Obviously what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay there, as Tom tells People Magazine of a past trip there in a recent interview. Tom also talks about playing cricket with his brother, long distance phone calls, and of course, that ubiquitous bonnet of his.

Though he often finds himself living in the shadow of Daniel Radcliffe’s heroic title character, British actor Tom Felton graduates to leading man status in the latest installment of the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, as his character Draco Malfoy evolves from simple troublemaker into serious villain

As a result, the blond brusier, 21, tells PEOPLE, “I get a lot of boos from kids around the world. When kids visit on set they’re all happy to meet Dan and Rupert [Grint]. When I come out they have a blank face and don’t want to shake my hand … but I take that as a compliment.”

Even tougher than the snub is staying platinum blond. Since he was 13, the brunette roots of Felton’s hair are dyed every 10 days to maintain Malfoy’s signature shade, a task the actor admits is “not a pleasant experience. Now I understand what girls go through. I completely sympathize.”

Still, Felton’s “become oddly attached” to the result, he admits. “It’s fun to be blond, and it’s almost difficult to remember how I used to look with my proper hair color.”

Living outside of London near a small town called Dorking – where the roads are wide enough for only one car and filled with tractors, cows, horses – Felton finds himself far from the spotlights of Hollywood. “I’m a real big country boy,” he says. “I live right in the middle of nowhere and I thoroughly enjoy it. It’s nice for me at the end of the day to come home and enjoy the peacefulness of the country side.”

Among his favorites pastimes – besides singing, songwriting and playing acoustic guitar (his songs are featured on iTunes and at feltbeats.com, “and most of them are about my girlfriend,” he says) – is playing cricket in his back garden with his older brother. And though he disdains those who toss around their fame, Felton did enjoy a recent perk when he cruised past the lines at the airport. “That was pretty cool,” he admits.

As for being part of one of the most successful film franchises in history – this sixth installment made $396.7 million this weekend, shattering Spider-Man’s records – Felton is responsible with his finances but did indulge in a trip to Sin City.

“I took my friend to Vegas on my 21st birthday and we had a little splurge there,” he says. “But we won a little bit and it was enough to cover my long-distance phone calls back to my girlfriend.”

In another lengthy interview with the Los Angeles Times, Tom discusses scaring small children, how he can’t remember what his original hair color is, working with some of his co-stars, and “dipping his toe” in the independent film world.

He’s only 21, a cricket-loving young man from the English countryside south of London, and he scares small children.

“It depends on their ages and their lunacy in regards to the film,” Tom Felton says of the reactions he gets when people recognize him as Harry Potter’s schoolyard nemesis, Draco Malfoy. “Pretty much 7 and unders, I tend to get nothing but boos. No matter how kind I am to them, they’re not interested in being kind back.”

In his rapid Surrey speech, he acknowledges that since the public really only knows him from the “Potter” franchise, bad impressions tend to stick. Children often don’t want to shake his hand. And people are surprised to learn he and the actors from the House of Gryffindor actually get on quite well, thanks.

“What people have to bear in mind is that we spend 99% of our days off-camera, so we have plenty more time to be friendly to each other than we do to be nasty. We save all the tension for on-camera,” he says with a laugh, singing the praises of his costars and adding that he and Daniel Radcliffe are “big cricket fans and have a fair bit in common. So there’s plenty of friendship off-screen there.”

Putting aside the odd scene of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy palling around over the sports pages, it can be difficult to peer through the never-ending Harry hoopla to recognize a young actor growing up in a multibillion-dollar franchise. The latest entry, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” offers Felton a chance to show more of what he can do.

“A friend of mine who’s a die-hard fan read the book, like, within four hours of it coming out. She rung me at about 5 in the morning and said, ‘Get the book right now, you need to know what happens.’ When I read it, my eyes did light up,” he says.

“It was pretty nerve-racking stuff, actually, to know we were going to do these one-on-one scenes with Michael Gambon; opposite Alan [Rickman], etc. But I was excited to show a bit more of the depth of the character.”

The actor, speaking by phone from New York, says Draco is a victim of circumstance, pushed from birth into a family business (in this case, serving the Dark Lord Voldemort and becoming a Death Eater) that doesn’t really suit him. “Prince” shows other sides of Draco as he teeters on the edge of that abyss.

“This child has had the worst parental influences you can have. The books are all about choices, making the right choices. Young Draco really didn’t have any choices; he was never given an option to go good or evil,” he says.

“[Director] David Yates, the first thing he said to me was, ‘If we can get an ounce of empathy for you by the end of the film, I’ll consider myself job done.’ ”

Felton was actually one of the more experienced performers when the series launched, with a handful of previous roles in film and television. And now that he has had years in the company of some of England’s finest actors — the likes of Richard Harris, Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh have graced the halls of Hogwarts — he’s growing as an actor.

“Bear in mind, when we first started we were children. I don’t really know how much any children know about acting. Every year we’ve subconsciously been learning and picking up more and more.

“This year, my approach was far more serious. I wanted to make sure that I delivered and they were happy. It was a far more satisfying approach in the respect that we’ve really put our heart and soul into it and now to be reaping the rewards, it feels great.”

And, lately, he has been dipping his toe into independent film.

“I did a couple of quick projects in between the last two, just to experience what the real world is like with films,” he says.

“The last film I did outside of ‘Harry Potter’ was called ‘The Disappeared,’ and that was shot for about $200,000, which I think is about our lunch spread on a given day.”

Laughing, he notes that apart from the nearly all-consuming ‘Potter’ schedule, being stuck with Draco’s practically white blond locks also restricts his casting. He doesn’t even know what his real hair color is anymore.

“I have no idea,” he said, guessing at the “mousy brown” of his eyebrows. “It’s been nearly seven years since I’ve seen my proper hair color.”