Tom Felton’s Memoir Bares All: From Smoke Breaks with Dumbledore to Getting Slapped by Emma Watson
Tom Felton’s memoir, Beyond the Wand, has finally made its way into the eager hands of Harry Potter fans, and it truly is a deep dive into the actor’s life. We were delighted to find that he shared new behind-the-scenes tidbits we didn’t know about, as well as hilarious moments he shared with his costars. From smoking with “Harry” and “Dumbledore” to getting slapped (for real) by Emma Watson, Beyond the Wand is chock-full of heartwarming and witty moments fans will treasure forever.
Imagine Draco, Harry, and Dumbledore huddled together outside, each smoking a cigarette. Yes, we’re sniggering too, but that’s exactly what you would have seen if you worked on the Harry Potter set. Felton revealed that the three of them often took a smoke break together. Daniel Radcliffe and Michael Gambon aren’t the only people Felton hung out with in between filming. He, Jamie Waylett (Crabbe), and Josh Herdman (Goyle) managed some mischief in between takes as well and recorded a few “hardcore gangster rap” songs. (Excuse us while we go write some fan fiction about Draco’s secret band at Hogwarts.) The best part about this revelation is that Felton admitted those songs still exist. Can we expect them on Spotify anytime soon, Tom?
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Aside from taking part in various shenanigans with his costars, Felton wrote that he didn’t always know who all the famous actors on set were. This led to a hilarious incident where he mistook Gary Oldman (Sirius Black) for the janitor and complimented him on how clean the floors were (suddenly our embarrassing moments seem utterly insignificant).
He also recalled how Alan Rickman (Severus Snape) tended to stay in character while they were on set, even in between takes. There’s one scene in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in which Snape wears a long cloak while being followed by a group of Death Eaters. Before the cameras started rolling, Rickman gave them all a very Snape-like warning: “Don’t step on my f**king cloak.”
Felton said that he was pretty intimidated by the warning, and yet he (and some of the other actors) still managed to step on Rickman’s cloak. Needless to say, Rickman retorted with “I’m not f**king doing this again!” Felton said it took him some time, but he eventually realized that Rickman was simply extremely dedicated to his role. “[He] was a man with a brilliantly dry sense of humor,” Felton wrote, adding that he saw an entirely different side of Rickman when he insisted Felton be equipped with the same director’s chair as his older peers.
It was a small thing. But I’ll never forget that moment of kindness. Alan wanted a younger cast member to be treated like an equal to these leading lights. He didn’t have to do it, but the fact that he did spoke volumes about the man he was.
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Then there’s the incident where Emma Watson slapped him senseless. And no, it wasn’t because he was pulling a Draco Malfoy on her. Felton revealed that he learned about Hermione slapping Draco in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban while they were still filming the second movie. Intrigued by this new development, he asked Watson if she would like to practice it. Watson didn’t realize he meant a stage slap, and Felton was hit with the full force of Hermione’s wrath. “She nearly had me in tears,” he wrote.
Clearly, he didn’t hold that incident against Watson. In fact, she authored the introduction of his book and included a heartfelt message to Felton. “We’re soulmates, and we’ve always had each other’s back.” Watson wrote. “I know we always will.”
Excuse us while we go grab our copies of Beyond the Wand and cry and laugh in equal measure.
