Daniel Radcliffe has signed up to play a fairy-tale prince in Netflix's upcoming animated feature Steps.

Joining an all-star voice cast for a fresh take on the Cinderella story reimagining the infamous evil stepsisters as unlikely heroes, the Harry Potter star, 36, has been cast as the Prince in the animated film, which is directed by Alyce Tzue and John Ripa and is due for release later this year.

The feature centres on Lilith, voiced by Ali Wong, who is blamed for disrupting the Royal Ball with a stolen magic wand before accidentally turning her sister, Margot, voiced by Stephanie Hsu, into a frog. Forced to join Cinderella, voiced by Amanda Seyfried, and an unexpected troll ally, Lilith embarks on a quest to save the kingdom and challenge the traditional fairy-tale idea of heroes and villains.

The cast announcement comes as Daniel continues to broaden his career well beyond the role that made him famous in the Harry Potter film series, following acclaimed performances in projects including Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Miracle Workers and his Tony Award-winning stage work in Merrily We Roll Along.

Speaking about Daniel's casting, co-director John Ripa was quoted in Variety saying: "Our dream was for our fairytale Prince to be unlike any Prince you've seen before, and Daniel made that dream come true."

He added: "(Daniel) brought his incredibly unique and nuanced brand of quirky, big-hearted humor to our Prince, and created a character that's irresistible and delightful. We were blown away by Daniel's range and razor-sharp comedy chops, and it was simply a pleasure to work with him."

John continued: "We feel incredibly lucky to have all three of these massive talents on our film. Our goal was to break the fairy tale mold by making every single character three-dimensional and worthy of a happily ever after, and we couldn't have done it without Daniel, Peter, and Young."

Joining Daniel in the voice cast are Young Mazino, who voices Gef, described as "The Heartthrob", while Peter Dinklage takes on the role of Roderick, known as "The Muscle".

Amanda voices Cinderella, Stephanie plays Margot, Ali stars as Lilith and Bette Midler voices the Fairy Godmother.

Co-director Alyce Tzue praised Peter's performance, saying: "Roderick is a murderous man-nanny who has to be both terrifying and motivated by love. Peter strikes that balance with incredible skill, lending gravitas and humor to the role."

Speaking to Netflix's Tudum, Alyce also explained the inspiration behind the film's story.

She said: "This story is, at its core, about two very different sisters - one who fits perfectly into this fairy tale kingdom and one who doesn't - realising they're more alike than different."

Alyce continued: "It's such a personal story for me because, growing up as an awkward, artsy Taiwanese kid in suburban New Jersey, I often felt like an outsider, like 'happily ever after' wasn't meant for me."

She added: "I wanted to create a film for everyone who has ever felt like they didn't belong - and show how a single act of kindness can change everything."

The film also features a screenplay overturning the traditional Cinderella narrative by focusing on the misunderstood stepsisters rather than the classic heroine.

Lilith's journey sees her attempting to repair the fractured fairy tale after a prince-obsessed mean girl seizes control of the kingdom following the chaos at the Royal Ball.

For Daniel, the role marks another addition to a career that has continually defied expectations since his years leading the Harry Potter franchise.

The actor has become known for choosing unconventional projects across film, television and theatre, from offbeat comedies to dramatic stage productions, while Steps continues that trend with a fairy-tale comedy that promises to turn one of the world's best-known stories on its head.

Steps is scheduled to premiere on Netflix later this year.