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Ever wonder how those Harry Potter kids managed to stay away from the temptations of Hollywood? As it happens, they weren't immune to the hard-partying ways of other child stars. In a new interview with British GQ, Daniel Radcliffe admits that he struggled with an alcohol addiction after he turned 18 (the legal drinking age in England).
"I became so reliant on (alcohol) to enjoy stuff," says the franchise's 21-year-old star. "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."
Radcliffe says he was drinking far too much whisky and being much too "complacent" about his fame. He has now been alcohol-free since last August, and says he's better off without the booze.
"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," he admits. "I'd just rather sit at home and read, or go out to dinner with someone, or talk to someone I love, 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."
Quitting alcohol has helped Radcliffe on the romance front as well. "I'm actually enjoying the fact that I can have a relationship with my girlfriend (Olive Uniacke) where I'm really pleasant and not f------ up totally all the time," he says.
Amazingly, the media never caught on to Radcliffe's partying -- which he chalks up to dumb luck. "I really got away with that because there were many instances when a (paparazzi photo) could have been taken," he says.
With the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2, the Harry Potter saga comes to an end. But now that he's sober and focused, Radcliffe is determined that his career will go on.
"If I can make a career for myself after Potter, and it goes well, and is varied and with longevity, then that puts to bed the 'child actors argument,'" he declares. "If I can do it, in the biggest film franchise of all time, no other child actor who comes after will ever have to answer those same bloody questions."
