‘Harry Potter’: Tom Felton Couldn’t Stop Crying After Constantly Ruining a Deleted Scene
Harry Potter actor Tom Felton once revealed he was particularly hard on himself during one scene in the popular franchise. So much so that when the scene eventually got cut, the young star couldn’t help blaming himself.
How playing Draco Malfoy affected Tom Felton’s childhood
Tom Felton has been very vocal about the impact being cast as Malfoy had on his formative years. Compared to his castmates, however, the influence of Harry Potter over his life wasn’t quite as drastic.
“My schedules were fixed in a way I could stay at school with weeks on and weeks off,” Felton told The Guardian. “Rupert [Grint], Emma [Watson] and Daniel [Radcliffe], meanwhile, were there non-stop for 10 years. I carried on as normal. I’d get the occasional gag or comment from my mates, but honestly, nobody was bothered.”
But being in the films did come with occasional drawbacks. He missed holiday parties and school trips because of his Harry Potter obligations. And his Harry Potter fame had very little influence on his social standing in high school.
“Some people really struggle with the idea that I wasn’t this special, popular kid,” Felton said. “But I was walking around with dyed hair and played an evil wizard. It wasn’t cool. It did me no favours with the girls.”
Tom Felton shared he couldn’t stop crying because he kept ruining a deleted ‘Harry Potter’ scene
Felton once recalled a moment when he was having some trouble nailing down a Harry Potter scene. Although he couldn’t remember exactly which movie it was, the scene stuck out because the young actor was extremely hard on himself.
“On the second or third film, when I was still quite young, there was a line that’s supposed to be the end of the film, and for some reason I couldn’t say it. I don’t know what it was, but my mouth just stuttered,” he once said according to Pop Entertainment. “I used to have a bit of a bad stutter, actually, as a kid. I was very young, and I actually started crying because I couldn’t get this right. I was really upset. The director came up to me and said ‘Tom, we got it, we got it. It’s in the can. Don’t worry about it,’ and I was like ‘Brilliant. Thank God, thank God.’”
But Felton would later learn the scene in question would never see the light of day. The Flash alum quipped this taught him a very important lesson about the movie industry.
“They cut that out of the film, it’s not in it. It’s not even in the deleted scenes. It’s just been banished off the face of the Earth. That was the line that taught me: get it right or they’re just going to cut you out,” he said.
How Tom Felton would’ve felt if he was cast as Harry Potter instead of Draco Malfoy
As many know, Felton originally auditioned for the titular character in Harry Potter. But director Chris Columbus believed that the actor would ultimately fit Draco Malfoy better. Still, Felton was asked how he might’ve felt if he’d gotten the lead role instead. But the actor would later concede he couldn’t imagine anyone else in the starring role other than Daniel Radcliffe.
“I went for half a dozen auditions for Harry. They dyed my hair slightly dark brown, gave me the scar, the glasses, everything. Luckily, Daniel smashed me to the post. And actually I dyed my hair ginger straight afterward for Ron – three auditions as Ron,” Felton explained. “Finally, they bleached my hair blond and that stuck for 10 years. I’m very grateful. There is no question that no one could have played Harry as well as Daniel – or the whole cast really. So I’m very grateful.”
