He followed up Potter by taking on a number of unconventional roles on screen and stage.
Daniel Radcliffe:Oh no.
I didnt before I started researching them for this.
For some reason, I thought that both you and Paul knew of their work before doing this.
No, Paul was very familiar with their stuff.
I was less so.
I looked it up after we started working on it, but just like, loved it immediately.
I was like, Oh, these guys are amazing.
Yeah, they are, as Im sure youve found.
Exactly, bombarded, but then you watch it again and youre like, This is pretty amazing.
Thats why I feel like…
Were you at the first screening?
I was at the very first one at Sundance, yeah.
So that was amazing, like that Q n A, I dont know if you remember that.
It was a super fucking awkward Q n A.
It was a room full of people who were sort of stunned.
Then all the hands go up.
No, no hands.
Everyone was just in stunned silence in a rather wonderful way.
Yeah, thatd be cool.
Youre right, actually.
I mean, that would be really, really cool.
What was your reaction when you first read the script?
I got the script and I read it and I loved it and it was really that simple.
Were you freaking out?
And its always just like, No.
It read really, really funny.
I mean, I would think that a lot.
I would think, How are we going to do this?
a lot, but I would always assume that, Ah, theyve got it.
They must know, otherwise they wouldnt be making it.
Did you see any of those videos?
I didnt see any of the videos, but I saw them doing it on set.
Pretty much every day I got to set being like, How is this going to work?
but every day, they would come up with some amazing solution.
When you consider that we shot the film in 23 days, and its an action movie.
Did you have a lot of prosthetics or things like that you had to deal with?
No, I didnt.
I didnt have much.
Can you use that?
They were like, Yes, thats very good.
Were going to keep that in the movie.
I assumed they used tape or something to make your eye do that.
Then just email them and be like, Is any of this good?
Is any of this what youre looking for?
Theyd email back and be like, Yes, this, this, not that, but this.
So thats sort of how we worked ahead of time.
I was still freaking out, to be honest.
I was like, I dont know what Im doing.
I cant move my face.
I cant move my body.
How am I looking embarrassed?
So yeah, it was fun.
But you didnt do a lot of rehearsals somewhere with Paul?
Did you know Paul beforehand, because I know youve worked with Zoe before inWhat If?
A little bit, yeah.
Did you have a chance to spend a lot of time with him before or not really?
I feel like this is an intimate movie.
Just by association you go, Oh, you would be going out with a cool person as well.
Yeah, but she didnt carry you around on her back.
No, thank God.
But yeah, Paul was a trooper, man, he really is.
He is one of the toughest actors Ive ever worked with.
Come on, let me have a go!
But Paul is equal to that and in excess of it in every way.
Because I know its only 30, 40 pounds difference, but thats a difference.
Are you sure you dont want the dummy?
He was like, No, I want the real thing.
So Id jump up on him and hed carry me around.
He really did carry me around for lots of this film.
I think its what we both respond to the most.
Paul is maybe the most passionate person about film Ive ever met and the most well-versed.
But Paul would name shit that theyre like, Whats that?
So hes a fantastic professional, hes a fantastic actor.
Hes a lovely human being.
Its a very quick shot.
But hes dragging my face down (his).
So I brought that on myself.
What was the environment like?
Thats also an interesting thing.
Youre not at a studio with woods being created on a soundstage as you normally would do it.
Youre literally in the woods.
Were in the fucking woods, yeah.
We were in the woods.
The art department on this film was one of the most impressive art departments that Ive ever been around.
They constructed the bus from stuff they found in the woods.
Theres that much trash in the woods where you shot?
The levels of creativity from all departments on this film, it was really special.
Well, theyve all worked with them before, including a lot of the stunt people.
Theyve all worked with them before.
He had been working on some big Matt Damon moviehe might have been in Bourne.
He just dropped everything.
And then hes throwing himself down a mountain over and over again.
Yeah, and then thats what we made him do, yeah, exactly.
You have to be slightly mad to be a stuntman, in a great way.
Yeah, its fascinating.
Its going to be really interesting.
We are rehearsing at the moment.
Also Rachel Dratch is in the show with you.
Yeah, shes amazing.
I dont think Ive ever thought of her as a dramatic theater actor.
Well, its very funny as well.
The plays very funny, and shes really funny.
Youre like, Youre so funny.
Youre so funny, without even trying to be, it’s possible for you to make any line.
There was a line that was definitely a joke in the script.
Can you help me?
Yeah, shes great.
But yeah, they all are.
I think we could be making a very entertaining play about some really heavy issues.
The ads on the website suggests that the audience leave their phones on, too.
Oh yes, we kind of get people to play along.
We ask you to take a poll and email stuff to us, so yeah, its pretty interactive.
You have a bunch of movies you shot already.
No, theres this one and theresImperium, which I think is coming out in August.
I dont know what the release is.
I dont know exactly whats happening with the release of that.
Oh no, I dont know if thats shooting.
No, God, no.
Thats just one of those…
I was attached to it for six years and its just been trying to make it happen.
But yeah, well see.
Do you generally have to keep those couple of weeks in September and January off for those festivals?
Its more like I just make plans there and then they get fucked up.
(laughs) But thats fine.
Its great seeing you again and congratulations on the movie.
Good to see you as well.
Im just amazed by the marketing theyre doing.
Theyre not hiding it.
Theyre not trying to make it something its not and people are going crazy for it.
Dude, we are all so happy.
I didnt realize that everyone here is really young.
Swiss Army Manopens in select cities on Friday, June 24 and expands nationwide on Friday, July 1.
