Hollywood actor Christian Slater said: "The work that Daniel did on stage was incredible, extraordinary. I take my hat off to him completely.

"He became Alan Strang. I never thought for one second I was looking at Daniel Radcliffe - I was watching Alan Strang."

After the performance, the young actor admitted his nude scene with co-star Joanna Christie was the talking point of the production.

"I sort of expected it really," he said. "If I went into it thinking nobody was going to talk about it, I would have been very stupid.

"But it’s not a big part of the play, it’s four minutes at most."

Daniel smokes on stage - Feb 23 2007
Not only has child star Daniel Radcliffe had to strip off for his debut stage role, he also has to smoke and grow a beard.

The 17-year-old Harry Potter star is due to start treading the boards at the Gielgud Theatre in London in Equus, the bizarre tale of a boy’s unnatural obsession with horses.

And in a special preview showing of the play, Daniel took to the stage with a barely-there beard, puffing on a cigarette.

Meanwhile, his co-star Joanna Christie voiced her support for Daniel, who has to appear naked in scenes of the play.

She told the Daily Mirror: "I can’t believe there are people saying he’s a bad role model for children. He’s an actor playing a part and in the story he happens to have a relationship with a girl.

"The play is on school syllabuses. It’s an amazingly interesting, complex story. It’s not about nudity or sex. It’s about a lot of very complex issues."

’Harry Potter’ fans were left devastated - Nov 08, 2020
’Harry Potter’ fans were reportedly left devastated when Daniel Radcliffe failed to meet and greet them at the premiere’s after-show party. Sources claim the teenage actor, who plays the boy wizard, didn’t leave the private VIP room all evening - leaving youngsters that were lucky enough to win tickets to the bash, held at London’s Natural History Museum, disappointed.

A partygoer revealed to the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Daniel spent the whole evening in the VIP room instead of mingling with the children. "And when he finally came out to leave at 11pm, he had four bodyguards who pushed all the kids out of the way." However, fans were delighted when Daniel’s co-star Rupert Grint, who plays Harry’s best friend Ron Weasley, left the VIP room to sign autographs and pose for pictures.

On Sunday night (06.11.05), the young actors were greeted by thousands of screaming girls as they arrived in London’s Leicester Square for the first screening of ’Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’. Looking dapper in a green velvet waistcoat and jacket, 16-year-old Daniel admitted he was thrilled at how many fans had turned out to see him and his co-stars. He said: "You have to keep reminding yourself that this is incredibly strange, incredibly wonderful, and fans have been waiting here for hours."