AP Photo/Peter KramerAfter six years, Daniel Radcliffe is officially marking his return to the London stage.
The 23-year-old actor, whose name is synonymous with the wildly successful Harry Potter franchise, will be flexing his acting chops off the big screen. After starring in both Broadway and West End productions of Equus in 2007, Radcliffe was recently cast in a The Cripple of Inishmaan, per the Huffington Post.
Written by Martin McDonagh, the funny and equally tragic play follows a young Irish orphan (Radcliffe) as he dreams of a brighter life in Hollywood. While the young actor is no stranger to challenging roles (e.g., having to go full nude in the psychosexual drama Equus), Radcliffe was particularly struck by this forthcoming gig.
"He walks that line between tragedy and comedy so brilliantly," Radcliffe said of McDonagh. "I think one of the hilarious things about this play is, by our standards today, how politically incorrect it is. So much of the comedy is just people being relentlessly cruel to Billy."
Inspired by the acclaimed playwright, the actor revealed he is trying his hand at screenwriting. "I'm trying to write something at the moment, and it's just so dark, and I think it's funny, but I'm not sure if anybody else ever would. I aspire to be a poor man's Martin McDonagh," he said.
This and a recent slew of distinct movie roles (the 2012 horror film The Woman in Black and 2013 indie Kill Your Darlings) have Radcliffe branching further and further from his Harry Potter image.
But the maturing star says he never wants to fully break ties with the wizard legacy.
"People always say, 'Don't you just want to forget about it?'" Radcliffe said in the same interview. "No! That was my entire adolescence." He then quickly added: "It's a lovely association to have, because it's something I'm incredibly proud of."
With this promising theater debut, the budding actor will have another acting notch to be proud of. Cripple is slated to open in June at the West End's Noel Coward Theatre and will run for 12 weeks.