Why Daniel Radcliffe didn’t go see “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”

The Boy Who Lived is back with a new story, and we’re positively jumping for joy. Public previews of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child started yesterday, and Potterheads gathered to see what he, Ron, and Hermione are up to 19 years later. Except for one person— the OG Harry himself, Daniel Radcliffe.

Radcliffe was noticeably missing from the play’s premiere festivities at the Palace Theatre. But why? After all, he’s the original actor to play the role. It turns out, he stayed away on purpose.

“I could be completely wrong in this, but I feel like if I went to see it that night, there’s going to be a lot of Harry Potter fans there in the audience obviously and would that then become a thing,” the actor said in an interview with E! News.

We get that. Last night was a big night for J.K. Rowling and the entire wizarding world, and Radcliffe didn’t want his celebrity to distract from the magic of the night.

“Would it be more about them watching me watch the show or would it take away from the show?” he wondered. “I would never want to do anything that would distract or take away from the show.”

Hopefully Radcliffe has the opportunity to see the play at some point. If he doesn’t want to be recognized, a little sip of Polyjuice Potion should do the trick.