The Ultimate Fan Interview (Part Four): Feltbeats.com interviews Tom Felton

Tom Felton has been extremely busy recently – from radio interviews and Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie, to “Half-Blood Prince” and “The Disappeared.” He’s really kept us admins at Feltbeats.com on our toes trying to cover his many projects! So, to help us out, Tom agreed to give us a ring and discuss what he’s been up to and to answer a few questions for us.

This interview is the third part in a series of four:

Our fourth, and last, part of the interview, below, discusses Tom’s appearance on “Jack Osbourne: Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie” which airs on ITV2 Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 9 pm GMT (3 PM US-Central).

Feltbeats.com will be hosting another Online Viewing Party during Tom’s “Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie!” episode! We will all meet in the FeltChat room and, barring technical difficulties, will attempt to watch the show live via screen sharing. And, of course, we will also post the video online after wards for all to see!

  • “Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie” Viewing Party: Wednesday, Nov. 12, 9 PM GMT (3 PM US-Central).


A FEW NOTES: Because Feltbeats.com also had a question or two for her (about YouTube accounts and what she did for a living, etc.), Tom asked his girlfriend Jade, the assistant to the stunt coordinator on Harry Potter films (in addition to many other films in the industry), to be on speakerphone with him as well. This week you may hear her laughing and making a few comments in some of the audio. 😉

And, several times throughout the interview Tom refers to America or asks me about the States because that’s where I live. 🙂

Feltbeats.com: So, Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie…

Tom: Yeah, coming up soon! I’m really looking forward to seeing that.

Feltbeats.com: Yes, we’re looking forward to seeing it as well!

Tom: Oh, do you guys get it over there? I didn’t realize it reached the States.

Feltbeats.com: No, no, it doesn’t. But we’ll have it at Feltbeats.com, with some internet trickery…

Tom: Oh, okay, yeah, yeah. Good call, good call. There are ways…

Feltbeats.com: Yeah, you know with SoccerAid, we had sort of a Feltbeats.com party, and a person from the UK [Feltbeats Army member Becka! FA rep!] was able to share her screen over the internet, so we could all watch it together! It was really fun! And, by the way, you did excellent!

Tom: (Laughs) Aww, thank you.

Feltbeats.com: Based on what you had told me beforehand, we were fully expecting you to embarrass yourself. And you didn’t at all!

Tom: I agree, I didn’t make any complete cock-ups, so I’m grateful for that. But, yeah, I appreciate your good will.

Jade: And you had a party? How fun!

Tom: Yeah, how true! And if I’d have known you were having a party, I would have stopped in!

AUDIO: Tom would have stopped in!
[audio:socceraid.mp3]

Feltbeats.com: I think maybe you were a little busy at the time…

Tom: (Laughs)

Feltbeats.com:> So, back to “Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie”… We have a poll on Feltbeats.com right now asking which stunt fans would most like to see; so far, everyone wants to see what you do with the Ostrich!Tom: Aww, I won’t lie, that was definitely the funniest. I have to warn you now, though, it was quite explicit!

Feltbeats.com: (Laughs) I was actually going to ask you that. I was pretty, you know, shocked by Elijah’s language on the show…

Tom: Yeah, well this happens. The thing is, I want to explain, you can’t remember what you say out there. You wig out, and you get in a weird state of mind. And you complete forget the cameras are on you.

But, I don’t remember what I said, and there’s no point in asking me, either. I’m a little bit nervous about what I said up there. Actually, Jade and I watched a small cut of the bungee jump and it wasn’t too bad. There were a few lewd comments. But it seemed mostly above the belt, to be fair.

AUDIO: Tom discusses explicit language used on the show.
[audio:language.mp3]

Feltbeats.com: (Laughs) I just thought it was funny, when Elijah did the bungee jump, I think he yelled “F**k me!” the whole way down.

Tom: Yeah, yeah, yeah. There’s a lot of that going on. That’s basic Adrenaline Junkie talk, know what I mean?

Feltbeats.com: What was the scariest thing you did?

Tom: Bungee jump, no doubt. It was terrifying. I’ve never been more scared in my life.

Feltbeats.com: How as the feeling afterwards?

Tom: Amazing! I’ve never felt higher in my life! It was a complete up and down!

But yeah, I was well and truly pressurized in the best way possible. People were just behind me all the way, saying, “You have to do it! You have to do it!” And I was sort of, “ugh.” Even the second before I did it, I said to myself, “I don’t want to do this.”

But yeah, obviously, the moment you go off that bridge, it was all good. And should be rather amusing to see on TV, I think, because I was genuinely sh**ting myself. I don’t know how you want to edit that!

Feltbeats.com: I’ll just put in some stars instead of the letters!

Tom: (Laughs)

AUDIO: Tom talks about the bungee jump.
[audio:bridge.mp3]

Feltbeats.com: Now, imagine for a moment that Draco Malfoy was involved in this project in your place. What do you think he’d do if Jack Osbourne told him to bungee jump off a cliff?

Tom: Dare I say, he’d tell him to piss off or something along that nature? I can’t see him being persuaded the same way I was, at all.

Now, if the wand was in hand, it wouldn’t be much of a challenge there, would it? I could see Jack going over the bridge without any bungee attached, if that was the game.

Feltbeats.com: Have you been interested in extreme sports since the show?

Tom: Well, mildly. I mean, I walk up hills.

I guess you can’t really call that an extreme sport – or even a sport, at that point. More of a pastime. I like taking Timber for walks, and it’s a great way of burning some steam off of her, because she wants to run full tilt. We have a hill near me, and we walk to the top of that.

Jade: (Laughs) That’s your version of Adrenaline Junkie?

Tom: (Laughs) Yeah, that’s my version of Adrenaline Junkie.

Feltbeats.com: (Laughs) Well that sounds pretty low key.

Tom: Well, I’m afraid to say, it’s not great, is it? Don’t tell Jack, he’ll be disappointed.

Feltbeats.com: Okay, I won’t tell anyone. 😉 Speaking of Jack, he speaks openly about overcoming his fear of heights in the introductory episodes of the show. Do you have any fears that you needed to conquer for the show?

Tom: Well, I mean, I’m not keen on heights. I’m not keen on them – but you know, I’ll do rollercoasters or anything I feel safe on. Like skydiving, I felt relatively comfortable doing that. It didn’t even feel that wrong.

Feltbeats.com: Do you have any fears that you luckily did not have to face on the show?

Tom: Other fears… I’m not sure, really. I always think eating something – that sounds crazy – but you know how on some of these programs, they make you eat things? I just couldn’t do that. I’d just be like, “No.”

Feltbeats.com: Jack has discussed his desire for this show to be a catalyst for participants to learn more about themselves and make changes in their lives. What did you learn about yourself, and what impact did the show have on your life?

Tom: Yeah, completely! Completely. When I was out there I felt that a lot. I have to admit, though, I was a bit disappointed that we were staying in a hotel. It was all very plush and very nice. And after every event we did we went back to the hotel.

I was sort of half expecting, you know, to get the old guitar out, sit ’round the old camp fire, sing a few cumbayas, and really find myself. And that doesn’t really happen in a hotel! So, I have to admit, I didn’t really feel like I “discovered myself,” if you will, doing that.

By the same token, I really felt like, you know, sitting at home watching TV is not the way to be living life when you can be out doing all this crazy stuff.

But, in saying that, I haven’t really done anything extreme since coming home. You can perhaps call it a revelation, if you will, rather than a life-changing moment.

AUDIO: Tom talks about the experience of staying in a hotel in South Africa during the filming.
[audio:caj.mp3]

Feltbeats.com: Did you see our interview with [Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie Executive Producer and director] Craig Pickles where he said he could hear you playing guitar through the walls of his hotel at 5 AM?

Yeah, yeah, I was guilty there. I had a couple of drinks and headed back to the hotel and was laying down a few hardcore tunes. I can’t help it if the hotel walls are thin! No, it’s true, the six-stringed guitars really do ring, so I will apologize to Craig. I had no idea – he never mentioned that to me! That’s news to me. Again, you [at Feltbeats.com] are discovering more about unknown things, it’s great.

AUDIO: Tom talks about playing his guitar at 5 AM. 🙂
[audio:hotel.mp3]

Feltbeats.com: Tom Felton fans are, of course, very much aware of your amazing musical talents. Jack and his family are also involved in the music business – did you discuss music during the time you spent with him? Does he know about Feltbeats? Can we expect an Ozbourne/Felton collaboration any time soon?

Tom: (Laughs) No, no, not really. Not really. I’m not really one to sort of shout it. He knew I had a guitar with me, and he actually had a harmonica with him, and we were meant to have a jam, but it never really came down like that. And I’m certainly not one to sort of push my music like that. I’d rather keep it relatively low key.

Feltbeats.com: Do you go anywhere without a guitar?!

Tom: Not really. I’ve been to a few places recently without it. But I mean, bar that, no. I’ve a little three-quarter sized guitar, a little blue one, and they let me have that on hand luggage, so I like carrying it with me.


Feltbeats.com would like to thank Tom and Jade, again, for taking time (and it was a long while, actually!) to talk to us. We are eternally grateful, appreciative, pleased, and so forth. Yadda yadda, as Tom would say.

We adore you, Tom! And you too, Jade! You guys are the best!

Feltbeats.com interviews Executive Producer and director of new TV show featuring Tom Felton, “Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie” (Part II)


Screenshot of Tom Felton’s introduction on “Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie.”

Feltbeats.com was lucky enough to sit down (electronically) with Craig Pickles, Executive Producer and director of “Jack Osborne: Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie,” a new reality show where Jack Osborne gets a group of celebrities (including Tom Felton) to perform crazy, dangerous stunts. Today we post the second half of our exclusive interview.

“Jack Osbourne: Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie” is ITV2 on Wednesdays at 9pm. Tom’s episode will be the last one shown, at the end of November.

Our Interview

Feltbeats: As director, did you or your crew have to do anything dangerous during your filming with Tom?

Craig Pickles: We are often strapped in next to our celebrities as they take on death defying challenges, purely in order to film them. But on this particular shoot, Tom, Jack, Gemma and Wendi bore the brunt of the danger and that’s just fine by me!

Feltbeats: What are some of the funniest moments involving Tom we should expect to see on the show?

CP: One word: Ostrich!

Feltbeats: Was Tom wearing any good luck charms that you know of?

CP: I believe he had a photograph of his girlfriend with him at all times.

Feltbeats: What would you want Tom Felton fans to know about Tom, now that you’ve spent time with him?

CP: He’s really not cruel or mean spirited in any way (like his Potter character). He was an absolute stand up, rock solid, enthusiastic, hilarious guy who helped make the shoot one of the best I have ever been on across four seasons.

Feltbeats: Lastly, Tom has recently released some original music on the internet where he sang and played the guitar. Have you heard it, and if so, what do you think? Did he bring his guitar to film the show in South Africa?

CP: I have not heard his music, but I did hear a guitar solo through the hotel wall at 5AM after our end of shoot party… if that answers the question.

Feltbeats.com would like to thank Craig Pickles so much! You’re the best!

What do you think?

[poll id=”3″]

Video

Short video of Tom Felton’s introductory clip in the show.

Icons

Lastly, as a tribute to Tom’s bravery in the show, FeltForum member Rotae made this icon. Don’t know what BAMF is? Just Google it. 🙂

Feltbeats.com interviews Executive Producer and director of new TV show featuring Tom Felton, “Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie” (Part I)


Photo taken in South Africa while shooting “Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie.” From left to right: Executive Producer and director Craig Pickles, Tom Felton, Jack Osbourne, fellow Celebrity Junkie and model/actress Gemma Atkinson. (Photo courtesy of Craig Pickles)

Feltbeats.com was lucky enough to sit down (electronically) with Craig Pickles, Executive Producer and director of “Jack Osborne: Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie,” a new reality show where Jack Osborne gets a group of celebrities (including Tom Felton) to perform crazy, dangerous stunts. NOTE: Don’t worry, the show has already been filmed, and Tom survived in one piece. 🙂

“Jack Osbourne: Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie” is ITV2 on Wednesdays at 9pm. Tom’s episode will be the last one shown, at the end of November.

Today we will post the first half of our interview, and on Friday we will post the rest – including answers to such burning questions as – What good luck charm did Tom take with him on his stunts?

Feltbeats.com: Please tell us a little more about your company, Ginger Productions, and what other TV shows have you worked on?

Craig Pickles: Ginger Productions have produced the previous three seasons of Adrenaline Junkie, this year the company has also produced: ‘Shooting Britney,’ a fly on the wall documentary about Britney Spears; ‘Take Me To The Edge,’ an eight part round the world adventure series focusing on tribal rights of passage; and a cinema advertisement for the outdoor clothing company, Berghaus.

FB: Tell us about meeting Tom Felton for the first time. Were you excited to meet him?

CP: Tom was open, genuine and really exited to take part in the show. Enthusiasm is something we always look for and Tom had it in spades. My girlfriend in particular was very exited to meet him!


Screenshot taken from introductory clip of ITV 2’s “Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie,” right before Tom’s 700-ft bungee jump.

FB: Please describe for us the various locations to which you traveled with Tom Felton during the course of filming. Which stunts did Tom participate in?

CP: During our time in South Africa, Tom came face to face with a 700ft bungee from a bridge, a 20ft great white shark, a very exited ostrich, a stunt glider (which Tom had a go at flying) and a skydive out of an ex-U.S. military helicopter. Despite being scared of the bungee jump he showed real grit and threw himself into the challenge. Likewise, he conquered his fear time and again on the other challenges. He was a real trooper!

Feltbeats.com would like to thank Craig Pickles for his brilliant enthusiasm and helpfulness! We appreciate it, Craig!

Check back on Friday for the second half of our interview.