In today’s edition of London’s The Sunday Times, Tom talks once again about growing up as a normal lad in Surrey while carrying the mantle of Draco Malfoy. An interview done over the phone from New Orleans, Tom talks about his new record label, Six String Productions, why he’s not worried about being typecast, but is worried about how he never finished his education.
On children meeting him in the streets:
“You leave Harry alone!” Whenever young Potter fans visit the movie set, Felton says: “They want to meet Daniel, Rupert and Emma [the actors who play Harry Potter and his best friends, Ron and Hermione] and get hugs and autographs from them. I always want to be as nice as I can to fans, because I think that’s as it should be. I try to crouch down to their height, shake hands, give them high-fives, but they’re terrified. They’re like, ‘I don’t want this guy near me, I don’t trust him.’ It took me a while to learn to deal with that, but it’s okay now.”
Why children crying are a compliment:
“Maybe that’s why I overdid the friendliness with the kids on set. Maybe I tried too hard.”
On Daniel Radcliffe:
“To carry a franchise like that for 10 years with no previous experience is outstanding.”
Why he’s not worried about being typecast:
“I’m not trying to shake the Draco mantle off yet. It’s something I’m very proud of.”
“I’m very lucky that Malfoy’s character is extraordinarily different from myself — almost the polar opposite, not just how he acts but also physically, with his pale skin and white hair.”
His hair:
“What a relief! I’m glad not to have to get out the old tinfoil and bleach any more. If ever I see a lady with blonde hair, I think, ‘I feel bad for you, girl, I know how much work it is.’”
Why he regrets not taking his A-levels:
He gained “some” GCSEs (“straight Cs, basically”) and regrets not taking A-levels: “I intended to after Potter, but now I want to keep filming, so I’ve missed my boat there. Emma [Watson] and Daniel have several A-levels and AS-levels between them, and Emma’s studying in America. They put me to shame acidemically.”
On why he’s worried about money:
“If you’re at your desk, can you call me back?” he asks when he calls me from the set of his new film in New Orleans. “It’s just that I recently racked up a massive phone bill in Japan and my mum whipped me into shape and said I’ve really got to curb it.”
I’d have thought he wouldn’t need to worry about phone bills. “You’d be surprised.”
He won’t say exactly what he’s worth, only that making movies “pays better than my paper round used to. No complaints, ha ha ha”.
On his father making him get a part-time job:
“He wanted me to understand the value of a pound,” he says. So for two years in his early teens Felton worked part time at Bury Hill Fisheries in Surrey, near home, “parking the cars in the morning, making sure everyone’s got a ticket to fish the lakes, clearing up litter, that kind of thing. It paid £20 a day, and I’m grateful for that time. Everyone should know how to work hard for their money.” Didn’t people ever ask why Draco Malfoy was parking their car? “Not a lot of the Surrey fishing community are Harry Potter fans,” he says, level-headedly.
On his mom and friends:
“My mum had to take time off work to take me to auditions, which I’m so grateful for.”And he missed out on some teenage socialising, passing up a school skiing trip because he couldn’t risk breaking a leg and delaying filming. “Looking back, it doesn’t seem so important, but at the time I was a distraught 16-year-old unable to go skiing with my friends.”
On his music and work with Six String Productions:
“We’re trying to be the middle men, to support young British artists. I’ve recorded a few songs myself, just for fun, but I’m not looking for a pop career.” The music he writes is “like a British Jack Johnson. Simple songs: we call it nursery rhymes for adults. Not to be taken too seriously”.
Thanks to Sandra for buying the online version of this article [after seeing SixStringProd’s tweet] just so we could get the quotes. Thanks!
EDIT: We were asked to remove the scan sent in of the magazine itself. However, we legitimately purchased the above online version so we’re leaving it in. 🙂
