Review: Tom Felton may turn out to be the best child actor in the Potter films

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A new review in the Philadelphia Bulletin gives another great description of Tom Felton’s acting in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:

Rupert Grint is not a great actor, but he gives a solid performance now as a young adult. Daniel Radcliffe turns out to be a very good actor. And Emma Watson, as Hermione Granger, has grown into the strongest performer of the lot.

With one exception. Tom Felton, who plays the thankless part of the bully, Draco Malfoy, was cast BEFORE anyone knew how vital and difficult a role his would be by the time the sixth film rolled around. In many ways this is his movie — his choices provide most of the suspense. And he has to play them in virtual solitude.

It is hard to be sure, because he says so little in this film (yet conveys so much!), but he may turn out to be the best actor to come out of the child casting in the Harry Potter films. (And I include in this Robert Pattinson, who graduated from playing Cedric Diggory, who dies tragically in GOBLET, to giving a surprisingly effective performance in the difficult role of Edward Cullen in TWILIGHT.)

67 thoughts on “Review: Tom Felton may turn out to be the best child actor in the Potter films”

  2. LOL Difficult role of Edward Cullen? Oh please…

    Other than that, i agree completely! Tom definitely has the most potential to have a successful post-HP acting career.

  3. I agree!!… except that I really don’t think Dan is a very good actor.. Rupert is much better than him in my opinion, and Emma is definitely better.

  4. brilliant!
    congrats tom !! he did have such an amazing performance, he was really fantastic in this film! i can’t wait to see him in the 7th part one/part two !! congrats! <33

  6. i agree tho i disagree about RobPatz i thought Twilight ruined him. Yes he is alot more popular now but his hair is gross and i didnt like him in Twilight, yeah hes hot as Edward but he was wayyy hotter as Cedric and i helps that he wasnt playing a stalker.
    sorry bout that rant.
    i also think Rupert is a great actor. Hp<3

  7. Wow, that is such great praise! Congrats to Tom for getting such good reviews all over for his performance in HBP. Totally deserved! 🙂

  9. I do believe Mr. Felton is one of the best to come from the HP movie. However, I don’t understand the praise towards Emma.. I never really have thought she did well at the part. I’m quite opposite about Rupert as well, I think he is great.
    Anyways… this movie is by far one of my favorites because Tom is in it more (obviously), and conveys such strong emotion.

  11. well its true..even wen d movies came out..and i read d books ,i always thaught draco will b involved i some thing big..and there u have it..in HBP…ant way tom is good..really good…also daniel and emma

  13. Yay!
    Rupert Grint is a good actor! He’s amazing! Him and tom felton are the best!

  15. Of course Tom is the best actor ever!! 🙂
    He really did AWESOME job in HBP!!
    And he sings very well!!! LOVE HIS ALL SONGS!!! =]

  16. Rupert Grint ‘not a great actor’?
    Emma Watson the ‘strongest performer’?
    Please, they’ve got it the other way round Rupert is a far better actor than emma and dan.
    Tom’s amazing, glad to see credit given where its du 🙂

  19. Considering Draco is a complex and enigmatic character with a dark, mysterious touch, I don’t think anyone of than Tom could have played him that well. People could try, but fail miserably before succeeding in a way that Tom has portrayed him.
    It seems natural for Tom to act; he’s talented in so many ways. Other blonde ‘bad boys’ such as Alex Pettyfer in this years Tormented, still haven’t managed to pull off such a convincing piece of performance.
    I wish Tom the best of luck, not that he needs it, for the future after Harry Potter and cannot wait to watch his performance in the next Harry Potter films. 🙂

  22. Rupert not a great actor?
    Emma strongest performer? hmm.
    but yesss tom is the best without a doubt! liked him a lot since the first movie, but i was still really surprised how perfect he was in HBP (:

  23. Tom has brought everything I imagined Draco to be. I have not been able to stop talking about his performance in HBP. I was moved.

  24. Too true, even though i complete dissagree witht he rupert bit, hes an amazing actor as well

  25. Why are all the best character actors such nice guys? It speaks to the depth of their talent to be so convincing and despicable!

  26. Go Tom!!!Definitely the best out of the lot.
    I don’t think Emma Watson is a good actress at all..atleast not in Half-Blood Prince. Everything she does seems fake to me, especially when she laughs or cries.

  28. Yes!! go Tom Felton!! he’s a nice guy and I love his music.”If You Could Be Anywhere”

    and I post this tweet for Tom. simple sentence for him to use in Japan..hope it useful. please reply my tweets..please please please..

    @TomFelton Ohayou Gozaimasu(good mrng). Hajimemashite?(introduce). watashi wa Tom Felton desu(my name’s). douzo yoroshiku(nice 2 meet u)

  29. I tottaly agree and I’m so deeply excited that everyone received your role so well! Best of luck!

  33. This reviewer has absolutely everything wrong apart from the fact that Tom was the best actor in the entire film. Which he totally was, hands down.

  34. I totally agree! Tom’s character, Draco, was a very interesting and emotional character to play (from what I have seen in the film.) Tom Felton shows that he is really the best child actor of the lot because he can play Draco very effectively, and not to mention that I can’t see another actor that could play the part quite like him!!! 🙂

  36. all of them are bright actors
    Rupert is a bright actor too , so don’t say he’s not
    Rupert , Dan , Tom , Emma , Bonnie , Olivier and James , Matthew , Harry , and all others… are bright actors
    best regards !

  37. PLEASE DONT SAY RUPERT NOT A GOOD ACTOR.
    HE IS VERY BRILLIANT!
    TOM FELTON DEFINITELY DESERVE TO BE PRAISE!!
    WAY TO GO RUPERT AND TOM !

  38. Harry , Ron , Hermione , Ginny , Fred and George , Dudley… so every characters a so interesting and fantastic characters , to act , but no just… bright actors for bright characters I feel it and really I m right
    well a genial saga , a genial talent , a genial writer Joanne Kathleen Rowling…

  39. this is extremely true! i left the theater thinking just how brilliant his performance was in the sixth installment… he deserves all the praise!

  41. Its about time tom got credit,
    he’s always been the best actor,
    and he was amazing in HBP, the best of them all by far. :]
    xx

  43. follow me on twitter with the name above and together we will try our best 2 get him nominated x

  46. Yes!!!! i agree, and i also thought the book said he was muscular, but any whooo. Tom is amaizing it is great that he is getting some recognition.

  47. Besides the part about Tom Felton being a good actor the rest of what he said is BS. Waston sucks at acting. But I suppose Grint and Radcliffe are good too.

  48. ” … to giving a surprisingly effective performance in the difficult role of Edward Cullen in Twilight.”

    They were kidding, right? I was laughing throughout the entire movie because the acting was so awful. He did well in Harry Potter but Twilight was nothing but a big joke.

    Rupert Grint isn’t a bad actor in the HP movies either. I haven’t seen him in anything else, but he plays the roll of Ron really well as does Emma Watson as Hermoine. To be honest if anyone is the weakest out of the three, it’s Daniel Radcliffe. He’s very good – like the others – in the funny scenes especially in the latest movie; however, many of the serious scenes are somewhat ruined by his acting. He gets all twitchy and insincere. It’s just not altogether believable at times. It makes me remember that I’m watching a movie.

    They’re right about Tom though. He was the best actor in HP6. The younger actors have never been favorites of mine, but he definitely beat out everyone else this time around. The whole reason I paid $11 to see the movie for the midnight premiere was because I saw a screen shot of him on the tower and was convinced that at least he was going to do the character justice.

  50. I wonder if this review is legit. Comparing Tom to Rpattz? Are you kidding me? While I think Tom did a marvelous job as Draco, Rpattz acting as Edward was absolutely cringe-worthy. Way to make a comparison reviewer.

    Biased, I say.

  51. rupert grint is a great actor! he is the best of them all and emma is a dumb git who has zero acting skill! but tom is cool!

  52. rupert grint is a great actor! he is the best of them all and emma is a dumb git who has zero acting skill! but tom is cool! and i hate edward but cedric is awsome!@

  53. yeah:D
    of course Tom Felton is the best actor!!
    i just love him soooo much!!
    and hi there,i’m from Taiwan!!
    a BIG fan of Harry Potter and Tom Felton!!

  54. This is a Tom Felton fansite but we’re nice to everyone. No need to be mean to Emma or anybody in HP. They’re all good actors and I love them. I personally think Tom is the best. Go hate somewhere else. No love, me.

  55. Lol… I love tom felton and his performance in Half-Blood Prince is amazing!
    However I don’t know if I can take this reporter seriously after she said that Robert Pattinson gave ” a surprisingly effective performance in the difficult role of Edward Cullen in TWILIGHT!”
    lol…really? 😛

  56. this artical is rubbish. Yes, Tom did an amazing job in HBP. His best film yet. But to say Emma as grown into the strongest performer? Nay nay nay oh dear god, one thounsand times nay. I think shes done…okay at her role. However, she hasn’t grown at all, while Dan, Rupert, and Tom all have.

  57. It’s ridiculous to mention Robert Pattison who isn’t part of the latest film, but I agree that Tom is without doubt the best actor in this film. Loved his perfomance! Rupert is, whatever they say, a good actor as the other two of the Trio as well. Think that they all developed in their acting. Unlilkely other films the cast is almost perfect especially the other popular characters like the Twins, Luna, Neville, so on. I’m curious about Matt Lewis in the last film, Nevilles ‘big film’… But my favorite by far is Tom! He’s simply gifted.

  58. Well, I could never agree that Rupert is not a good actor. I think he’s fantastic. Anyone who’s seen Driving Lessons should know that. Daniel actually got time to shine in HBP, due to Felix Felicis – it was so nice to see him given the opportunity to do something different! (I went to see Equus though, so I already knew how good he was when he had the chance to be). Emma improved dramatically in this one as well 🙂 But Tom’s alway been amazing. Him and Rupert have shone right from the start. And knowing that Malfoy was finally going to get a good bit more screen time in this film was one of the reasons I was so excited about it! It’s a great part, and made better because there’s a great actor playing it. Tis just a shame that will decrease again for Deathly Hallows 🙁

  59. Yay! Tom is the best, hands down. He had a really difficult role, and I’ve always loved Draco’s character, so I was really waiting to see how he would portray him since he’s so central in this movie. I definitely wasn’t dissapointed! But for me Dan comes in second. Emma always seems like she’s about to burst into tears or sounds like she just ran a race. I think she overdoes it sometimes. And Rupert is awesome, but I don’t really love him for his spectacular acting skills, I just like the way his character is written. Anyways, congrats Tom!

  60. dont rip on robs performance of playing edward cullen you harry potter nerds. he did a really great job.. his facial expressions of pain on his face when hes around bella is outstanding.. and for him to go from a really deep accent he’s lived with for years to an American one would of been really hard. if you say hes shit. you dont know what good acting is. ps; i love tom felton (: he played draco heaps good.

  62. I have to say, I very much agree with this review! Just saw the film on Satuday and was absolutely blown away by the intensity of the characters, especially Draco, who I think had the most complex part of the younger characters. Tom played the anguished determination perfectly, and I came away thinking that the film was much more captivating than the book, (which, if I’m honest, might have been a first for me!)

    So congratulations, Tom, and I look forward to the next film!

  63. You deserve all of the praise you are getting for your role as Draco Malfoy. Draco has been my favourite character since the very first book and you bring him to life. As well, I’ve been a fan of your’s ever since I saw you in the borrowers. Although, then it was because I thought you were just a cutie; now I know just how amazing of an actor you are. I can’t wait to see your future endeavors…so please not too many things that are only released in the UK. 🙂

  64. I think Tom has a huge career ahead of him, acting and musically.
    I think in second place is Rupert. He’s a great actor, girls go wild over him, he has an awesome personality (he has millions and he bought an ice cream van!) and he can portray lots of different characters. Tom is great at very emotional performances I think, and he’s a terrific actor. He has about the same chance as Rupert, which is loads!

  66. that reviewer has no idea what they’re talking about, besides the fact that tom felton is the strongest of the young actors in HP! emma watson is the weakest of the trio (although, he performance in HBP was much better than in the previous movies) and rupert is the strongest. and robert pattinson was crap in twilight. he’s a much better actor than his performance in twilight, but then again twilight sucks so there wasn’t much for him to do with the part.

  67. Oh, they finally realised that.
    But i do think that it´s kind of ridiculous to mention Rob that isn´t even a part of the latest movie. And i do think Rupert is a great actor. Emma to. But yes, Tom is the best. always. <3

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