Daniel Radcliffe finally confirmed which Harry Potter movie is his absolute favorite of the bunch, and while each Potter movie has its fair share of fans, the actor's answer still came as an unlikely pick.
The film adaptations of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels are some of the most beloved movies of all time, so it can be tough to pick a favorite. The saga has eight films to choose from (or ten, if one counts the Fantastic Beasts spinoffs of recent years), and countless Potter buffs around the world would argue that each installment is a masterpiece in its own right. Radcliffe, the leading actor behind the taped eyeglasses and the lightning bolt scar, revealed his own favorite Potter entry in an interview with Wired. While he conceded it wasn't the most popular opinion, Radcliffe said that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was his favorite film in the series, confessing, "I actually love the fifth one."
Radcliffe said Phoenix rose to the top of the pack for him because it gave him the chance to act alongside one of his idols, the legendary Gary Oldman. Oldman first appeared as Sirius Black in the wizarding world's third movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. While Sirius played a major role in the film as the titular Azkaban escapee, his time onscreen was sparse, and most of his scenes did not include Radcliffe. When he reappeared in Phoenix, however, Sirius took on the role of a mentor and father figure for Harry. Before Sirius tragically perished at the end of the film, Radcliffe and Oldman got to share many emotional and engaging scenes onscreen together.
"I was sort of a little bit older at that point, so I was kind of able to appreciate that more," Radcliffe said.
Radcliffe hasn't been shy about singing Oldman's praises in the past. While the cast of the Potter saga was packed full of seasoned actors such Richard Harris, Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman, Oldman was the only celebrity who left Radcliffe feeling starstruck on set. In fact, when Radcliffe was asked who he would play in a Harry Potter reboot, he listed Sirius as one of his top contenders, in no small part due to Oldman's take on the role.
Radcliffe admitted his answer might've come as a surprise because Phoenix is "not one that most people cite as one of their favorites." Indeed, while all of the mainline Harry Potter films have received mostly positive critical responses, the franchise's fifth entry had a more lukewarm reception than the rest.
Phoenix is tied with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 as the worst-reviewed movie of the franchise, with both having earned "only" a 77% aggregate critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. The best-reviewed entry was Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which netted a 96% critic score and is frequently considered an audience favorite. On that point, Radcliffe didn't entirely disagree. While he definitively said Phoenix was his favorite Potter installment to make, he said his favorite one to watch was still "probably the last one."
All eight Harry Potter films, including Radcliffe's favorites, are available to stream now on HBO Max.
Source: YouTube