Harry Potter Exclusive: Tom Felton Shares New Draco Details
Updated: Apr. 09, 2024
Everyone's favorite Hogwarts bad boy reveals what it was really like to film the Harry Potter movies—and what he's up to now
It’s been more than a decade since the last Harry Potter movie premiered, but fans’ demand for more from the Potterverse hasn’t slowed down. A new streaming series from Max is on the way in 2026, the video game Hogwarts: Legacy released in 2023 to huge success, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child continues its hit run on Broadway and, of course, the Harry Potter theme parks attract massive crowds. We recently caught up with Draco Malfoy actor Tom Felton about the ongoing popularity of the series, his latest ventures and what it’s like to have a Funko Pop figure of yourself, just in time for International Harry Potter Day on May 2.
The now-36-year-old is a far cry from the preteen Draco we knew in the Harry Potter movies. Sitting outside in an off-white sweater and blue scarf, Felton completely disarmed us—not in the “Expelliarmus” way, of course, but with his warm and open personality. “If you hear my dogs barking, you’ll have to excuse me,” he told us. The multitalented star is also a singer and author: Tom Felton’s book, Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard, became a bestseller in 2022. Now, he’s also become a Funko Pop figure with the limited-edition Harry Potter characters inside Kinder Joy Eggs—perfect for Potterheads to collect, like something right out of Honeydukes sweet shop!
Ahead, Felton reveals behind-the-scenes scoop about how close the stars really were, which movie is his favorite and who he’s still friends with from the cast—plus, details on that new Harry Potter merch. Get your broomstick and wand ready!
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Reader’s Digest: Which was your favorite Harry Potter movie, and why?
Tom Felton: An impossible question for me to answer! Anytime someone asks me that, I return fire. What’s yours?
Reader’s Digest: I think it would have to be the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Tom Felton: They all have arguments to choose which would be your favorite. Chamber of Secrets was really cool because we didn’t know we were going to make a second one. Half-Blood Prince was my favorite as an actor—learning a lot from the wonderful company that I kept there, and being slightly older, obviously. To watch the last one is still probably the most epic. It’s impossible [to choose]. I swear, every time someone asks me, I change my answer. They definitely got darker and deeper in storyline as they went on, but the final film for me is the cherry on the cake. They got it perfect.
Reader’s Digest: What behind-the-scenes Harry Potter details would fans be most surprised to hear, such as unlikely friendships or any special moments between cast members?
Tom Felton: The obvious question I get asked a lot by youngsters is: Are you and Harry actually friends in real life? Like, me and Daniel [Radcliffe, who played Harry]. And obviously I say no at first, and of course I’m joking! It took a long time to make those films, so we only spent maybe 10% of the day in our characters, but we spent a lot of time together as Daniel, Rupert, Emma and Tom. People, for some reason, seem to ask that quite a bit, and they’re quite surprised that Dan’s one of my best friends, and Emma’s very close to me—well, everyone is. It sounds cheesy, but we’re actually a bit of a Potter family. It’s quite fun.
Reader’s Digest: It’s really heartwarming to know that you guys are all still so close.
Tom Felton: It’s quite sad—well, not sad, but it’s quite unfortunate that we always seem to be in four quarters of the earth at the same time, so we rarely get a chance to get together. I just thought of another one, though: The Weasley twins and I have a furious golfing competition. We play quite a lot together, so imagine the Weasley twins and Draco out on the golf course, and them winning most of the time, I’m happy to say.
Reader’s Digest: Do you have a favorite scene that you filmed, or a least-favorite scene, or one that really pushed you as an actor?
Tom Felton: Again, much like your first question, very hard to pick. But what jumps to mind is either the dueling scene in Chamber of Secrets because that was cool—we got to do some of our own stunts—or the bathroom scene in Half-Blood Prince, where Harry and I got to go at it. It was fun to shoot. You lose yourself a lot—in the bathroom scene especially because they rigged all these things to explode when you did the spells, so it was like, “Wow, this wand really works!” It was very cool.
Reader’s Digest: How do you feel about the way Draco’s story resolved? Do you wish it had ended differently for him, and if so, what would you have preferred?
Tom Felton: I don’t think a single word of the books should be changed. There is obviously so much richness to the books, it’s difficult to translate that to the films in a such a short time, but I’m completely and utterly satisfied. And before you ask—no, I would not play any other character. Draco’s my boy. Slytherin for life!
Reader’s Digest: Reading Harry Potter is a rite of passage for most kids. What children’s books had a profound impact on you as a child or just really stuck with you?
Tom Felton: I could go on forever. Obviously Potter is one of them because it was one of the ones that got me back into reading. And I remember very early memories of my dad reading Roald Dahl books and Rudyard Kipling books, How the Rhinoceros Got Its Skin and The BFG. Most recently and still to this day, I love revisiting the Potter books. I’m a big fan.
Reader’s Digest: Are you working on anything now that you’re especially excited about?
Tom Felton: I’m really excited that Kinder Joy Eggs and the Potterverse are colliding, because Kinder Joy Eggs were one of my first memories of a treat. This was pre-Potter. My mom would pick me up from school on a Friday occasionally [with] a Kinder Joy Egg to look forward to, so the fact that they partnered up with Warner Bros. and Funko to make these various different wizarding treats is very exciting. If you told me that was going to happen 25 years ago, I think I would have lost my mind. They literally were two of some of the most important things in my childhood that have come together. It’s pretty cool.
Reader’s Digest: How does it feel to have a toy that looks like you?
Tom Felton: It’s a bit strange the first time you see it. I’ve seen how the world has gone crazy for them. One of my best friends is a huge, huge collector, and it’s very cool. I won’t lie—I have three or four of them in my office, and I’m so excited to start my journey in collecting the new mini versions that are in the Kinder Joy Eggs. I’m going to start my hunt for Draco very soon!
Reader’s Digest: I am also ready to hunt for Funko Pops and expand my own collection as well.
Tom Felton: Which character are you hoping to find first?
Reader’s Digest: Probably Draco.
Tom Felton: Thank you very much. Good answer!
Reader’s Digest: I also would like the little Dobby.
Tom Felton: Let’s just stick to Draco!
Additional reporting by Sadie Reynolds.
Originally Published: April 05, 2024
