Daniel Radcliffe recreates viral red carpet meme from two years ago at Tony Awards 2026
Two years ago, Daniel Radcliffe won a Tony Award and achieved true meme status while cheering on his “Merrily We Roll Along” cast mate Jonathan Groff.
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) June 7, 2026
On the red carpet as a Tony nominee for “Every Brilliant Thing,” Radcliffe recreates the viral moment. pic.twitter.com/3fX4Xc1SUc
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Daniel Radcliffe proved that his greatest off-screen trick might not be wizardry, but his uncanny ability to become an internet meme sensation.
The 36-year-old ‘Harry Potter’ star found himself at the center of a social media frenzy after his iconic facial expression during the 2024 Tony Awards turned him into one of the internet's most viral memes.
Two years later, Radcliffe appeared more than willing to lean into the joke when he was confronted with the meme on the Tony Awards 2026 red carpet.
Daniel Radcliffe recreates viral Tony Awards meme
The ‘Imperium’ actor walked the red carpet on Sunday, June 7, wearing a light blue tuxedo and matching bow tie.
During a red-carpet interview, Radcliffe was shown the now-famous photo of himself enthusiastically cheering for his ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ co-star Jonathan Groff, a moment that later achieved viral meme status.
Rather than shying away from the moment, he appeared amused by the meme's enduring popularity. "Oh, yeah," Radcliffe rejoiced as he looked at the picture.
When asked whether he had seen the meme online, the actor replied, "Somebody showed it to me, yes, I've seen it in another car, I didn't, did I reach meme status truly?”
“That's great, I'm very happy with that, now we can do an inception of memes and just keep this going. See you next year,” he continued as he joined the reporter in recreating the now-iconic expression, giving fans a side-by-side comparison that quickly began circulating across social media platforms.
The recreation also served as a full-circle moment in what has been a remarkable period of success for the actor. Since becoming a Broadway mainstay, Radcliffe has earned critical acclaim for his stage work, including winning a Tony Award for ‘Merrily We Roll Along’.
Daniel Radcliffe jokes about son's reaction
Radcliffe again had his sense of humor on display as he reflected on his recent run in Broadway's ‘Every Brilliant Thing’, mentioning that his and Erin Darke's 3-year-old son didn't seem to mind his father's absence.
"There's some ways in which theater is great for having a kid," Daniel told E! News. "You get so much time during the day to be with them, but the six days a week, that gets tough eventually and like I really missed him."
"He was fine, he didn't miss me,” he then quipped.
While his son seemed unfazed by the time apart, the 36-year-old actor admitted that the child was never far from his mind during ‘Every Brilliant Thing’, a production centered on life's countless joys and reasons for hope.
"I found doing a show that says something about the world that I really wanted to be a part of saying, my son's a real inspiration in wanting to say that," he added. "And when I was thinking about certain things in the show, I would think about him a lot, so he was actually quite energizing."
