Daniel Radcliffe self-isolates with girlfriend after false claims of COVID-19

Daniel Radcliffe became the first celebrity to fall victim to hoax claims of being infected with coronavirus. The English actor has now opened up about the rumours as well as his experience of being in quarantine with actress girlfriend Erin Darke.

In an interview with Vulture magazine, Daniel Radcliffe clarified that even though he hasn't caught the virus yet, he is taking it seriously since "at some point," he "might get it."

The "Harry Potter" star, who has been self-isolating with longtime girlfriend Erin Darke at his New York City apartment, recalled the moment when news of his false diagnosis went viral on the internet after a fake Twitter handle @BBCNewsTonight posted: "Daniel Radcliffe becomes the first famous person to get coronavirus."

Interestingly, just hours after the tweet, Tom Hanks confirmed his illness becoming the "first famous person" to be infected with the virus.

"I was doing a play in London, which obviously had to finish a little early, but at the time we were still doing it...We'd done the matinee and I went into hair and makeup for the evening show, and the hair and makeup artist, a lovely guy called Rob, turned around with a sort of knowing smile, and he was like, "You've got coronavirus," the 30-year-old revealed.

"I was like, 'What?! I'm sure I don't. I just did a play.' And he said, 'Yeah, my niece just texted me. She said, 'Oh, yeah, that dude's got coronavirus,'" the actor said, adding that he was "quite amused by it."

When his girlfriend said that it was a "crazy hoax, partially because it could have been true, as at some point, someone will be the first famous person to have it." Darke pointed out: "that's such a weird distinction. Surely the first person to get coronavirus is the first famous person to get coronavirus."

After the hoax spammed the internet in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak in the US, BuzzFeed spoke to the people behind it. It was a group of 33 anonymous people, who revealed they did because they thought "it was funny, that they were manipulating people's minds, and that the internet was lowering people's IQ."

They added that they chose Radcliffe because they needed someone "who was famous but not famous enough to be unbelievable." However, "The Woman in Black" actor quipped that he wondered if they chose him because he "looks ill all the time."

About being in quarantine with Darke, Radcliffe said: "We're both in the situation where we've never been more grateful not to have a kid, or more annoyed that we don't have a dog. But generally speaking, compared to a lot of people, we are very, very much okay."