Daniel Radcliffe’s original audition for Harry Potter has recently been making the Internet rounds again since the 26-year-old actor spoke about how difficult it was for him to watch the recording in a November interview for The Times. It shows him “at a stage when you hate your face anyway, and anything it does is repellent to you,” he said.
But while it may be difficult for DanRad himself to watch, the adorable casting tape shows exactly why he landed the role of the boy wizard. Young Radcliffe is seen chatting with an off-screen Hagrid about the dragon egg that comes into play in The Sorcerer’s Stone before performing a darker Prisoner of Azkaban scene during which he talks about Harry’s deceased parents. To top it all off, the video ends with him trying on a pair of the iconic Potter glasses.
We solemnly swear that it’s worth it to watch the entire magical clip below.
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Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com