Daniel Radcliffe After Harry Potter - On "Equus," Richard Griffiths & Broadway Debut (2008)

We take a look at the past to shape our future.

In 2008, Richard Griffiths and Daniel Radcliffe sat down with Charlie Rose to discuss their Broadway revival of Peter Shaffer's "Equus," the controversial 1973 play about a psychiatrist treating a troubled young man who blinds six horses.

Griffiths on casting Radcliffe: "He's done 300 weeks in front of a movie camera. People my age haven't done that in their whole life. He's been working with Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, all these top people. It just rubs off on you."

Radcliffe on choosing this role after Harry Potter: "It's such a well-known thing, but it hadn't been done for so long. It wasn't revived every few years. The fact that it was so successful means you have to use it for something with gravitas."

Griffiths on what the play is really about: "This boy has invented a whole world. He's created passion more ferocious than anything I've felt in my life. The psychiatrist is jealous. He envies him. And that reveals to the psychiatrist that his own life has been colorless."

On Peter Shaffer's origin story: "He was at a dinner for magistrates in London, and the chief magistrate brought up a case where a boy had blinded horses. The desire to test the visceral and powerful in the most imaginable way."

Radcliffe on the ending: "He wants to be saved but he's terrified of shame. Not only of almost having sex with the girl, but Equus was hovering over him, looking for vengeance."

GUESTS: Richard Griffiths (Actor), Daniel Radcliffe (Actor)

Interview from 2008

0:00 Introduction: 1973 Tony winner revived
0:26 Clip: "What's he done?"
1:31 What the play is about
2:16 "I'm envious of his passion"
2:49 "He invents a whole world"
3:17 Radcliffe initially said no
3:46 Workshop audition process
4:17 Peter Shaffer's writing style
5:20 Working with the Royal Shakespeare Company
6:28 Radcliffe worried about perception
6:58 Why this role after Harry Potter
7:32 "Something with gravitas"
8:38 18 months of preparation
9:04 "300 weeks in front of a movie camera"
9:34 Working with Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman
10:48 Radcliffe remembers his lines
11:32 "Character is not facts"
11:56 The psychiatrist's crisis of faith
12:31 Peter Shaffer's origin story
13:22 The magistrate's dinner
14:04 "What do you do with this boy?"
14:42 Shaffer researched and found hollowness
15:16 Euphoria followed by guilt
17:19 Learning lines as technique
17:55 "The subtext and argument"
18:31 What the play reveals about normality
19:41 The scene of pure happiness
20:48 The rhythm of dialog
21:24 Shakespeare comparison: Action offstage
22:06 What happens to the boy at the end?
22:41 "Equus hovering over him for vengeance"
23:42 Neil Armstrong dream metaphor
25:47 Broadway run through February

This interview captures two remarkable actors explaining why a 35-year-old play about passion, worship, and the cost of normality still resonates. History offers the clearest roadmap for our future.

Film Discussion is a curated interview archive and conversation series presented by Occupy Cinema. We spotlight the minds behind the movies—actors, directors, writers, and cultural critics—through thoughtful interviews, archival footage, and contemporary conversations. From Broadway to global cinema, Film Discussion explores the craft, politics, and impact of storytelling on screen and stage.

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