Harry Potter star says he no longer drinks

[July 05, 2011]  LONDON (AP) -- Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe said he has given up drinking alcohol after realizing he was partying too hard.

The 21-year-old actor says he began to drink too much while filming "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince," the sixth movie in the Harry Potter series, in 2009.

He said; "I became so reliant on (alcohol) to enjoy stuff. 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."

He added that he decided to cut out drinking altogether, instead of simply cutting down.

"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 said.

"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."

Radcliffe was speaking to GQ magazine in an interview released Monday.

Radcliffe shot to fame at age 11 after he was cast as Harry Potter for the movie adaptations of J.K. Rowling's popular books about a teenage wizard.

Many child actors have struggled to cope with adulthood, but Radcliffe said he was determined to prove that child actors could go on to build long careers.

"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 said.

The last movie in the series "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part II" premieres on Thursday.

[Associated Press]

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