Do we all just collectively agree that Daniel Radcliffe probably made enough money playing Harry Potter to do whatever he wants now? Yes? Yes. Excellent. Because what he’s doing with that freedom is nothing short of glorious.
Case in point: Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail, the third season of the anthology series where Daniel plays Reverend Ezekiel Brown — a devout man on a very unserious journey. Think prairie-meets-chaos energy, and you’re getting warm.
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Now let’s talk about the scene. In a moment that can only be described as fever dream meets frontier fabulous, Radcliffe bursts into a rendition of “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain.” But this ain’t your grandma’s version. No, no. This version has choreography. It has attitude. It has leather chaps.
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And we don’t mean “suggestive cowboy aesthetic” leather chaps. We mean full camp fantasy. Radcliffe is decked out in black leather briefs, matching chaps, leather arm sleeves, and a glorious feathered neckpiece — like a queer rodeo peacock ready for battle. Toss in some eyeliner and theatrical lighting, and you have what can only be described as the Oregon Trail’s most unexpected fashion moment.
Photo Credit: Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail | TBS (2021)
Then he starts to vogue.
Yes, Daniel Radcliffe — our former Boy Who Lived — is on screen serving high kicks, laser-focused duckwalks, and attitude-heavy poses like he was born on the main stage of RuPaul’s Drag Race. And just when you think, “Surely, it can’t get any better,” he spreads his legs wide open on top of the piano and gives the camera a prize-winning look of success.
Photo Credit: Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail | TBS (2021)
There’s also twerking. A decent amount, actually. In the Midwest, no less. It’s as if someone dared Daniel to throw all inhibitions to the wind, and he replied, “Hold my wand.”
But here’s the best part — he’s not doing it ironically. There’s no wink-wink “I’m too cool for this.” Radcliffe is completely committed. With all the gravitas of a Broadway star and the hip-thrusts of a backup dancer in a 2003 Britney Spears video, he throws himself into the moment with unshakable enthusiasm. And honestly? It’s kind of magical.
Photo Credit: Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail | TBS (2021)
Radcliffe may have built his career in the wizarding world, but these days he’s conjuring up something even more powerful: pure joy. Whether he’s playing a farting corpse (Swiss Army Man), Weird Al Yankovic (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), or a voguing reverend in the American frontier, Daniel’s post-Potter choices scream, “I’m just here to have fun — and you should be too.”
So yes, Daniel Radcliffe probably made enough money to retire at 12. But instead of disappearing, he’s giving us twerking, splits, eyeliner, and laughs. He’s living his best, weirdest life — and frankly, that might be his greatest role yet.
He’s actually a shockingly good dancer, although he himself states that it requires a lot of training and choreography to get him to look as good as he can. The dancing he did in How to Succeed in Business, some of which was captured on some scenes he performed, particularly the Tony awards clip, show that. And it’s particularly noteworthy given, that in that case, and with Jonathan Goff, he had some really tall co-leads to be doing scenes with.
In fact, speaking of Merrily We Roll Along, the last few shows were filmed and Fathom Entertainment will be releasing the movie of that Broadway show for a few showings come this December. Since Goff won the Tony for that, hopefully Instinct will blurb this in time for people to actually go to theaters and catch this, since it’s not like we got a national touring production of this adaptation.
And yes, if this is still playing on TBS, people should watch it, or go catch it on HBO Max. This episode played in 2024, I believe?