Daniel Radicliffe has revealed he is “terrified” about the prospect of Donald Trump becoming US president and skewered him for “conning” the public.
The film star said he was not optimistic about Democrat Hillary Clinton’s chances in the White House race, adding it was “scary” to see voters being “manipulated” into voting for a candidate who was inciting hatred.
Radcliffe was speaking to AOL Build ahead of the release of his latest film, Imperium, in which he plays an under-cover FBI agent who infiltrates white-supremacist groups.
“We didn’t set out to make a political film, but so many of the views in it have become so much more mainstream since we made it in a way that we didn’t count on,” he said on Tuesday.
Radcliffe, 27, turned on politicians in the UK and US for failing to tackle the rise of extremism, saying that it was increasing “rapidly”.
“It’s scary and sad to see people being manipulated into voting [based on] their fears and hatreds.
“It’s sad to see people being convinced to hate anything that’s foreign when the mixing of ideas, people and cultures is what makes us great and strong and [the world] a wonderful place to live.”
Turning his attention to the battle between Clinton and Trump, the former Harry Potter actor said he did not share the confidence of his American friends that the Democrat candidate would triumph.
“I am terrified about the American election,” Radcliffe told The Huffington Post UK’s Nitya Rajan. “I don’t have the optimism that a lot of my American friends do about Hilary’s chances.
“Donald Trump has somehow managed to convince people that he is somehow not part of the elite and that he is not just a super privileged guy and that he somehow stands for working people when he has not done that in his life.
“It’s worrying to see people being conned.”
Radcliffe added that he hoped some white-supremacists went to watch his new film as it had the power to make them see differently.
“This film is open-minded enough about people that it could change a mind or two, hopefully,” he said.
Watch the full interview with HuffPost UK’s Nitya Rajan from Tuesday below: