Daniel Radcliffe’s Sweetest Quotes About Fatherhood After Welcoming His Son: ‘A Real Privilege’

Daniel Radcliffe has plenty to be proud of in his career, but few things have brought him more joy than being a father.

Us Weekly confirmed in March 2023 that Radcliffe and his longtime partner, Erin Darke, were expecting their first baby. The couple welcomed their son one month later.

"It's great. It's crazy and intense, but he's wonderful and Erin is amazing," the Harry Potter actor gushed to Entertainment Tonight in July 2023, sharing his first thoughts on fatherhood. "It's a real privilege also to have this time with him."

Radcliffe has kept some aspects of his parenting experience private — his son's name remains under wraps — but he's kept fans updated on the little one's most exciting milestones. When it comes to his son following in his career footsteps, however, Radcliffe has a few reservations.

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"Not unless he really wants to. ... If he can act and not be famous, great, then I can encourage it," the British actor told E! News in June 2024 about raising a future Hollywood star.

When Radcliffe won Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical at the 2024 Tony Awards that same month, he made sure to give his family a shout-out.

"My love, Erin, you and our son are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love you so much. Thank you so much," he gushed on stage.

Scroll down for Radcliffe's sweetest quotes about parenting:

July 2023

Shortly after his son's birth, Radcliffe reflected on how being a dad might impact his career choices. "I was always going to take some time off, which not everyone is able to do, and so I'm able to kind of just be here with him a lot, which is lovely," he told ET.

Radcliffe noted that he'd likely be "a bit more selective" with the projects he chooses.

July 2023

The Kill Your Darlings star called his son "very advanced," teasing to E! News, "Yeah, he's fully talking at 3 months old."

He added, "He's smiling and that's all I need. That's awesome. Some people have to wait a lot longer for that so I'm really happy with that."

October 2023

Six months into parenthood, Radcliffe was still enjoying every minute. "I think a lot of people said, like, 'Just get through the first six months, then after that it gets better,' but I've kind of really enjoyed the first six months," he said on Today With Hoda & Jenna. "I don't know what I imagined, honestly, but it's great. He's incredible and I'm just, like, in awe."

October 2023

"It's frankly terrifying to have a human being in the world that I care this much about and that everything he does is going to affect how I feel about my life for the rest of my life," Radcliffe told E! News.

While some aspects of parenthood are "intimidating," Radcliffe also discovered a few pleasant surprises. "The fact that there is a creature in the world that can give you the worst night of your life and then you wake up in the morning and go over to them and they turn around and smile and you're like, 'I don't care about any of the things you just did,'" he added. "That's pretty cool."

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April 2024

During an interview on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, Radcliffe debated whether he'd read Harry Potter books to his son someday. "I think I'll read it to him if he wants me to read it to him. Like if he gets into it, yeah, of course I will," he said.

When it comes to his son eventually finding out about his career, Radcliffe acknowledged, "This is a beautiful time when he is not aware of me being anything else but his dad, and that's going to be really, really hard. I just want to keep me being famous a secret from him for as long as humanly possible."

June 2024

Radcliffe gave CBS Mornings a tour of the Hudson Theatre in New York City while reflecting on his Broadway run in Merrily We Roll Along. "Two-show days are particularly hard and sad because I leave in the morning and obviously he's asleep by the time I get back," he said of his son. "I do feel like I see him the next morning and I'm like, 'Oh, you're a different human being. You have grown up so much in the last 24 hours.'"

He also noted that he's taken adorable photos of his son crawling on the stage. "He's now at an age where he's drawn to anything that could harm him," the actor added, joking about "rat traps" and "buckets of sand" backstage.

June 2024

Before winning his Tony Award, Radcliffe was asked about his family on the red carpet. "He's crazy," the proud dad said of his baby boy. "He's like enormous, first of all, which is very unexpected. He's very, very chatty."

The awards show took place on Father's Day, which forced Radcliffe to adjust his plans for celebrating. "I had a lovely morning with [my son] in between rehearsal and I'm mostly going to be celebrating with him tomorrow. I did get a couple of texts from people that made me very teary-eyed, suddenly. ... It's an emotionally charged day anyway," he added.