Radcliffe: 'I never set out to shock'

Daniel Radcliffe has insisted that he was not trying to shock people when he accepted the lead role in the production of Equus.

The Harry Potter star played the part of Alan Strang in the 2007 revival of the play, which required him to appear naked on stage.

Radcliffe told Parade: "I didn't set out to shock people. I set out to do something different from Potter.

"If I had wanted to shock people I would have played, you know, a gay drug dealer. But, equally, you have to tread a very fine line."

He added: "If, say, my next film was another fantasy film, everyone would just go, 'Well, he's not stretching himself'.

"Then if I played some drug dealer, everyone would turn around and go, 'Oh, this smacks of desperation to stop being typecast'."