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Tom Felton Talks “Ophelia” at Sundance Film Festival

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Tom Felton is back on the big screen in a film that just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Ophelia is a reimagining of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, telling the story through the eyes of Ophelia, Hamlet’s lover. Alongside Felton as Laertes, Ophelia’s brother, the film stars Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts, Clive Owens, and George MacKay.

After the premiere, Felton and costar MacKay sat down with the Independent and spoke about the film and their experiences around it. Felton discusses how he loved the script from the start as well as director Claire McCarthy’s vision for the film. He also mentions how he did some research for the part by watching fellow Potter actor Sir Kenneth Branagh’s (Gilderoy Lockhart) Hamlet.

The two discussed the quick preparation and rehearsal process for the film. The actors were given a week on their own to prepare, followed by a week in rehearsals to learn everything, including the stunts and fighting routines. Felton and MacKay learned a half-hour-long fight scene and then ran through it over and over again to get it perfect.

We were actually joking yesterday that if you gave us two swords now, we would be able to do it all over again. I can’t remember a single line I said, but I can remember the bloody sword fighting. It’s another great fun part about the job, really. You get to not only work with cool people but do some fun things like that as well.

Besides the fight choreography, they also mentioned how the atmosphere around the film helped them get into character. The film was filmed in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and between the beautiful countrysides and the stunning sets and costumes, all the elements helped get them in the right mindset for filming.

As for future projects, Felton teased one that might be in the works.

I’m about to head off to do a TV series, but I haven’t quite signed on the dotted line yet.

We will just have to wait and see what that show is, but for now, be sure to keep an eye out for a potential worldwide release date for Ophelia!