Daniel Radcliffe takes on the Israeli accent
Harry Potter star tackles role of Yossi Ghinsberg in ‘Jungle’
Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe is taking on a new, less-magical role: Israeli adventurer Yossi Ghinsberg, who had to fight his way out of the jungles of Bolivia.
The Australian film, Jungle, is set to premiere in North America later this month. Directed by Greg McLean, the movie is based on the memoir Ghinsberg wrote after his three weeks lost in the Amazon in 1981, trying to survive against all odds.
Radcliffe took on the role of Ghinsberg, who at age 21, after finishing his IDF service, decided to delve into an uncharted area in the Amazon jungle in Peru. While he began his trek with three friends, Ghinsberg was separated from them, and forced to fight for weeks for his survival on his own.
The film screened at the Haifa International Film Festival on Sunday, and will have another showing on Thursday night.
But, of course, the real question is: How is Radcliffe at an Israeli accent?
According to Variety, the actor’s accent was “acceptable,” while The Hollywood Reporter called it “creditable.”
In an interview with Channel 2’s Elad Simchayoff that aired this week, Radcliffe was thrilled with the reporter’s compliment on his accent.
“Honestly you guys have – as an English person – it’s a very tricky accent to get, I think.”
Radcliffe said he was drawn to the role after reading the script, and later reading Ghinsberg’s book.
“It was one of those things that I read, and I thought – I can’t, wow, I can’t believe that I didn’t know this already,” he told Channel 2 News. “And sometimes you just want to be a part of paying tribute to something great that really happened.”