Daniel Radcliffe reveals inspiration behind his The Lost City villain
Radcliffe cited Tim Curry and Alan Cumming as influences in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com.
Daniel Radcliffe grew up playing one of the most recognisable movie heroes of the last two decades in Harry Potter, but in his new film The Lost City, he's far from that.
Radcliffe stars as antagonist Abigail Fairfax – an eccentric billionaire who takes Sandra Bullock's adventure novelist Loretta Sage captive in an attempt to get his hands on some long-lost treasure.
RadioTimes.com asked Radcliffe if there were any actors or specific characters he looked to for inspiration when playing the role – and he referenced Tim Curry as a particular influence.
"Not as much as just the kind of general tenor of bratty entitled Englishmen that I went to school with," he responded.
"Or that I see in the mirror every morning," he joked. "But yeah, I also think there is sort of a rich tradition of – not that I'm giving the same kind of performance – but I feel like Alan Cumming and Tim Curry, that kind of British bad guy.
"There is a vein of that. Tim Curry in Congo, which is a movie I absolutely love, actually. But he's not a bad guy in it, but there's just when you see actors that are just enjoying it – I think that's actually really part of the key to it."
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This isn't the first time Radcliffe has taken on a villainous role. In 2016, he played the bad guy in Now You See Me 2, and he reckons there are a couple of things the two characters have in common.
"In some ways, he's quite similar to the Now You See Me 2 villain in that they are both the sons of insane billionaires," he said.
"So that's my niche I'm carving out; I'm very happy with that. But there is a lot to hang on to with this guy. This is more of like an overt comedy than that film was.
"So I get to find what's funny about this guy: the fact that he's kidnapping Sandra's character all the while thinking, 'If you just think about it, you're gonna find being kidnapped really cool, actually.' And he's still desperate for her to like him – nothing will shake him from the idea that she should be into this.
"I feel like all the parts [in The Lost City], everyone's really well-drawn. Everyone has like a moment or something very funny. There's stuff to dig into for all the actors on there. It was very, very fun."
The Lost City is in UK cinemas from 15th April 2022. Visit our Movies hub for more news and features and find something to watch tonight with our TV Guide.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
