Background and career
Thomas Andrew Felton (born 22 September 1987) is an English actor. Born and raised in Surrey, he began appearing in commercials and made his screen debut in the role of Peagreen Clock in The Borrowers (1997). Felton portrayed Louis T. Leonowens in Anna and the King (1999) before being cast as Draco Malfoy in the film adaptations of the fantasy novels Harry Potter, starting with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and finishing with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). He also appeared in the science fiction film Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011). He was subsequently cast in the independent films From the Rough (2011) and The Apparition (2012). Felton starred as Viscount Trencavel in the historical miniseries Labyrinth (2012) and as James Ashford in the period drama Belle (2013), which released to critical acclaim. In 2015, he recurred as a murder suspect in TNT's Murder in the First. He appeared in Message from the King and A United Kingdom, which premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. He portrayed Doctor Alchemy on The CW's The Flash (from 2014), based on the comic books Flash. Felton co-starred in the drama film Feed (2017), the action thriller Stratton (2017), and the biographical film Megan Leavey (2017). He was a series regular on the 2018 science fiction series Origin and appeared as Laertes in Claire McCarthy's Ophelia (2018), both to critical praise. Felton portrayed the villain in the family horror film A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting (2020).
Thomas Andrew Felton was born on 22 September 1987 in Epsom, Surrey, to Peter Felton and Sharon Anstey. He has three older brothers. Felton was raised an Anglican. His parents divorced when he was a teenager. His maternal grandfather is geophysicist Nigel Anstey, who served as Felton's chaperone during filming of the first Harry Potter film and cameoed as one of the Hogwarts professors. Felton cited Nigel as inspiring him to create Draco's sneer. Felton was educated at West Horsley's Cranmore School until age eleven, and then received his secondary education at the Howard of Effingham School. His schedules were arranged so that he could attend school while filming the early Harry Potter films. The first film was successful earning him positive reviews for his performance. However, his altered appearance, fame and role as an antagonist subjected him to name-calling at school. He said, "But I was walking around with dyed hair and played an evil wizard. It wasn't cool." Felton also admitted to not being a model student. In his memoir, he established a parallel between his then-headmaster, Mr Payne and Dumbledore; Felton developed a belief that Mr Payne understood his behaviour at school stemmed "from an unconscious need to impose some normality into [his] existence" not intentional disruption. Felton developed an interest in singing during his childhood and joined school choirs; he was offered a place in the Guildford Cathedral Choir.
Felton began acting in adverts for companies such as Commercial Union and Barclaycard. He landed his first feature film role in when he played the role of Peagreen Clock in Peter Hewitt's The Borrowers (1997). In 1998, Felton voiced James in the television series Bugs. He played witness Thomas Ingham opposite Clive Owen in Second Sight in 1999 and portrayed Louis T. Leonowens in the film Anna and the King (1999), starring opposite Jodie Foster. In 2000, Felton made a guest appearance in Second Sight 2 in the episode "Hide and Seek".
In 1999, auditions were held for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the film adaptation of J. K. Rowling's novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Felton had not read the books at the time of the auditions, and originally read of the roles of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley before ultimately being cast as Draco Malfoy. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released in 2001 to critical and commercial success. The film was praised for its casting, including Felton's; one critic called his performance "the personification of upper-class insolence." Following the film's release, Felton admitted in his memoirs that some people had difficulty making a distinction between him and his character. Initially, Felton was hurt by a fan's comment after the premiere at Odeon Leicester Square, however Nigel Anstey encouraged him to see it as a compliment for his performance by making the character disliked. He reprised his role the following year in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), which saw Felton winning a Disney Channel's Kids Award. Felton started his Official Tom Felton Fan Club in 2004 and took part in autograph signing events. His fan club was reported to have attracted so many fans that Felton had to put a temporary stop to people signing up. When a fan asked Felton what kids should do if someone like his character is bullying them, he said: "Tell someone. You do not want to keep it to yourself."
Felton appeared in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire, both released to increasing global recognition. Felton made a guest appearance on Home Farm Twins in 2005, where he played Adam Baker in the short-lived series. On 11 November 2005, he and Rupert Grint presented Liz Carnell with the Daily Mirror's Pride of Britain Award for her work in bullying awareness. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was filmed in 2006 and released in 2007, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of the year. When asked whether he was looking forward to playing a good guy in the future he answered: "No. Well, I don't know. I suppose for now I'm happy with sticking to what he is. But after the Potter legacy is over I look forward to playing a good guy, or someone different anyway; someone not so spiteful." In July 2007, Felton visited Children's Hospital in Denver, Colorado, in a pre-screening, charitable event of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. On 18 March 2011, Felton appeared in a comedy sketch on Red Nose Day 2011 alongside James Corden, Rupert Grint, George Michael, Justin Bieber, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Keira Knightley, Professor Robert Winston, and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
On 12 November 2008, Felton appeared alongside Jack Osbourne on Adrenaline Junkie as he participated in various challenges in South Africa, including a 60 m (200 ft) bungee jump on Bloukrans Bridge, took a ride in a helicopter, followed by a parachute freefall and came face-to-face with great white sharks. Felton portrayed Simon in the 2009 horror/thriller movie The Disappeared. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released in July of that year as a major commercial success; The Hollywood Reporter described Felton's role as "perennially glowering" while the plot of the film "weighs on him, causing his smug veneer to all but melt away."In 2010, Felton released his original song "Hawaii" on Six String Productions – an independent record label run by Felton, David Proffitt and Philip Haydn-Slater promoting creative independence and ownership of material. Felton portrayed the main character, Ray Marsden, in White Other (2010). His character is a troubled youth in the "ends" of England and stars alongside Harry Potter co-star Imelda Staunton. Felton had a cameo role in Get Him to the Greek (2010) in June. He portrayed the character Dodge Landon in the 2011 science-fiction film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and played a paranormal investigator in the thriller film The Apparition (2012). Felton reprised his role as Malfoy for the final time in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. His performances in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 won him two consecutive MTV Movie Awards for Best Villain in 2010 and 2011. Screen Rant stated that Felton "brought the complex, layered" character to the films, calling Malfoy the series' "true cult hero". While filming the Harry Potter series, Felton and fellow actress Emma Watson (who played Hermione Granger in the films) both confessed to having crushes on each other during filming, albeit at different times. In the foreword to Felton's memoir, Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard, Watson called herself and Felton "soulmates".
