Daniel Radcliffe has said he had started drinking to cope with the feeling that he was "being watched" during his time as Harry Potter. The actor, who found global fame after he played the title character in eight Harry Potter movies, made the revelation during The Off Camera Show.

"In my case, the quickest way of forgetting about the fact that you were being watched was to get very drunk," he said. "Then as you get very drunk, you become aware that, 'Oh, people are watching more now because now I'm getting very drunk, so I should probably drink more to ignore that more'," he added.

Daniel Radcliffe at a fireside interview at the Salesforce Music Lodge during the Sundance Film Festival. ( Miles Mortensen/Invision/AP )

He also said that "there is no blueprint" to deal with the pressures of ‘starting young’. "That's like when people have a go at Justin Bieber and drag racing cars. I'm like, yeah, but stuff could be super crazy for him right now," he added.

It took the actor "a few years and a couple of attempts" to quit alcohol. He said he has been sober since 2010. "Ultimately, it was my own decision. Like I woke up one morning after a night going like, 'This is probably not good'," Radcliffe said.

"Even at the lowest point, I still loved my job so much. I loved going to set, and there was never a day where my own (feelings) would affect how I was on set, there was never a point where I was like, 'Oh, I wish this hadn't happened to me, I wish I wasn't Harry Potter," he added.

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First Published: Feb 24, 2019 15:14 IST