Actor Daniel Radcliffe shut down rumors that he got jacked to play Marvel mutant Wolverine in an upcoming X-Men film, and revealed the real reason behind his physical transformation.
Back in August, viewers of the 2019 anthology comedy series Miracle Workers did a double-take watching a scene from the season finale in which Radcliffe went feral and ripped off his clothes, revealing his chiseled physique.
The moment went viral and fueled fancast speculation that the former Harry Potter child actor could be the next candidate to step into the shoes previously filled by Hugh Jackman.
Here is the image that sparked the rumor.
Radcliffe is currently starring in the Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along.
His theatrical co-stars Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez brought up the Wolverine rumor during Vanity Fair's lie detector test interview to get to the bottom of things.
When Mendez asked Radcliffe if he started the Wolverine rumor, he replied, "No."
She acknowledged his response and confirmed, "So you got buff for no reason," to which Radcliffe laughed and responded:
"Yes. I got buff because I am obsessive, and I want to… You've seen my parents, they're like insane fitness people."
"So that's just been passed on. But no. No Wolverine. Flattered, but no."
The needle on the lie detector test did not budge.
You can watch the moment here.
Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff & Lindsay Mendez Take Lie Detector Tests | Vanity Fairyoutu.be
His explanation did little to convince people.
Radcliffe wouldn't be the first actor to deny rumors of upcoming roles, much like Andrew Garfield did about reprising his Peter Parker role in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Fans pointed out that history might repeat itself.
One fan suggested an option.
Radcliffe's Merrily costars continued grilling him on various points, including what he thought of Groff's performance in Hamilton.
Groff played King George III, a role for which he was nominated for the 2015 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
"Was I your favorite part of Hamilton?" asked Groff, to which Radcliffe accurately answered, "Yes."
"Aww, Dan," said Groff, moved by the response.
But the wholesome moment didn't last forever.
Radcliffe answered positively to other vain questions like, "Do you ever Google yourself" and "Have you ever read fan fiction about yourself?"
He listed a few examples when Groff asked him, "What's the weirdest story you read about yourself?"
"I'm obviously aware there's a lot of shipping of Harry and Draco [Malfoy] as characters together," he said referring to the rivals from Harry Potter.
Radcliffe explained, based on the wisdom acquired from being in a popular franchise film, that "shipping" was when fans root for two specific characters to be romantically linked.
He continued with a prepared list of fan fiction he's read about himself.
"That I had the [UK Special Air Service] walk my dogs."
"That I had special beer brewed for myself by monks in a monastery in Belgium."
"That I used to get my assistant to hold my scripts in the mirror so I could read it while I was having makeup done—even though that doesn't make f'king sense because I wouldn't be able to read mirror writing."
"There's a long list."
Fans will get to see Jackman reprise his retired character in the upcoming Deadpool 3 after Wolverine was last seen on the big screen in 2017's Logan.
Since Disney's acquisition of Fox, there is the possibility that the X-Men could be introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at some point in the future, whether or not it's with Radcliffe in the role.
Does he know something fans don't?
We'll have to wait and see.
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