Daniel Radcliffe needs some practical magic to save his career

For the first time since I was 16 years old, when I was decked out in a preppy Hogwarts uniform for the midnight premiere of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2,” I saw Daniel Radcliffe on the big screen, in the new “Now You See Me 2.”

I love Harry Potter. Of course I have read all the books and watched all the movies. That’s practically a requirement for my generation. But I also have a Gryffindor tire cover on the back of my Jeep, I have visited the movie sets outside London and, as I write, I am drinking out of my coffee mug etched with the Deathly Hallows symbol.

After “Deathly Hallows,” Radcliffe went on to star in “The Woman in Black” and “Victor Frankenstein,” but I stayed away. I couldn’t let go of him as Harry Potter. (And I hate horror movies.)

But it has been five years since that last movie. I’ve grown up. And, interestingly and ironically enough, “Now You See Me 2” is another magic movie. Harry, er, Radcliffe plays the villainous Walter Mabry, manipulating some manipulative magicians.

But now I know that as much as I love Harry Potter, I do not necessarily love Daniel Radcliffe.

Oh, he’s fine when he plays a kid. The trouble is, at 26, he still looks like a kid. As someone who is 2 inches shorter than Radcliffe’s 5-foot-5-inch frame, I’m not bothered by his height. It’s in his face, his movements. The facial hair makes him look even younger, like a teen who can’t quite grow a beard but tries anyway. I just can’t take him seriously.

He reminds me of Joffrey Baratheon, the spoiled, cruel, child-king on “Game of Thrones.” (Although Draco Malfoy actually looks more like Joffrey.) In this new movie, Radcliffe doesn’t seem like an adult villain who wants to take over the world (or everyone’s computer systems). He’s more of an infantile whiner who relies on Daddy’s money to do his dirty work.

Any time Radcliffe showed fury, I didn’t think of him as Walter Mabry. I thought of him in “Prisoner of Azkaban,” screaming “HE WAS THEIR FRIEND” when Harry learns that his parents were betrayed by Sirius Black. (Spoiler alert, it wasn’t Sirius.) I thought of him dueling the Dark Lord in the battle of Hogwarts. I even forgot his name throughout “Now You See Me 2,” that’s how much he wasn’t Walter.

Radcliffe might actually show more life in his next role: He plays a corpse on a desert island opposite Paul Dano in the dark comedy “Swiss Army Man,” due in KC July 1.

I don’t know if I can ever unsee Radcliffe as Harry Potter. Part of it isn’t his fault. He was introduced to the world as Harry, not Daniel. He starred in a worldwide phenomenon for a decade. We watched him grow in the magical world, not the Muggle world.

But part of it is his fault. He has picked the wrong roles. He needs to shave his face and play younger characters. Leonardo DiCaprio was 28 when he played 16-year-old Frank Abagnale in “Catch Me If You Can.” Barbra Streisand was 41 when she played a teen in “Yentl.” It has been done, it is still done, often well.

Radcliffe should follow the lead of “Potter” co-star Emma Watson, aka Hermione Granger, now 26. She went on to play a high school student in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and Russell Crowe’s daughter in “Noah.” And everyone is looking forward to seeing her as Belle in Disney’s live-action “Beauty and the Beast,” arriving next March. These are all younger roles that Watson did well in and is expected to do very well in.

Or Radcliffe could follow in Watson’s personal endeavors. The United Nations appointed her as a U.N. Women Goodwill ambassador in 2014. She has taken time off acting to speak about gender equality and feminism. She placed No. 26 on Time magazine’s list of the world’s most influential people. Radcliffe could find his own cause to share with the world.

Losing the beard does help. In the clips I’ve seen, Radcliffe does just fine starring in the BBC’s “A Young Doctor’s Notebook.” Radcliffe is clean-shaven and, this might be key, stars with Jon Hamm.

And maybe I should just be grateful Radcliffe didn’t fall into a downward, drug-laden spiral as many young actors do. I am impressed with his hard work, but his role as Walter didn’t do it for me.

Daniel, most people would use the Killing Curse to look younger than they really are. For you it’s natural. So do yourself, and moviegoers, a favor and stick to younger roles. (And shave your face.)

This story was originally published June 13, 2016 at 2:58 PM with the headline "Daniel Radcliffe needs some practical magic to save his career."