Daniel Radcliffe delighted to go undercover in new film Imperium

THE last Harry Potter film was released five years ago and yet Daniel Radcliffe doesn’t seem to be able to shake off his wizard role.

No matter what parts he has taken on since then, many people can’t see him as anything other than JK Rowling’s iconic creation.

His new film, Imperium, is a world away from witchcraft and sorcery, with Daniel cast as an FBI agent going undercover to infiltrate a radical right-wing terrorist group.

Director Daniel Ragussis had been doing research for another movie and was surprised by the information that he found on the American Neo-Nazi community.

He found comments on YouTube videos of Hitler’s speeches praising the former Fuhrer.

“There are hundreds of comments saying, basically: ‘Rest in peace, Adolf,’” says Daniel.

He came across the story of a real-life FBI agent, Mike German.

“I thought: ‘That’s the perfect way into this world, to see it through the eyes of an undercover FBI agent,’” he says, explaining his idea for Imperium.

“I tracked him down, and we agreed that a movie couldn’t be based on his own cases due to privacy reasons, but we’d make a fictionalised story on his work.”

Cast in the role of Nate Foster, who is based on Mike German, Daniel Radcliffe found himself having to shave his head for one particular scene in the movie.

It was a film he was pleased to do as he was very keen to be involved from early on.

“The white supremacy stuff was so horrifyingly fascinating, or fascinatingly horrifying,” admits Daniel.

“It did something that very few scripts have the guts to do.

“So many set up the character as smart and that is his weapon.

“Then in the last part of the film, they’ll go: ‘He can do whatever.’

“They put in a scene of him learning Judo and then he can just suddenly kill 10 people at a time!

“I’ve always found that sort of thing to be a real cop-out, but to see a script where a character is smart until the end of the movie is really cool.”

So did he have any concerns over what white supremacists would make of the film?

“I think some might go to hate-watch it, and would be surprised by the very human portrayal of them,” says Daniel.

“If it makes one of them think critically about the things they’re doing, it’s worth it.

“We have to believe that minds can still be changed, whatever the stage.

“If you’re going to feel for these people, then you should feel sorry for them.

“Racism is learned — we don’t come out of the womb thinking this,” he points out.

Daniel did find some scenes for the movie difficult, especially those depicting a highly-charged rally.

“Making racial comments was hard,” he admits. “I was in a car park, shouting those words at a Hispanic man.

“Everyone knows it’s acting, but it still feels horrible to do it, and I did a lot of checking in with the people I was working with.”

Imperium is in cinemas now.

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