Prepare To Feel Old, Daniel Radcliffe Is Now A Dad

Daniel Radcliffe and his partner Erin Darke are expecting their first child.

By Chris Snellgrove | Updated

daniel radcliffe

One of the reasons that the Harry Potter fandom is so fierce is that many fans spent their own formative years watching stars like Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint grow up onscreen. They were all child actors when Warner Bros. released Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, including Radcliffe, who was only 11 years old at the time. And if you’re one of the fans who saw that film in theaters, prepare to feel old: the BBC is reporting that Radcliffe is expecting the birth of his first child with his partner Erin Darke.

For more casual fans of Daniel Radcliffe, this may seem like a very sudden development. However, both Radcliffe and Darke have clearly taken their time in this relationship without rushing into major decisions such as having a baby. In fact, these two Hollywood sweethearts have been dating each other for a decade already.

It all started with the 2013 movie Kill Your Darlings. Daniel Radcliffe and Erin Darke both starred in this movie, and the film also featured Elizabeth Olsen before she appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the movie, Radcliffe plays the famous poet Allen Ginsberg and Darke played one of his romantic interests.

Before too long, life began imitating art, and Erin Darke found herself a love interest of Daniel Radcliffe even when the cameras weren’t rolling. The romantic chemistry between the two actors was the single best part of Kill Your Darlings, and once the two of them realized they had offscreen chemistry as well, they began dating. Fast-forward a decade later and here we are, where the man who brought Harry Potter to life is about to become a father. 

Some fans have been surprised by the news because they didn’t really know about Daniel Radcliffe’s girlfriend, much less the fact that Radcliffe and Darke have been dating for ten years. But that’s exactly how the couple likes it: each of them prefers as much privacy as possible when it comes to their romantic life, so they have kept most of the details about their love life under wraps. For example, we don’t know why the couple hasn’t felt the need to get married and probably never will because the two of them have learned to avoid throwing quotes at the press that could be twisted into weird and speculative headlines.

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Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al Yankovic

At the very least, we know that deciding to become parents hasn’t slowed down the careers of either Daniel Radcliffe or Erin Darke. Recently, Radcliffe dazzled us all with his hilariously over-the-top performance in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, and it wasn’t long ago that he did some voicework for Rick and Morty. Meanwhile, Darke has been focusing mostly on television work, including roles in Moonshine and Miracle Workers (in which Radcliffe also stars).

It will be interesting to see how much having a baby changes Daniel Radcliffe and Erin Darke, both as individuals and as a couple. Hopefully, the kid gets to have a normal life and they never make him take one of those annoying Sorting Hat tests online. And while we’re a long way from hearing what name the couple decides to give the kid, Harry Potter fans know that as long as the name isn’t as stupid as Albus Severus Potter, then the kid will probably be alright.