Now that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has finally opened, the internet has been chock full of accolades heaped upon our Tom. No surprise, really, but to make things easier, Feltbeats.com thought we would compile some of these darling comments all for you one place. First up, from the press:
From the BBC:
Of more interest, however, is what’s different: Tom Felton gets a chance to do more than sneer as the tortured Draco Malfoy, Alan Rickman’s Snape comes to the fore, and even Rupert Grint gets to act beyond his usual Ron Weasley persona (he gets a snog, at least).
The Chicago Tribune:
Tom Felton returns as Malfoy, and he has suddenly turned into an menacing, lanky boy-man, resembling a dark-magic cross between Jonathan Pryce and film director David Lynch.
Rolling Stone:
As played by Tom Felton (at his best in Half-Blood Prince), Draco is the bully with the white-blond hair, the symbol of intolerance who thinks wannabe wizards born of Muggles don’t deserve a shot at a magical education. Watch the way Felton deftly layers the role with vulnerability as the series continues.
The California Chronicle:
Shaq McLean, a fan of Tom Felton who plays Draco Malfoy, said “through [Felton’s] acting, you can really see the pain he’s going through.”
The Manilla Bulletin:
Also worthy of mention is the mission-driven Draco Malfoy ably played by Tom Felton. All of a sudden, Draco graduates from the resident Hogwarts boy-bully as he was tasked to do something Voldemort himself failed to do in the past. Felton played Draco with the right mix of fear and anger.
Diamondback Online:
In Half-Blood Prince, Felton is handed some weighty material and a substantial increase in screen time, and the largely untested actor more than holds his own.
The Buffalo News:
And Tom Felton nails the terrified, desperate, trapped Draco Malfoy— a feat, considering how one-dimensional Malfoy’s character has been up until now.
MTV.com:
Felton, on the other hand, has fully embraced his character’s pivotally evil role in the series. He appreciates that certain features are key in establishing a villain as iconic, which is how he views Draco: the cold eyes, the pasty face, the affectation or standout feature (i.e. Bond villain Blofeld’s cat).
And Examiner.com:
One performance of note would be that of Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy. Because his character has always been somewhat more bark than bite, Felton has never really done much in the movies other than look creepy but accomplish nothing. However, in this one, he is able to do more as he shows some of Malfoy’s conflicted feelings.
Now, not only has the press been saying good things about Tom, so has his cast-mates, in particular good friend Daniel Radcliffe.
In USA Today:
“Tom has risen to the challenge brilliantly,” he says of Felton’s Malfoy. “And he’s a great guy. He’s absolutely lovely and normal.”
Both Radcliffe and Felton play characters that legions of fans think they know, thanks to the books and films. On set, the actors do know each other, as well or better as kids who have been in the same small class together through elementary, middle and high school years.
“We know each other so well, or at least we’ve been around each other so long that we’re comfortable with each other,” Radcliffe says about his youthful co-stars. “I have close personal friendships with all of them, as well as working relationships. When I’m just listening to my music or something, they won’t feel the need to talk to me. And they will know I’m not being rude by not talking to them. We just have that mutual understanding. That’s what’s great about this set. People know what you’re like.”
From indieLONDON:
Q. How was your first real fight with Tom [Felton]? Knowing each other so well was it difficult getting angry with one another?
Daniel Radcliffe: It had been building up… me and Tom had been stemming the flow for years and now we got to fight each other. It was great. For me it was brilliant because Tom’s been – I think it’s fair to say – quite underused in the other films, things have happened and there hasn’t been so much of Malfoy. Luckily, this time around Malfoy gets a real showing and Tom does brilliantly and it was a pleasure to act alongside him.
And on The Today Show:
“He is amazing,” Dan said… “This film belongs to Rupert Grint and Tom Felton.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
