How did Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe get the job as Grand Theft Auto co-creator Sam Houser in the BBC’s new made-for-TV movie The Game Changers? Not conventionally. He tells Playboy (safe-for-work) in a new interview that he got the gig as a result of his absolutely amazing performance of the Blackalicious song “Alphabet Aerobics” on Jimmy Fallon’s late TV show earlier this year. No, really.
“When I went on Jimmy Fallon and rapped a Blackalicious song, I got a job off that–playing Sam Houser in The Game Changers, the movie about Grand Theft Auto. It made the guy in charge go, ‘Oh, he’s interested in hip-hop. He’s not just a typical posh white boy.”
If you haven’t seen Radcliffe’s performance of the song, watch the video above. It’s stunning. He appeared on the show in December 2014 and was confirmed for the lead role in the GTA movie just months later.
Appearing on Fallon’s late night show to perform that song is just one part of Radcliffe’s effort to help people understand that he’s so much more than just the boy who lived. Not all actors are as fortunate.
“One of the positive by-products of celebrity culture for actors like me who’ve been stuck with one character for a long time is the opportunity for people to get to know me,” he explained. “I don’t think [Star Wars actor Mark Hamill], for example, had the same opportunities for people to get to know him.”
Since his run as Harry Potter ended, Radcliffe has acted in a number of smaller-budget independent movies, the most recent of which is Victor Frankenstein. He plays Igor in the movie, which opens in November.
The Game Changers debuted in September and was swiftly criticized by Rockstar, which called the 90-minute drama “random, made-up bollocks.” The movie was produced by the BBC without Rockstar’s involvement or approval. It also stars Bill Paxton as anti-game lawyer Jack Thompson.
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