Everything Tom Felton Wrote About ‘Harry Potter’ in His Memoir
Tom Felton has been in the spotlight since he was a child. His role as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies made him an international star. In Felton’s 2022 memoir, Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard, the actor shared details about his time on the set of the movies and his friendships with his co-stars.
How Draco Malfoy influenced Tom Felton’s real-life behavior
When Felton auditioned for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, he admitted he had no idea what the book was about. After several rounds of auditions, Felton was told he didn’t get the role of Harry Potter. However, the movie’s producers cast him as the antagonistic Draco Malfoy.
“While I like to think Draco and I were not exactly alike, there was surely something about my general nonchalance that caught the eye,” Felton wrote, according to Buzzfeed. Even though the actor said he wasn’t exactly like his character, Felton did admit some of Mafoy’s mannerisms seeped into his day-to-day life.
He was still attending regular school during filming and “overcompensated” with the other students and needed to “get the last word” with his teachers. Felton said he could also be a bit rude to fans. But in his mind, he was playing along with fans’ fantasies of him as Malfoy: “It was important to not spoil the magic.”
Tom Felton’s relationship with ‘soulmate’ and co-star Emma Watson
Someone else Felton was rude to? His co-star Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the franchise. While filming the first movie, Watson (who was just nine years old then) put on a dance performance for an audience that included Felton and some of his on-set friends.
Felton admitted he and the other boys “sniggered” at her dancing. Watson was “visibly upset by our thoughtless reaction.” The actor eventually came to realize how difficult filming was for Watson. She was the youngest cast member, the only girl in a large group of boys, and “was never afforded a normal childhood…[she] was treated like an adult from the day she was cast.”
While Felton “dismissed” the crew member who told him Watson had a crush on him, he did strike up a friendship with the actress, which has continued for years. He admitted there were rumors the two were dating — one of his girlfriends was even suspicious — but nothing romantic went on between them.
“I don’t think I was ever in love with Emma, but I loved and admired her as a person in a way that I could never explain to anybody else,” Felton wote. Watson, who penned the foreword for the book, echoed his statements, calling Felton her “soulmate” and writing, “We’ve always had each other’s backs. I know we always will.”
How did Tom Felton really feel about Daniel Radcliffe?
In addition to his friendship with Watson, Felton also shared details about his relationship with Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter. While the pair were initially wary of each other because of their characters’ differences, they soon became friends.
“I would say Harry and Draco are two sides of the same coin, and I see myself and Daniel in a similar way,” the actor wrote. Felton also praised Radcliffe’s acting talents, saying, “I learned more from watching and acting alongside him than I did from any of the adults.”
