Daniel Radcliffe says he used alcohol to manage Harry Potter fame

Daniel Radcliffe, one of the most famous faces in the world thanks to his title role in Harry Potter, is opening up about the toll of playing the boy wizard during his teenage years.

Radcliffe catapulted to fame at age 12 after the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in 2001. He went on to star in seven more of the fantasy films over the span of a decade.

During an interview with Off Camera With Sam Jones on Tuesday, the English actor, now 29, revealed that he turned to alcohol to cope with the massive amount of attention he received, with his every move heavily scrutinised.

"In my case, the quickest way of forgetting about the fact that you were being watched was to get very drunk," he said.

"Then as you get very drunk, you become aware that, 'Oh, people are watching more now because now I'm getting very drunk, so I should probably drink more to ignore that more'."

Radcliffe added that there's "no blueprint for starting young and working stuff out," expressing empathy to fellow child stars who face the pressure of growing up in the public eye.

"That's like when people have a go at Justin Bieber and drag-racing cars. I'm like, 'Yeah, but ya know... stuff could be super-crazy for him right now'," Radcliffe said. "You don't quite know how overwhelmed it's possible to get."

Radcliffe said he was able to pull himself out of the darkness of alcohol abuse with the help of close friends, who genuinely cared for his well-being and offered great advice.

"It took a few years and it took a couple of attempts," he said. "Ultimately, it was my own decision.... I woke up one morning after a night going, 'This is probably not good'."

Radcliffe adds that he doesn't miss drinking and is much happier without the "chaos that I used to invite into my life".

Despite the insecurities that came along with fame, Radcliffe says he doesn't regret taking on the role of a lifetime.

"Even at the lowest point, I still loved my job so much and I loved going to set and there was never a day where my own (expletive) would affect how I was on set," he said.

"There was never a point where I was like 'I wished this didn't happen to me. I wish I wasn't Harry Potter'. Like, that just didn't happen."