Daniel Radcliffe Explains Why He Barely Saw His Son on Father’s Day

Daniel Radcliffe shared with People the surprising reason he didn’t spend very much time with his young son on Father’s Day. The 34-year-old Harry Potter star and his girlfriend, Erin Darke, welcomed a son in April 2023.

But despite calling his new role as a father “the best,” Radcliffe wasn’t able to be entirely present for his second Father’s Day. He blamed the situation on his busy professional schedule, as he’s currently appearing on Broadway in Merrily We Roll Along. Sunday found Radcliffe at the Tonys, where he was nominated for his performance.

“I'm going to be doing most of my celebrating of Father's Day tomorrow,” Radcliffe admitted on the red carpet. “I saw him in the morning and then went to [Tonys] rehearsal and then went back and saw him again. And then I had a matinee today, so I haven't done a ton of hanging out with my son on Father's Day, but I will be doing that tomorrow, and I'm very excited about it.”

Hours after making those remarks, Radcliffe won his first Tony. “This has been one of the best experiences of my life. It’s been unbelievable,” the actor said before singling out Darke and their child. "My love, Erin, you and our son are the best thing that has ever happened to me,” he said as Darke grew emotional in the audience. “I love you so much. Thank you so much."

Radcliffe told People that he’s much more emotionally vulnerable now that he’s a father. "I cry a lot more, in like a nice way," he joked. "It's just the best thing that ever has happened to me."

But despite his own professional success, Radcliffe isn’t holding out hope that his son will follow in dad's footsteps. "Not unless he really wants to," Radcliffe said when asked if he’d push his son into acting. "But if you can do something other than acting, if you want to do something behind the scenes, it’s a lot more of a healthy life in a lot of ways. If he can act and not be famous, great, then I can encourage it."

Merrily We Roll Along ends its Broadway run on July 7. He’s gearing up to return to screens in the adventure picture Batso, in which he stars with Ethan Hawke and Jessica Biel. It tells the harrowing story of a mountain climber who attempts to scale the El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park.