PARK CITY, Utah – Daniel Radcliffe has really left Harry Potter behind with a startling and explicit Sundance Film Festival role as poet Allen Ginsberg.
“Kill Your Darlings,” the “Harry Potter” star’s first film at the independent-cinema showcase, premiered Friday at Sundance and puts Radcliffe into daring territory.
Additional Photos
His young Ginsberg is initiated into booze and drugs, has oral sex performed on him in a library, makes out with one man and gets naked for sex with another man.
In a session with the audience after the premiere, Radcliffe was asked if he chose the role because it fit the “weird stuff” he likes.
Radcliffe said it was the second time that day he was asked the same question and conceded his tastes can run outside the mainstream.
“Films like this don’t get made unless everyone involved loves them,” Radcliffe said.
The film recounts a little-known story of murder involving Ginsberg’s circle of friends, including fellow future beat heroes Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) and William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster).
Dane DeHaan co-stars as Ginsberg idol and intimate Lucien Carr, and the cast also includes Michael C. Hall, Elizabeth Olsen and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Director John Krokidas said Radcliffe became his muse on the film and that it was clear within minutes of their first meeting that the part was his.
Krokidas said young Ginsberg starts as a dutiful son but eventually spills over with repressed passion.
“By the end of the movie, he is a poet and a rebel,” Krokidas said. “I had a feeling Dan might be able to relate to this.”
Keys will kick off Super Bowl
Alicia Keys is adding her voice to the Super Bowl show for the third time.
The Grammy-winning R&B singer will perform the national anthem before the NFL championship Feb. 3 in New Orleans.
The league said Friday that Keys’ three performances at the Super Bowl will be the most in the event’s history. She sang “America the Beautiful” before the 2005 game, and was part of the pregame show in 2008.
Keys, who turns 32 this week, released her fifth studio album, “Girl on Fire,” late last year.
The Super Bowl teams will be determined Sunday, when the San Francisco 49ers play the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC championship game, and the Baltimore Ravens face the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game.
Beyonce will be the star of the halftime show.
– From news service reports
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.