Daniel Radcliffe’s Favorite Harry Potter Movie Skips Quidditch — Here’s Why

Daniel Radcliffe’s favorite Harry Potter film might surprise you: Order of the Phoenix, the 2007 chapter that skips Quidditch entirely and drives the saga into its darkest, most emotionally charged territory.

Daniel Radcliffe naming Order of the Phoenix as his favorite Harry Potter movie always raises eyebrows, and I get why. It is the one film in the series with zero Quidditch. Not one broomstick lap. But that choice is exactly why the movie hits the way it does — and why it clearly hit Radcliffe too.

Why Order of the Phoenix landed for Radcliffe

The 2007 installment pushed Harry into his most inward, volatile space: the Ministry breathing down his neck, that unnerving mind link with Voldemort, and the mess of teenage fury and isolation bubbling up at the worst possible time. Radcliffe had to carry more of that weight than ever, and he’s said that challenge is what made it stand out for him.

As he put it in one interview (via Slashfilm):

"My best film is the fifth one (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) because I can see a progression."

Less spectacle, more character. You can feel the pivot toward a story that cares more about Harry’s head and heart than about how high he can fly. That shift is the heartbeat of the movie — and the big reason it’s Radcliffe’s pick.

No Quidditch, on purpose

Screenwriter Michael Goldenberg later explained that the missing matches weren’t an oversight; they cut Quidditch to keep the film laser-focused on Harry’s interior battles and the mounting political pressure at Hogwarts. That breathing room, he said, opened up growth for both Harry and Ron in ways a sports subplot would have squeezed out.

"Any movie that had included the Quidditch subplot would have been a lesser film."

Is that a spicy take? A little. Especially when Rupert Grint admitted he was "quite looking forward to the Quidditch stuff." Still, the call tracks with what the film is trying to do: fewer distractions, more depth. And the result is a darker, sturdier middle chapter that doesn’t need a single goal post to land its punches.

Why he won’t rewatch the films (even the favorite)

Here’s the part that always surprises people: Radcliffe basically can’t sit through his own Potter movies. He’s been upfront about it across multiple interviews — the mix of learning on the job and literal teenage awkwardness is just too much to relive. Speaking to Vanity Fair, he didn’t mince words about one entry in particular:

"It’s hard to watch a film like Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, because I’m just not very good in it. I hate it. My acting is very one-note and I can see I got complacent and what I was trying to do just didn’t come across."

He’s still proud of the whole run and regularly credits the filmmakers for shaping him, but pressing play on those movies is basically pressing play on being a teenager again. Hard pass, understandable.

The legacy of Order of the Phoenix, broom-free

He may favor the only Potter film without Quidditch, but that’s kind of the point. Order of the Phoenix captured the moment when Harry — and Radcliffe, now 36 — shifted from surviving the story to owning it. No flying required.

All Harry Potter films are available to stream on Peacock.