Tom Felton
Some of you may know Tom Felton as an actor in other roles, some of you may not know him at all, but those of you who are familiar with the Harry Potter universe know of course that he played Draco Malfoy, a co-student at Hogwarts and enemy of Harry and his friends, through all the films.
When browsing the book shops in Ripon last week, I came across his autobiography, and since I am currently reading the Alan Rickman diaries (Alan Rickman starred in all the HP films, too, in case you didn't know), I thought this paperback would make a nice tie-in read.
And it did! One might argue that a person as young as Tom Felton (in his mid-thirties) has no business writing an autobiography. But he does have a lot to tell. His story is not the classic "child star rises to fame only to fall the deeper for it when turning the corner to adulthood". He wasn't a huge celebrity as a child, since during the years when the films were made, most of the attention went to the three main characters of Harry, Ron and Hermione - those three kids had no chance at a normal childhood or adolescence from the moment they were cast for their roles.
Tom, on the other hand, still went to a regular school when not filming. He also emphasizes how having three older brothers putting him in his place helped him to stay grounded, as well as having parents and a grandfather who supported him throughout without ever pushing him for more roles, more work, more fame.
And yet he DID fall, so to speak. It had less to do with his early rise to fame and more with his move to the US, where problems arose which he was unable to solve without professional help (I am deliberately not telling you too much here).
He came through and now lives in London.
The blurb at the back of the book sums it up nicely: "Speaking with candour and his own trademark humour, Tom shares his experience of growing up on screen and as part of the wizarding world for the very first time."
I would not exactly say it is a must read for Harry Potter fans, but it does give a lot of insight - not only into the making of those films in particular, but in the making of films in general. Oh, and Emma Watson wrote the foreword :-)
I can well imagine that he got less attention than the main trio who were the "heroes" throughout the films - while Draco Malfoy was their main antagonist of the same age.
ReplyDeleteAmong many other things, he mentions encounters with fans who mistook him for Macauly Culkin ("Kevin - Home Alone") or other actors, and also of those who to this day can not discern between role and real person, being aggressive towards him for being "so mean" to Harry and his friends!
DeleteI am sure that I would also like this book! Do you like the book by Alan Rickman? You know we are big fans in this household! I have read that they truly were his diaries and just wonder what he would think of them being made into a book? I am sure you will let us know!
ReplyDeleteAlan Rickman's diaries are fascinating - completely different (of course) from Tom Felton's autobiography, as they were written by a very different man over the course of many years, and with a very different intention.
DeleteSounds like an interesting read, Meike. I will look for it at my library. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIt is mostly interesting to Harry Potter fans, but still a good read if one is not (only such readers won't get all the "inside" jokes and references, I suppose).
DeleteThis sounds very interesting and a different kind of bio. (I loved the Rickman diaries.)
ReplyDeleteI am still reading Rickman's diaries, they are of course on a much higher literary level than Tom Felton's book. It will take me at least a few more weeks to finish them - now that I am not on holiday anymore, I usually only read a bit during my lunch break when working from home, and a few more pages at night before bedtime.
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