growth in wine and a decline in beer sales. 

ISWR predicts , with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of +38.8% by 2022—wine CAGR is predicted to grow +17.7%, and spirits +7.1%. Although beer is currently the U.S. low/no-alcohol leader, its CAGR is predicted to grow just +5.6% by 2022.

According to the survey, 65% of U.K. alcohol consumers aged 25 to 34 “are trying or have tried to cut back on their alcohol intake,” but 61% of consumers “indicated they have not considered drinking low/no-alcohol products.” The report concludes its result indicates great potential for converting drinkers.

The report points out that non-alcoholic beer wasn’t even on the radar in U.K. pubs and supermarkets ten years ago. Today, some London bars have a non-alcoholic beer dispensing machine on site. The U.K. low/no-alcohol category CAGR is expected to grow across the board by 2022: spirits +81.1%; ready-to-drink products +44.3%; cider +13%; wine +6.6%; and beer +4.9%.

The report claims in one of the largest wine-producing countries, Spain, 95% of Spanish consumers said they are trying to reduce their alcohol consumption, and 80% have already tried or would like to try low/no-alcohol products; about 50% of bars and 60% of restaurants surveyed in Spain offer them. The reason offered for these developments includes strict drunk-driving laws alongside heightened health consciousness. IWSR predicts by 2022 low/no-alcohol CARG in Spain will grow too: spirits +36.8%; wine +19.8%; beer +6.7%.

While total beverage alcohol consumption has been in decline in Germany, low/no-alcohol grows. Consumers have access to an alcohol-free searchable database in all major beverage e-commerce platforms in Germany. By 2022 the category is predicted to grow in spirits by +14.4%; ready-to-drink +13.3%; cider +11.4%; wine (driven by sparkling) +4%; beer +1.6%.

IWSR bills itself as the leading source of data and intelligence on the international beverage alcohol market. Its database captures alcohol consumption (brands, trends, pricing) and sales patterns across 157 countries. For this survey, IWSR analysts captured data from 1,600 beverage alcohol professionals and “several thousand” consumers.