'Harry Potter' actor Daniel Radcliffe 'delighted' people see him as a sex symbol

How does Daniel Radcliffe, once pictured by millions as a scrawny 11-year-old wizard, feel about becoming a sex symbol?

"If anyone sees me that way, I'm delighted," Radcliffe said in an Associated Press interview to promote his new movie "Horns."

He also said that a double standard has existed when it comes to the young cast members of "Harry Potter," who grew up in the public eye. When the final "Potter" film came out in 2011, Radcliffe said, the public had no trouble thinking of his female costars as adults.

"The male population has had no problem sexualizing Emma Watson immediately," Radcliffe said of his costar who played Hermione in the films.

Saying that Radcliffe's character in "Horns" is a departure from his "Potter" days would be an understatement. He plays Ignatius "Ig" Perrish, a character believed by the public to have raped and murdered his girlfriend. The movie is rated R for sexual content.

Radcliffe said that audiences associate him with the young Harry Potter, and this has made it hard for him to get cast in more adult roles like these, he said.

"People seem to think that everything I do is a comment on 'Harry Potter,' which it's not," Radcliffe said of his adult career.

"Some people think that, by wanting to do other things, that I am somehow not proud of 'Harry Potter,' which is just ludicrous," he said.

"Horns" is now playing in theaters.