Shine like millions.

I first met Dan when he was 13 going on 14 — or 13 going on 50, really. He was a brilliant boy, way beyond his years. He was focused, committed, and hard-working, and he had an absolutely killer sense of humor. He wasn’t just some little kid who got a lucky break and was messing about.

Dan dares to get up on the high wire. There’s risk involved in the work he’s choosing. I can’t think of many 17-year-olds who would expose themselves - and I don’t mean just in the physical sense - and risk everything by going on stage and doing Equus, as Dan did a while back.

What I admire most about him is that he doesn’t rest on his laurels. He doesn’t think the world owes him because he’s played Harry Potter. He took lessons and learned to dance and sing, because he knew that once Potter was over, he would be swimming in the stream with all the other salmon. I was sad to see Potter go, but happy, too. It was not goodbye. Dan is going to continue to work and mature and develop his skills. And, I think, continue to dazzle.

• Parent
• 2 months ago
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