Daniel Radcliffe, I tip my Sharpie to you

Congratulations to Daniel Radcliffe for getting his caricature unveiled at Sardi's this afternoon. He'll be part of an illustrious tradition and it's a well-deserved honor, in my opinion.

While I had mixed feelings about the play, I thought he was terrific as a very troubled teenager in Equus. And in every interview I've seen he handles himself so well. For a great example, check out what he had to say on Theater Talk about the challenge of keeping his performance fresh.

I think this is a good time to say that I owe Daniel an apology. When I wrote in November about getting his autograph at the stage door I mentioned that he seemed to take an awfully long time to sign his name. I suggested, in what I hope was a lighthearted way, that he practice a quick, illegible scrawl.

I didn't realize until later that he has a condition called dyspraxia, which affects his handwriting. So of course, I feel horrible. He mentioned dyspraxia briefly when he was on Inside the Actors Studio and he talks about it a little more in depth in this interview by Kevin Sessums at The Daily Beast. (Thanks to Rocco at What's Good, What Blows for the link.)

"I have a very mild form of it. I’ve gotten it mostly under control now. I played a lot of videogames as a kid which really helped it. It basically surfaces as bad coordination. Another example of it is how terrible my handwriting is because I can never quite tell when the pen is going to land on the page."

Now I have even more respect for him trying to sign all of those Playbills after a performance. He'd have a perfectly understandable reason for bowing out of the task, but he doesn't. And judging from the number people who find my blog by searching for Daniel Radcliffe, stage door and autographs, I know how much it means to his fans that he makes the effort.

You can catch Daniel on Broadway in Equus at the Broadhurst Theatre through Feb. 8.