Tom Felton as Draco: 1 Out of 6 Ways HBP Will Be Awesome.

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Melissa Anelli of Leaky Cauldron fame has written an article on fan hopes concerning the upcoming Half-Blood Prince release for Examiner.com. She discusses Tom’s portrayal of Draco, his humanity, and how nice it will be to see him bringing out the complexity of the character.

VI: Draco Malfoy’s humanity:

Draco has a great role in this film and it’s going to be fun watching Tom Felton rise from starring background player to main actor. Draco turns from one-dimensional childish bully to one of the more complex and interesting characters in the series: he wants to become a Death Eater, and seems to have even been imprinted with the mark on his left forearm. He works all year on a plan to let Death Eaters into the school and kill Dumbledore. He is successful on one part but has a lot of trouble with the second: he is found crying in a bathroom thinking about making good on that task. And when he gets the chance to try it – when he is given the very rare opportunity to do what so many wizards before him, including Grindelwald and Voldemort, could not – his hand falters, his humanity shows.

This play between Draco as uber-evil-Death-Eater and conflicted-boy-who’s-gotten-in-wayyyyy-over-his-head leads to one of the best Dumbledore exchanges in all seven books: The old headmaster, weakened, disarmed and dying, hears Draco insist that he’s at his mercy and says:

“No, Draco. It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now.”

If the conversation on that tower does not reach this caliber of awesome – revealing the astounding brilliance and yet kindness and mercy of Dumbledore, at the same time as Draco shows himself to be complicated, vulnerable, caught in a terrible place – the movie will suffer dearly.

If author JK Rowling’s reaction to Tom’s performance means anything, I don’t think HP fans have anything to worry about.

Thanks SouthernBets for the tip!

Source: Examiner

Tom Felton discusses friendship with Daniel Radcliffe in Cinemania

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Just last week we reported that Mexico’s Cinemanía magazine had a new feature on Tom and the rest of the HP crew, and that we would let you know if a translation became available. Well, that day has arrived.

Tom’s interview in this lengthy feature was given back during the filming of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In the interview, Tom discusses playing the baddie, working with director David Yates, and how he and Daniel share a love of music and cricket.

It must be more interesting to play the bad guy.
Thanks for agreeing with me. Definitely. In real life I’m not like Draco,
so it’s fun to be like someone who is completely different from me.

How hard did you work on going from Harry’s pain in the butt to an actual murderer?

The director and I talked a lot about it. Obviously Draco loses his father, he’s alone, he wants to show his independence and he’s the Chosen One. He’s been very jealous of Harry all his life, he’s been jealous of the attention he gets, and now it’s the opportunity to show what he’s really capable of. But at the same time he’s terrified and deep down he knows he can’t do what he’s been assigned to do. So there’s a very strong conflict of emotions. To me it’s a challenge because I have to think deeper about my performance. It’s not all about putting a mean face for Harry.

What’s the difference between the previous directors and this new director?

I don’t have any experience in directing, so I don’t know what makes them good. But each of them has had their strengths. David is humble, quiet, and personal. He’s not very lavish and he makes you feel comfortable and relaxed.

Did he ask for anything in particular when he directed you this time?

No, but I’m very thankful for the extra time he put into me and my character this time around. E spoke a lot about our character. David is trying to outline his complexity. This year Draco is not interested in bullying Harry. He’s got more serious stuff to pay attention to. For years he has been bullied by his father and that’s why he is the way he is. I wanted to show that side of him, not to make people feel sorry for him but to at least identify themselves with him. The best thing is that now I get to wear better clothes. Draco is very concerned about his style, and that’s part of his look as a villain.

Are you tired of playing the same character for such a long time?

No, on the contrary. I love coming back every year, seeing everyone again, how they’ve grown up, remembering how young we were in the first movie.

Really? And if you could go back in time and choose another character, what character would you choose?

Still my own. I feel so grateful. Draco has a very important part that is not boring at all, but I the same time I don’t get recognized as much as the others, so I can leave London without having any problems. Nobody has ever stopped me and asked for a picture with me. The blond hair is very telling, but with a hat it’s problem solved.

How is your relationship with Daniel Radcliffe?

We’re very good friends. Before I used to love saying we couldn’t stand each other, but in reality we get along great. We both love cricket and we talk about it a lot. We’re very passionate about music, although our taste in music is very different. He likes more underground and punk music.

To read additional interviews including one from director David Yates where he calls Tom “amazing,” click here. To see full scans of the magazine, visit Potterincantatem.

Thanks to HarryPotterla.com for the translation!

Source: Oh No They Didn’t

“I break his nose and he rips me open”~Tom Felton on Harry Potter

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A new interview of Tom’s has appeared today courtesy of the AFP. In it he discusses being a part of the Harry Potter franchise, releasing tension the good old-fashioned way, and making his mum proud.

PARIS (AFP) — Tom Felton said he was relishing two violent dust-ups with Harry Potter when he resumes his role as the evil Draco Malfoy in the sixth film of the boy wizard’s adventures.

Audiences will see Felton, so often in the shadow of Daniel Radcliffe as Harry in the previous films, occupy a central role in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, which opens across the world from July 15.

Having sparred with each other in the corridors of Hogwarts wizarding school for years, the clashes between Harry and Malfoy in the new film have a harder edge in keeping with the overall theme of impending adulthood.

“We have a few conflicts in the film so it was great fun to finally get physical.

“I break his nose and he rips me open, so it was good to release some of the tension that we’ve been building up over the years,” Felton said in an interview with journalists in Paris ahead of Tuesday’s world premiere in London.

Like Radcliffe and the other young Potter stars, Felton, now 21, has dedicated a substantial chunk of his childhood to the films and done his growing-up on the set.

Though still a pupil of Hogwarts, in the new film Felton’s white-blond character is suited and booted in head-to-toe black while our trio of heroes — Harry, Hermione and Ron — are still wearing the jumpers of teenagers.

Felton, who has grown tall and angular in the eight years since “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” kicked off the film series in 2001, said he originally tried to get the part of Harry himself.

“I tried for Harry Potter and Ron, and finally Draco. My hair was dyed brown, ginger and then finally blond.”

He admits though that he quickly settled into the skin of the brooding, threatening Malfoy.

“I take great pleasure in being evil in the film so I’m very grateful for playing Draco.

“A lot of kids that came on to the set were very keen on the idea of meeting Draco, but they were never keen to shake my hand, so I take that as a compliment.

“If I can terrify a little child then I’m assuming I’m paid for something!”

Yet Felton admits that when Malfoy is given the opportunity to prove his true evil in the “The Half-Blood Prince”, he finds he might be out of his depth.

“I think he revels in this opportunity at first and loves the idea of being the bad boy, but he quickly crumbles and realises he quite doesn’t have a heart the size of his young friend Harry.”

Other roles are sure to follow for Felton when the series wraps up with a two-part adaptation of the final book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, which is currently in production.

Yet the pride he derives from being part of the Potter phenomenon is clear.

When the author of the Potter books, J.K. Rowling, wrote to say how much she liked the latest film, the Felton household was bursting with pride.

“That’s the ultimate compliment from her. I was amazed at receiving it. I had my mum crying within five minutes of receiving it so she was very proud,” he recalls.

Source: AFP