10 weirdest, best and non-Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe roles

This is a list celebrating Daniel Radcliffe’s birth by looking at his non-Harry Potter projects, but that franchise deserves a quick shoutout for launching his career — and for giving Freeform options when it needs to play a movie. But because it’s the Harry Potter franchise, you already know what a big deal it is.

Really, the most common way to describe Daniel Radcliffe’s career post-Harry Potter is “weird.” He rarely takes “basic” projects, usually opting for things ranging from quirky to heartfelt to traumatizing to Victor Frankenstein. (Victor Frankenstein will not be making an appearance here.) But sometimes he chooses projects so out of left field, you don’t even know what to think about them...

"Horns" is described as a “dark fantasy horror film,” and it stars Radcliffe as Ig, a young man accused of raping and murdering his girlfriend who then wakes up the day after her vigil with horns (and magic powers). (Yes, “Ig.” Not to be confused with Igor, who Radcliffe played in Victor Frankenstein. That movie doesn’t make an appearance here.) Look, I read the scene-by-scene plot of "Horns," and I’m still not sure if this movie is good, bad, possibly sacrilegious or whatever description you can think of. Just reading about it certainly sounds like a trip, which is all the proof you need that Radcliffe doesn’t make just safe choices.

Radcliffe plays the movie’s villain — the first time in his career — a classification that exists for his character pretty much because he believes in science instead of magic. Or he believes science is magic. Or can be magic. Really, the weirdest part about "Now You See Me 2" —other than the fact that its success means there will at least be a "Now You See Me" trilogy —is that it passed up the opportunity to be called "Now You Don’t." I know I’m far from the first person to make that joke, but that’s because it’s not a joke: It should’ve been called "Now You Don’t."

This should be pretty self-explanatory. The Harry Potter series already got its shoutout, but as has been established, Daniel Radcliffe has worked on far different projects after the fact. And while they’re not just retreads of J.K. Rowling’s texts, they’re still objectively good. (None of them are Victor Frankenstein.)

With "The Woman in Black," Daniel Radcliffe stars in what is essentially a classic ghost story. Again, always keeping them guessing. Based on a 1983 novel, Radcliffe plays a widower who ends up traveling to a village that is being haunted by the titular woman in black.

Daniel Radcliffe’s Allen Ginsberg movie came three years after James Franco’s Allen Ginsberg movie (2013), but if we’re going by Rotten Tomatoes scores, Radcliffe is the official winner in portraying the Beat poet.

Because Daniel Radcliffe likes to choose different projects every time out — and usually not just standard fare — if you’re in the mood for a charming little rom-com with him as the male romantic lead, your only choice is "What If." But luckily it really is a charming little rom-com with a hell of a cast: In addition to Radcliffe, you’ve got Zoe Kazan (the female romantic lead), Adam Driver, Mackenzie Davis and Rafe Spall.

BoJack Horseman’s ability to get celebrities to voice themselves will never fail to impress or amuse, and Daniel Radcliffe’s appearance as his animated self just so happens to be one of the series’ most memorable episodes. In it, Radcliffe is a celebrity contestant on Mr. Peanutbutter’s Show, "Hollywoo Stars and Celebrities: What Do They Know? Do They Know Things??" Let's Find Out! Because BoJack didn’t know there was going to be more than one, he ends up having a grudge against Radcliffe.

Radcliffe stars in this movie, alongside Toni Collette and Tracy Letts, as an FBI agent who goes undercover in a Neo-Nazi organization to prevent a domestic terrorism attack. (Seriously, Radcliffe doesn’t really choose movies because they’re “fun.”) Again, it was a little-seen film, but Radcliffe’s performance makes it worth checking out.

The intersection of best and weirdest is honestly where Daniel Radcliffe and his projects thrive. They’re the post-Harry Potter projects that absolutely deserve to have their legacies continue on as well. (Don't even think about mentioning Victor Frankenstein here.)

Some people may only know "A Young Doctor’s Notebook" because it’s the show where we were supposed to believe Daniel Radcliffe grew up to become Jon Hamm. If that’s all you know about the show — or if you know nothing at all — then you’re in for a treat. It’s a wild ride of a dark comedy, where someone ends up with a morphine addiction.

Daniel Radcliffe plays a corpse in Swiss Army Man. That might make you think he doesn’t have a lot to do, but he does. To quote Ladybird: "It’s the TITULAR role!" Radcliffe’s Manny (which, again, is a corpse) IS the Swiss Army man, manipulated by Paul Dano’s Hank in a Swiss Army knife-esque way. Thus the title. Really, "Swiss Army Man" is the type of movie you have to see to believe, but it is good, if you can handle how weird it is. And it features an artistic use of fart humor.

In Daniel Radcliffe’s current project, he stars as an angel in the miracles department of heaven and is tasked with stopping God — who is bored…and played by Steve Buscemi —from destroying Earth. This also follows under that quirky banner (again, Buscemi is God), but it’s a fun show from Simon Rich, who also created "Man Seeking Woman" (which was a great show but very underseen).