December 2002 Transcript of the BBC Interview

Jane, 15, Philippines
Do you have any kind of really memorable moments from making this film?

Tom Felton: Mine's probably about the same as hers but I've got a broom instead, so that was a bit of assistance. That is madness when you see yourself flying through the air on a broomstick, you think how the hell did I do that?

Felicia, 14, Singapore
What do you think of your new-found popularity, especially amongst girls? Have you seen any of the fan sites on the internet dedicated to you?

Tom Felton: I can't say I have, I'll have to look into that. I never get to meet any of the people so it's not really as big as I would have hoped really.
But it's mad when you go out to a premier, places like that, the people are unbelievable - they're really into the film and do anything for you to come over and talk to them - it's madness.

Lizo: Do you not think of yourself as a bit of a heartthrob?

Tom Felton: Well I'd rather not say but no, not really, just Tom.

Samantha, 13, Singapore
I've heard you can sing - have you ever thought of going into the music industry?

Tom Felton: Definitely not - I don't sing and I'm not going to release a single, nothing like that. I'm afraid I do not sing.

Lizo: You've never sung in choirs?

Tom Felton: I was very, very young, very young.

Stacey, 15, Portsmouth
How did you get on with Dan Radcliffe, who of course plays Harry, do you get on really well with him or are you enemies off screen?

Tom Felton: We hate each other - no we're friends really because we're on camera about half an hour a day, of course all the other times we're off, so more time being friends than enemies.
But when it comes to the cameras rolling I hate him and I show my anger.

Raven, 15
Have you managed to keep anything from the set of the film?

Tom Felton: I managed to get one thing - my Slytherin tie - that's from the first one, not the second one. I asked them if I could have that and they of course had loads of them because of the extras and they said yeah.

Lizo: Do you wear it to school?

Tom Felton: I don't as such - Mufti day's coming up, so I'll wear it for that.

Sarah, 14, USA
Were there any good pranks on set?

Tom Felton: So many, that I couldn't tell you any really - every five minutes there was something - there was always something going on, there was always a thing with eyelines - offset eyelines - people always stick up little posters of people or whatever, like Cameron Diaz and it was with different girls every week and all sorts of funny faces or whatever.

Johannah, 13, London
How much gel does Tom have to put on his hair to get that flat plastered look?

Tom Felton: Yes I'm glad someone's finally asked that. My head's been plastered with the stuff - I use a pot a day, half in the morning just to get it all waxed up and of course by the time you walk around it sort of just breaks off and they slab on another ton of the stuff. Awful really.

Katherine, 14, USA
Have you got any tips for people who want to get into the movies?

Tom Felton: It's one of those things that the more I sort of tried to do it, the more I went on interviews, the more I tried to get the part the less - if I just relaxed and made them laugh and just sort of treated them like normal that seemed to do the trick. If you're desperate to get it you're never going to achieve it.

November 2002 Nickolodeon Interview

How did you get in the mood to play such a nasty guy?
I thought about all kinds of stuff that my brothers used to do. Usually brotherly stuff. It makes you get angry and a little nastier.

What was the mood like on the set, compared to the first Harry Potter film?
It was a lot more friendly, because half the cast was in the first one. And there's a new story line, so it was something a bit different.

What was it like to see the first movie for the first time?
It was mad (wild). You've got all these pictures inside your head of what it's going to be like, and then you see it and they've made it two hundred times better. It makes all the early mornings worthwhile.

Did you work with any animals for the movie?
Yes. In one scene I had a gecko. It was fine for the first five takes. I was happy holding it. The person sitting next to me, who plays Goyle, had a foot-long centipede crawling near him. He was absolutely terrified of it and kept poking it with his wand. I kept laughing. And then after the sixth take, the gecko bit me. I thought it didn't have teeth, but it does have something. I thought, well, I'm not touching that again!
 

November 2002 Disney Adventures Magazine Interview

What's the secret to laugh or cry on cue?
There's always something on set to laugh at! To act upset, I think of cold things--don't ask me why!

Which room or set did you most like to work in?
I loved the Slytherin common room--it had weird walls that shimmered as if they were under water.

If you had a secret power, what would it be?
To be able to make the world silent. Sometimes quiet is good.

If you went to Hogwarts, what house would you secretly want to be in and why?
Slytherin! [of course!] I couldn't go to Hogwarts and stick to all the rules. Having a wand would be too useful to keep in your pocket. I couldn't help myself from using it.
 

September 2002 Scholastic.com Interview

Fourteen-year-old Tom Felton returns in The Chamber of Secrets as Harry's archenemy, Draco Malfoy. Though he's been acting since he was 8, the role of Draco is taking Tom to major movie star status. We asked him what it was like to play a villain and what's different about Draco in the second film.

You play a villain in the Harry Potter movies. Who are your favorite movie villains?
I thought that Alan Rickman was brilliant in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, the one with Kevin Costner.

He plays Professor Snape in the Harry Potterfilms. What is he like to work with?
He's a very nice bloke. He's very clever in his own waya very smart man.

Is it difficult to play a bad guy?
No. I tried to think of something that made me angry, like my brothers pushing me around or something.

How many brothers do you have?
I have three older brothers. They're 18, 21, and 22 years old.

Do kids come up to you and say mean things about Draco?
Yes, a few of them do, but it's not too bad.

What was your favorite scene to film in this movie?
I like the dueling club scene, where Daniel and I fight with our wands. I thought it was a brilliant scene to shoot. I think the end product looked really good.

How does Draco change in the second film?
You see another side of Draco when he's with his dad. When Draco is with his dad, he doesn't say anything. He keeps his mouth shut. He's sort of bullied by his dad, so he acts very different.

You've been acting since you were very young. How has the success from the Harry Potter films changed your life?
It's changed it in a very subtle way. It's just that you realize that people are going to recognize you more and more.

Have you traveled a lot for the premiers and promotions? Where have you gone that you really liked?
My favorite country is America. I love going there! [My family] went to Orlando, Florida, for 10 days to the theme parks and the beaches. It was nice.

What's your favorite sport?
Fishing. I go in the local lake near where I work on Sundays. It's called Berry Hill. [I catch] carp.
 

November 2001 Bad 'Potter' boy has more fun - From USA Today

The snarling young villain in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Draco Malfoy, has a most befitting first name: It means both "snake" and "dragon" in Latin. He also resides in the wizardly equivalent of a prep school fraternity house aptly named Slytherin. So it comes as no real surprise when Tom Felton, the 14-year-old actor playing Draco, reveals that of all the animals on the Potter set, his favorite was a boa constrictor.
"I really liked the snake that breaks out of the cage in the beginning of the movie," Felton says. "I saw it in real life, and it was really cool. Really big and fat."
He was drawn to the most mysterious animals on a set with plenty of creatures both real and computer generated. "The owls are cool as well, but you can't really pet them," he says.

It's hard to imagine Draco Malfoy (which means bad faith in French) befriending a bird. From the way his menacing character is described in J.K. Rowling's four books, he would be more likely to pluck its feathers out or cast a spell on it.
And it's just that malicious spirit that Felton relishes about playing Draco.
"It's definitely more fun playing a bad guy," says the actor. It's just as well that he didn't get the Harry Potter role, for which he auditioned. "It feels a lot better than playing one of the good guys."

Felton fell right into "the sneering and snarling. I'd never really done that sort of stuff before. I got my 20-year-old brother to get me angry, and we sort of practiced that."

Director Chris Columbus decided to alter Felton's appearance a bit to complete the transformation. "Slicking back my hair was Chris' idea," he says. "It was meant to be kind of waved back and kind of browny-blondy."
But the filmmakers ultimately decided to make him a towhead. And with his severe blond 'do and his character's emphasis on bloodline, some on the set mischievously tagged him "Hitler's Chosen Youth."
For the record, he doesn't sport the look of the ultra-slimy Draco off-camera. "Well, my hair is that length but not slicked back," he says. "I wear it forward. 'Course the face is the same."

He nailed the persona by studying the passages in the book that involved his character. "Draco's not really a bully," he says. "He's not exactly the biggest, strongest guy in the world. He's more a rich, snobby person. He thinks of himself as really cool."
And though he plays a cruel character, in real life he and the other kids on the set got along famously. "The moment we met, we just clicked together perfectly," he says.

Having been bitten by the acting bug at age 7 when he starred in community plays, Felton doesn't intend to make acting his profession of choice. Instead, he plans to "take time off to go to college, get a degree and a good job," he says.

What's his idea of a good career?
"Professional fisherman," he says. He goes fishing near his home in Surrey, England, and is planning a fishing trip in Manitoba, Canada, next summer.

He's an unusual kid in another respect: Except for the parts featuring Draco, Felton has not read any of the four Harry Potter books. "I'll probably read the first soon and won't read the second till after the movie comes out," he explains.
Felton agrees that the name Draco Malfoy rolled trippingly and malevolently off his tongue. "It's almost like James Bond," he says.
Of the four young actors with the main parts, Felton has had the most extensive film experience. He played Jodie Foster's son in Anna and the King and Peagreen in The Borrowers.
But Draco has been Felton's biggest and most exciting role. He has seen the film twice and plans on a third trip to the movies this weekend.

Meanwhile, he's already filming Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, having just shot a scene in which he plays the aerial sport of Quidditch. For the legions of fans of the first Potter movie, he has something for them to anticipate.
"I reckon this film will be a lot better," Felton says. "There will be a lot more comedy and a lot more action, and it'll be a lot scarier."
And since Draco is the boy kids love to hate, he has more good news for Potterheads. "Draco hurts himself in the next movie and that pleases some people," he says. "He falls off his broom."