Friendly Voices – Daniel Radcliffe

“I grew up knowing a lot of gay men and it was never something that I even thought twice about — that some men were gay and some weren’t. And then I went to school and (for) the first time … I came across homophobia. I had never encountered it before. It shocked me. I have always hated anybody who is not tolerant of gay men or lesbians or bisexuals. Now I am in the very fortunate position where I can actually help or do something about it.

“I have described myself as being ‘gently eccentric’ and slightly different as a person just because I’ve had a very different set of influences growing up than anybody else in my peer group did. I think it’s important for somebody from a big, commercial movie series like Harry Potter and particularly because I am not gay or bisexual or transgendered. The fact that I am straight makes not a difference, but it shows that straight people are incredibly interested and care a lot about this as well.” – Daniel Radcliffe, speaking from the NYC headquarters of the LGBT teen suicide prevention hotline The Trevor Project, for whom he has just made a promotional film.