Daniel Radcliffe recently tried his hand at eating a series of scorching chicken wings during an interview for the YouTube series Hot Ones. During the interview, which was published on Thursday, Radcliffe even shared his love for JEOPARDY! and its late host, Alex Trebek. The longtime host of the quiz show program died on Nov. 8 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 80.
At one point during the interview (around the 4:00 mark), host Sean Evans asked the Harry Potter star why those in the United Kingdom are so fond of quiz shows. In response, Radcliffe shared that the quiz shows on the BBC are his “favorite” because those who compete are doing so for the love of the game. He added, “It’s one of the holes in my cultural life in America that I definitely do miss. And that’s why JEOPARDY! has really filled that void. So, very sad about the Alex Trebek news, as the world rightly was.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Evans then asked Radcliffe his feelings on the “magic” that Trebek was able to bring to the quiz show format, to which the Kill Your Darlings actor replied, “I think it’s that you could really tell how much he loved the competition and the game of it. You would see him get slightly, not annoyed, but when somebody didn’t clear a board and there were still a few questions left… he’d just be like, ‘Ok, well, you know we’ll come back for Double Jeopardy after the break and I’m sure we’ll all do better then.’ You could tell that he really loved seeing people that were really smart do well and that is the essential joy of a quiz show. And to be the only person that’s ever hosted that I mean, I’m sure they’ll find someone incredible for that job. My god, they have gigantic shoes to fill.”
Representatives for Trebek confirmed that he had died after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer, a battle that the host was vocal about throughout his treatment. The official JEOPARDY! Twitter account broke the news to fans. On the social media site, they noted that Trebek passed away on Nov. 8 surrounded by his family and friends. He is survived by his wife, Jean Currivan-Trebek, and three children — Matthew, Emily, and Nicky.
