Daniel Radcliffe Became an Actor Due to Brain Disorder

Daniel Radcliffe says he became an actor because a brain disorder, dyspraxia, meant he was not successful at school.

The Harry Potter actor, 19, revealed he suffers from the disorder -- often associated with clumsiness -- during an interview to mark his Broadway debut in the play Equus.

Radcliffe said he longed to be an actor from the age of five.

But he revealed, "My mother said, "Oh no you don't.'"

When she finally allowed him to audition to play David Copperfield, in a BBC version of the Dickens classic when he was nine, he says it was because she could see he needed a confidence boost.

"I was having a hard time at school in terms of being c**p at everything, with no discernible talent," he says.

The condition also means Daniel still has trouble tying his shoelaces. He joked, "Why, oh why, has Velcro not taken off?"

Daniel has not disclosed when he was diagnosed with dyspraxia or whether doctors ever found the cause.

In the final movie in the Potter series, Deathly Hallows, the first part of which is due for release in 2010, he reportedly performed a particularly daring stunt scene when his double failed to turn up. He was pulled from a burning building by a wire attached to a 100ft crane.

A leading authority on dyspraxia, neurologist Dr David Younger of the New York University Medical School, told Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, "I'm a big fan of the whole Harry Potter series and I am surprised Daniel Radcliffe suffers from dyspraxia.

"He clearly suffers from a mild form, but the fact he shows no sign of it at all is a great tribute to his acting skills and makes him a role model for other people with this condition.

"In the majority of children and young people with dyspraxia, we cannot find the cause so the basic treatment is occupational therapy – teaching them to make a plan for their actions and rehearse their movements."

Daniel’s spokeswoman said, "Yes, Dan Radcliffe does have dyspraxia. This is something he has never hidden. Thankfully his condition is very mild and at worst manifests itself in an inability to ties his shoe laces and bad handwriting."