Daniel Radcliffe Opens Up About Being a Child Star, Praises 'Really Supportive' Parents (Exclusive)

Daniel Radcliffe
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

Radcliffe & Evan Rachel Wood spoke with ET while promoting 'Weird: The Al Yankovic Story''

Daniel Radcliffe is opening up about getting a lot of support from his parents when he first started too pursue a career as an actor.

The actor -- who stars in the forthcoming parody biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story -- recently sat down with ET, and was joined by co-star Evan Rachel Wood and director Eric Appel.

In the film, Radcliffe portrays the famed accordion-toting parody musician, who -- in the context of the over-the-top and largely fictitious story -- was told by his parents at a young age to give up on his dreams and stop being himself.

For Radcliffe, however, this was about as far from his own experience as a young dreamer as possible.

"My parents were incredible. They were really supportive," he recalled. "They walked the balance of not being pushy but always supportive. In a way that's not often credited to the parents of child actors."

"So, I'm lucky," added Radcliffe, who made his acting debut at age 10 in the BBC's TV miniseries David Copperfield. He was cast to play his iconic role as Harry Potter when he was only 11.

Now, in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Radcliffe is portraying a wonderfully exaggerated version of the famed Weird Al Yankovic, and the star said the legendary entertainer was on set and supportive of his portrayal.

"He was there on set everyday, he was incredibly involved in the shoot," Radcliffe shared. "Yeah he was really kind, the whole way."

Wood, meanwhile, stars as pop icon Madonna -- who serves as both Yankovic's love interest and corrupting influence in the film.

For Wood, the role was something she'd been inadvertently and unknowingly preparing for since she was young.

"I have been dressing up like Madonna and singing her songs since I was a kid!" Wood shared. "I actually got caught skipping school once. I faked sick so I could stay home just so I could lip-sync to 'Like a Prayer' all day."

"Then my mom walked in when I was full, like, knee slide, I had the candle stick, you know, and she's like tapping her foot," Wood recalled "So yes, I've been preparing for this my whole life."

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story premieres exclusively on Roku Nov. 4.

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