After weeks of online voting, Broadway.com readers have chosen Daniel Radcliffe 2011 Star of the Year. Radcliffe won the hearts of Broadway audiences for his charismatic musical debut performance as J. Pierrepont Finch in the smash-hit revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. The 22-year-old headliner becomes the first two-time Star of Year winner, having already taken the title in 2008 for his Main Stem debut in Equus.
Other Star of the Year nominees, chosen by the editorial staff of Broadway.com, were Nina Arianda (Born Yesterday and Venus in Fur), Reeve Carney (Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark), Sutton Foster (Anything Goes), Hugh Jackman (Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway) and Joe Mantello (The Normal Heart).
Radcliffe has had a dream year, juggling eight shows a week on Broadway with promotional duties for the biggest movie hit of 2011, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. After leaving How to Succeed on January 1, he will mix some much-deserved down time with publicity for his forthcoming big-screen thriller The Woman in Black and a January 14 stint hosting Saturday Night Live.
In honor of Radcliffe’s Star of the Year win, our resident artist Justin ‘Squigs’ Robertson produced a special portrait and Broadway.com filmed reactions from his How to Succeed co-stars and compiled a list of five reasons fans (including us!) love the charming star. Congratulations, Daniel!