Exclusive: Tom Felton Reveals the Harry Potter Memorabilia He Collects — & What Hogwarts House He's Really In
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Draco Malfoy might have been a Slytherin through and through, but Tom Felton is a bit of a combination.
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“I’ve been told from a good source that I’m a ‘Slytherdor,’” the Harry Potter actor tells SheKnows, referencing a combination of two Hogwarts houses: cunning, determined Slytherin and brave, chivalrous Gryffindor. “I have a fairly big heart and I like to think I’m quite nice in real life … but I have a cheeky streak.”
When I sit down to chat with Felton, he’s definitely more charming than cheeky, but considering he played entitled bully Draco Malfoy with such finesse — even as a barely-adolescent actor — I can see where those mischievous qualities might come into play. Still, even now, he’s quick to defend Draco’s devious character. “I don’t consider him to be a villain at all, really,” Felton says. “I think he’s just a product of his environment mostly. If he was exposed to a lot more loving rather than Lucius, I’m sure he would have turned out a little bit different.” He’s talking about Lucius Malfoy, of course — Draco’s onscreen father played by actor Jason Isaacs, who Felton says he still affectionately refers to as “Dad.”
“He still amazes me and has taught me so much,” Felton tells me. “He’s been like a real dad offscreen … but a much better one than Lucius. … He’s looked after me and cares about me like a real son, it feels like. I can ask him anything, any question, and he would answer me like a father would to their son.” And if you ask Isaacs, the feeling is mutual.
“I’ve known him since he was 11 or 12,” Isaacs said of Felton in a recent interview. “He’s got a real dad who loves him very much, and a family who loves him very much. But I often felt in loco parentis on the set. I adore him. We’ve shared our journeys, struggles, lots of private things and private moments.”
His onscreen dad isn’t the only costar Felton still talks to regularly; fans will be happy to know that the cast still remains not only in touch, but friends, to this day. “Despite our onscreen differences, we’re actually all incredibly close,” he says. “I golf with the Weasley twins [James and Oliver Phelps] regularly … and I’ll be honest, lose most of the time.”
I share with Felton that I’d read the entire Harry Potter series out loud to my kids, and (after declining to share my embarrassing Hagrid impression) I ask him how it feels to know that even after more than 20 years since the first movie came out, people are still huge fans — and sharing that fandom with their own children.
“That’s my favorite thing, and probably the most surprising thing. I think we all thought when the films were finished that the Potter fan flame would slowly douse a little bit,” he says. “But quite the opposite. Most fans that say hello to me now weren’t even born when the first films were being made, so it’s amazing to see my generation — or whatever generation — passing down the stories to their kids, and for them to be, I’d say, even more excited than when we were releasing the films, so it seems the fandom has only gone up.”
Over the years, the Harry Potter craze has naturally extended into all sorts of merchandise, and Felton has collected plenty of it. Some of his favorite collectibles are Funko Pops, which is why his current partnership with Kinder Joy — the makers of the delicious Kinder Joy Eggs — was a natural fit. Beginning earlier this month, Kinder Joy released Kinder Eggs with limited-edition Harry Potter Funko Pop figurines inside, and Felton was all-in when it came to combining two of his childhood loves, which he admits is “a bit surreal.” He remembers Kinder Joy Eggs as a special treat from his mother … but only if he earned it.
“My mum would bring them Friday after school when she picked me up — if it was a good day, if I had been good that week,” he says. “If you had told me 25 years ago that one day a character that I play would be inside a Kinder Joy egg, that would’ve blown me away. So it was a no-brainer. I heard what they were doing, and how unique they were, and I love Funko’s work.”
Kinder Joy Eggs, Harry Potter Funko Collection
$2
$40
One very iconic Harry Potter collector’s item Felton doesn’t have? Draco’s wand. But it’s one collectible that he feels is in better hands than his own; he tells me that most people don’t realize there was only one wand for his character throughout the entire franchise. “So that wand is safely in the exhibition [at London’s Warner Bros. Studio] and I’m glad about that, because chances are I would’ve misplaced it or lost it or broken it by now.”
Though he’ll always be Draco Malfoy, Felton is multifaceted. He’s the author of Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard, a memoir that Kirkus Reviews calls “A surprisingly deep memoir from the actor who brought a memorable villain to the big screen.” He’s a musician, releasing his most recent EP, ReD, earlier this year. And he’s still acting, of course; he both produces and acts in his latest film, Canyon of the Dead, set to release this spring, and will be onstage starring in the upcoming play A Child of Science.
As most of us would, Felton confesses that he “cringes a little” every time he watches his younger self onscreen. Still, he wouldn’t trade his experience growing up with the rest of the Harry Potter cast. “Every year it was like coming back to a magical summer camp, to enjoy making another wizarding movie. Hogwarts was much more fun than Muggle school, I’ll tell you that.”
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