Daniel Radcliffe says attention being paid to recent gay teen suicides is cause for hope moving forward

Daniel Radcliffe, who has grown up before our eyes during the past decade in the Harry Potter films, had been speaking out on issues ranging from bullying to the importance of acceptance.

The 21-year-old actor had already taped a public-service announcement for the Trevor Project before the recent spate of gay teen suicides.

He now tells MTV News that he sees some cause for hope despite the tragedies because of the unprecedented wave of attention now being paid to the situation.

“The attention and the more publicity and the more awareness that can be raised by everybody — it is such a good cause and such an important thing,” he said this week. “What’s interesting to me is it has taken on a wider meaning than just the Trevor Project and just people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered. It’s taken on, for everyone who has ever felt victimized or ostracized by the people in their class or in their community, it’s taken on a wider meaning, which I think is amazing.”

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows opens in theaters on Friday.