Daniel Radcliffe, star of upcoming independent comedy What If, has revealed his ambition to one day become a director.In a feature interview for Variety, Radcliffe spoke about his willingness to get involved with the wider aspect of filmmaking. “I would love to direct,” he said. “I do it in my head when I’m watching other directors direct: ‘No, don’t say that to them!’ I think I’m quite good with people. Part of being a director is knowing how different actors work in different ways. I’d enjoy it.”

Daniel Radcliffe director
Daniel Radcliffe has ambitions to direct films in the future, he told Variety

Of course, Radcliffe has had plenty of opportunities to learn from the best in the business, as the Harry Potter films were directed variously by Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell, David Yates and Chris Columbus. He also mentioned some of his favourite films such as A Matter of Life and Death, Dr. Strangelove and 12 Angry Men, showing him to be a knowledgeable and curious consumer of cinema.

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Though he’ll certainly be remembered most for playing the boy wizard, Radcliffe has spent recent years distancing himself from the franchise and taking on roles in projects with smaller budgets or more adult subject matter. He doesn’t anticipate being able to direct a film for a number of years yet, however, and fully expects his first project to be relatively small.

In 2007 he starred in the London and New York productions of stage show Equus, and the 2011 reboot of the musical How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. In 2013 he played beat poet Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings, and also stars in the upcoming dark fantasy thriller Horns, due for release later this year.

Radcliffe’s new film What If opens on August 8th.

Watch the trailer for What If here