As opposed to the Harry Potter series, in which Daniel Radcliffe played the title character but was merely the first among equals in a large ensemble that included several other young stars and a dream team of British veterans, "The Woman in Black" — set to open nationwide Friday — is unmistakably Radcliffe's show.
He plays Arthur Kipps, a young, widowed lawyer who travels to a remote village to go through the papers of a recently deceased client. He lodges in an old mansion which turns out to be haunted by a mystery woman dressed in black, the ghost of a scorned woman out for vengeance.
After the magic-driven Harry Potter series, Radcliffe might have been expected to avoid a supernatural theme for his first starring vehicle.
"It's a simple case of an actor falling in love with a script," Radcliffe says. "When I read these words for the first time, I was just hooked."
