‘Equus’ transforms boy wizard into a very troubled young man

Daniel Radcliffe is talking about Alan Strang, the troubled young man he plays in “Equus,” the Peter Shaffer drama being revived on Broadway.

“The brilliant thing about Alan is that you wouldn’t notice him walking down the street,” says Radcliffe. “He’s kind of inconspicuous. He’s like Alec Guinness in all those films where he just sort of becomes invisible as soon as he walks into a crowd.”

Invisible is not a word you would use to describe Radcliffe, who, at age 19, is probably one of the most recognized young actors in the world, thanks to a certain boy wizard created by J.K. Rowling.

Even dressed down in jeans, black leather jacket, gray T-shirt and the slightest scruff of a beard (which does nothing to make him look much older than his nearly two decades), Radcliffe draws stares as he strides through an office-building lobby.

Upstairs in a television studio, he expounds on the character of Strang, the pivotal role in Shaffer’s play, which tells the tale of why this youth blinds a stable full of horses. Words pour out, youthful in their enthusiasm and surprisingly adult in their perception.

“Alan is not academically bright, but he has amazing intellect,” Radcliffe continues, adding that though the boy “might be considered slightly simple and gentle ... he has an incredible imagination.”

“Equus” was a big hit on Broadway in 1974 with Peter Firth in Radcliffe’s role and Anthony Hopkins portraying the psychiatrist who tries to unlock his secret. Hopkins’ part is now being played by Richard Griffiths, who co-starred with Radcliffe in the 2007 London production of “Equus” and who portrays nasty Uncle Vernon in all those spectacularly successful “Harry Potter” movies.

Griffiths and Radcliffe are charter members of a mutual admiration society.

Says the older actor, a Tony winner for “The History Boys,” of Radcliffe: “I’m really pleased with him. He’s right at this awful stage of moving from being a child actor to no longer a child.”

And Radcliffe returns the compliment: “To work with Richard on stage and in a much more intimate way than Vernon in the ‘Potter’ films is amazing. His intellect is huge. But ... he is not snobbish with the knowledge he has. He shares it and he wants to talk about it. I find him a real joy to be around. For me, it seemed I would have to be really moronic not to take the part.”

But there’s another reason why he has now tried theater.

“The stage is much more a test of nerve (than film) and seeing what you are made of,” Radcliffe explains. “It would be very easy to do simple stuff. It doesn’t really interest me that much. Even if I screw up, it’s good to know what my limits are. It’s good to get a sense of what I can and cannot do.

“Every actor has limits. It’s sort of testing out where they are. Luckily, I haven’t found them yet. I suppose the thing I’ve learned is that I think I am more capable than I thought I was,” he says with a laugh.