--- description: Daniel Radcliffe told BuzzFeed he'd choose a Neil Patrick Harris show over a feathered companion title: Harry Potter Shows No Allegiance to His Owl image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb3760c8744ff9329/698698ade8524b96226038ff/ap090904165884.jpg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's the Heartbreaking Thing Harry Potter Said About Hedwig by [Giri Nathan](/author/giri-nathan/) ## Giri Nathan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 20, 2014 10:42 PM CUT  Daniel Radcliffe portrays Harry Potter with Hedwig the Owl in a scene from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1." Daniel Radcliffe portrays Harry Potter with Hedwig the Owl in a scene from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1."Jaap Buitendijk—Warner Bros/AP by [Giri Nathan](/author/giri-nathan/) ## Giri Nathan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 20, 2014 10:42 PM CUT Harry Potter’s owl isn’t even his favorite Hedwig. Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter in the movie adaptations of J.K. Rowling’s book series, said Friday that he would [choose](http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedbrews/daniel-radcliffe-buzzfeed-brews "undefined") the musical _Hedwig and the Angry Inch_ over Hedwig, Harry’s beloved snowy owl. The question during a _BuzzFeed_ event was admittedly ill-formed: What did it mean to “choose” one over the other? Were his options seeing a [Broadway show](http://hedwigbroadway.com "undefined") starring Neil Patrick Harris once or owning a highly intelligent, mail-delivering, proud, loyal bird? If so, his choice seems inexplicable. “They’re also hard things to compare,” Radcliffe conceded, after making his selection. Fans disappointed by his choice were probably further saddened to learn that Radcliffe was not a big fan of the _Harry Potter_ book series as a child. On the bright side, they just learned that the Diagon Alley theme park will [open](http://time.com/2894778/harry-potter-diagon-alley/ "undefined") its doors early next month. Daniel Radcliffe says he'd chose Hedwig on Broadway over Hedwig the Owl. — BuzzFeed Celeb (@BuzzFeedCeleb) [June 20, 2014](https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedCeleb/status/480086221394575361?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw "undefined") Daniel wasn't really into Harry Potter as a child because he didn't love reading [#BuzzFeedBrews](https://twitter.com/hashtag/BuzzFeedBrews?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw "undefined") — BuzzFeed Celeb (@BuzzFeedCeleb) [June 20, 2014](https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedCeleb/status/480089331072516096?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2907731/harry-potter-hedwig-owl/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2907731/harry-potter-hedwig-owl/"},"headline":"Here's the Heartbreaking Thing Harry Potter Said About Hedwig","datePublished":"2014-06-20T22:42:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:33:12.819Z","description":"Hedwig not his favorite","url":"https://time.com/2907731/harry-potter-hedwig-owl/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb3760c8744ff9329/698698ade8524b96226038ff/ap090904165884.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Giri Nathan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/giri-nathan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb3760c8744ff9329/698698ade8524b96226038ff/ap090904165884.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Film Harry Potter 3-D","caption":"Film Harry Potter 3-D","creditText":"Jaap Buitendijk—Warner Bros/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2907731/harry-potter-hedwig-owl/","name":"Here's the Heartbreaking Thing Harry Potter Said About Hedwig"}}]}] ```