Jesse Eisenberg reveals Daniel Radcliffe turned down the lead role in his new play The Spoils

Eisenberg is currently making his London theatrical debut

Jesse Eisenberg insists he did not want to take the lead role in his new play

Jesse Eisenberg has revealed that Daniel Radcliffe turned down the lead role in his new play The Spoils.

The actor wrote the play himself and is currently starring in its West End run, making his London theatrical debut. However, taking the spotlight was not his original plan.

“It’s my third play and with all three plays I tried not to act in them because I wanted to experience being the playwright, but that hasn’t happened for various reasons,” he told Edith Bowman on the Breakfast Show.

“With The Spoils I offered the part to seven other guys when we were in New York last year and they were all busy, or at least they said they were busy. One of them was Dan Radcliffe, who was in Now You See Me 2, and Dan was doing a movie at the time (at least allegedly!) so I was kind of forced into it.”

Despite his casting hopes not coming to fruition, Eisenberg admitted that he does find the experience of acting in his own play fulfilling. “I think it’s probably for the best because once I’m doing it I kind of like it, but I just get so nervous on stage that I feel like I want to avoid the experience of having stage fright for six months,” he said. “But ultimately, doing it is very rewarding.”

The Spoils has earned warm reviews from critics, with The Independent’s Paul Taylor awarding it four stars and describing it as a “genuinely funny and intelligent study of the corrosive penalties of American privilege and sense of entitlement”.