Tom Felton landed the life-changing role of Draco Malfoy in “Harry Potter” when he was 12 years old, then went on to play Harry’s sneering nemesis in all eight films.
Despite their on-screen animosity, Felton was close with his castmates, especially Emma Watson.
“We’ve always had a sort of strange love together,” Felton told CBS News. “Not in the romantic way that some people would like to think.”
He described their relationship as “the best of friends” — “people that speak the same language,” including when it comes to their sense of humor.
The actor opened up about this and a slew of other topics in his new memoir, “Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard.”
The series wrapped up filming in 2010. But Felton said it is still hard to think of the last days on set: “It was a very bittersweet goodbye.”
After a decade of playing Draco, Felton moved to Los Angeles in 2012 where he was seduced by the L.A. lifestyle, and started to drink heavily. His friends and family tried to help by staging an intervention, but it was his lawyer’s words that really stuck with him.
“He said something along the lines of, ‘Tom, I think this is the 12th intervention that I’ve been to and six of those are dead. Don’t be the seventh,” Felton recalled. “That kind of hit me.”
He agreed to go to rehab, then broke out one night and went to a nearby beach — where “a lot clicked.” He realized he needed help, and was willing to accept that.
Felton eventually returned to London where he’s been thriving, and where Harry Potter is still a big part of his life.
“The Potter fan flame is not going anywhere anytime soon and I’m the first one to celebrate that and be very grateful,” Felton said.
