MOVIE NEWS – Daniel Radcliffe spoke about his troubles with drinking in a new interview.

The Harry Potter star went through a very particular, unique experience while turning into the face of one of the biggest franchises on the planet at such a young age. He ultimately grew up while filming what would go on to become eight of the most successful movies ever made, tying him forever to J.K. Rowling‘s Wizarding World. But with all the success also comes pressure, and Radcliffe’s way of dealing with that pressure in his youth was to drink alcohol.

This isn’t the first time Daniel Radcliffe talked about using alcohol as a coping mechanism, but he also did shed some new light on his previous drinking problem. The interview was made on the latest episode of Off Camera and, when asked about dealing with the pressures that came with garnering such massive fame at such a young age, Radcliffe told all this about it:

“There is an awareness that I really struggled with, particularly in my late teens when I was going out to places for the first time where you would feel, again, it could have largely been in my head, but you would feel watched when you went into a bar, when you went into a pub. In my case, the quickest way to forget you were being watched was to get very drunk. Then as you get very drunk, you become aware, ‘Oh, people are watching more now because now I’m getting very drunk, so I should probably drink more to ignore that more.’ It can affect your psyche.”

Formerly, the 29-year-old actor admitted that there were days where he would show up to set still drunk. Though, he never drank while on set. During the interview, Daniel Radcliffe also admitted a certain empathy for people like Justin Bieber, who is often criticized in the press for his erratic behavior.

“That’s like when people have a go at Justin Bieber and drag racing cars. I’m like, yeah, but ya know, I don’t know, stuff could be super crazy for him right now.”

If anyone can empathize with the pressures of becoming famous during one’s youth, it’s Daniel Radcliffe. He also felt pressure, since, on paper, everything in his life was going so great, to feel “delighted” all of the time. Luckily, even after all that happened, Radcliffe still loves what he does.

“Even at the lowest point, I still loved my job so much. I loved going to set, and there was never a day where my own [feelings] would affect how I was on set, there was never a point where I was like, ‘Oh, I wish this hadn’t happened to me, I wish I wasn’t Harry Potter.’ That just didn’t happen.”

Since Harry Potter ended, Daniel Radcliffe has mostly done work in indie movies and has avoided other major franchises. His most recent role is on the new series Miracle Workers, which co-stars Steve Buscemi. Radcliffe gave up drinking in 2010 and also says that he doesn’t miss it.