By MONICA KELLY

mak012@latech.edu

 

He has battled Lord Voldemort, saved the sorcerer’s stone, fought dragons and encountered a basilisk.

Naturally, Harry Potter’s next big task would be to bare it all in what are now some of the most controversial photos surrounding actor Daniel Radcliffe, who has played Potter in the first four “Harry Potter” movies.

Trey McNeill, a senior sociology major, said he finds the entire situation simultaneously shocking and humorous.

“The actor is definitely aging a lot quicker than Harry does in the books and faster than Hollywood can get out the movies,” McNeill said. “However, he needs to take into consideration that young children see him first as Harry Potter, still a young boy, and will find it hard to distinguish him as simply as actor.”

McNeill said Radcliffe, 17, should have considered his position as a role model and waited until his tenure as the on-screen Potter ended before taking such a risqué photo that will be readily available to children.

“Radcliffe is now a well-known actor who will be able to get many jobs after the Potter series is over and done with,” McNeill said. “Now when kids go to search for Harry, they will be shown a new side of him.”

The photos were taken for promotional purposes for the play “Equus,” a Tony-Award-winning drama that tells the story of a stable-boy who has an erotic obsession with horses.

In an interview with Newsweek magazine, Radcliffe said part of him wants to shake up people’s perceptions of him.

“It’s a really challenging play, and if I can pull it off — we don’t know if I can yet — I hope people will stop and think, ‘Maybe he can do something other than Harry,’” Radcliffe said.

In one of the photos, Radcliffe stands supposedly nude next to a white horse, while in another he again appears naked alongside co-star Joanna Christie, who portrays his girlfriend in the play.

Caroline Tran, a sophomore English major, said this is something that simply entails being an actor.

“Of course it will be hard for children to see the differences between Daniel and Harry,” Tran said. “But if parents don’t want their kids to develop a complex with Harry Potter, they should try hard to relay the differences between the actor and the fictional character.”

This will be highly important in upcoming months as the world braces itself for the release of the fifth Potter movie, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” set to be released July 13.

“Equus” opens at London’s Gielgud Theater Feb. 27.

Tran said the photos in no way alter her perspective of Potter mania.

“I love the books and love the movies,” Tran said. “I will be there opening night for this one and maybe try a few counseling sessions beforehand to try and get images of naked Harry out of my mind.”