The first and only behind-the-scenes Harry Potter memoir from one of the films' biggest stars, Tom Felton FP: A lot of the book is divided up into certain chapters of life. You have a chapter about Emma and Dan and Rupert — and you're saying they sort of read the chapters before to make sure that you're remembering things correctly? If you're of a certain age... Then you read, watched, and/or consumed media about a certain series. You know the one I mean. You're reading this review, and it's for a memoir about one of the actors. This series' prevalence in our popular culture has permeated the veil of basic cultural knowledge—for good or for ill—and it is a massive part of my generation's upbringing and cultural sense of identity. From Borrower to wizard, Tom Felton's adolescence was anything but ordinary. His early rise to fame saw him catapulted into the limelight aged just twelve when he landed the iconic role of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films. FP: In the book you talk about how, upon landing the role as Draco, you were very blasé about receiving the news. You write that you were playing football with a friend, unsure of how this will change your life. So, I was curious if you did have any friends at the time, who were impressed knowing you'd be in the films, or if any friends or family had read the books, and were like, "Wow, you got this role!"?

Ok, firstly, wanna say that I grew up reading Draco Malfoy fanfiction, he was my favorite character in HP. And yeah, I realized pretty fast that Tom Felton was nothing like Draco Malfoy, but still, I admired him for portraying Draco so well. I just though that Tom was just a chill boring dude from suburbs in England, obsessed with fishing for some reason. But as it became clear after finishing this book, he’s actually self-obsessed and probably even narcissistic d-bag. Missing Hogwarts? Tom Felton, who played white-haired villain Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise, bas written about the magical moments on set and an adolescence within the pop culture phenomenon."— ParadeBest known for playing Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, Tom Felton has penned a brilliant memoir about growing up playing an iconic role in the series. He reflects on his time shooting the movies with a wide cast of talented actors, detailing behind-the-scenes shenanigans and trouble he got into while on set. More recent news about its creator aside*, I find myself inescapably drawn to news about characters, actors, and stories centered on this world that I adored as a teenager. TF: I was quite keen to not leave it out, but I didn't really feel the need to talk about it too much. It was only through the encouragement of others who said that it's quite uplifting to hear other people talk about their own struggles. I'm hoping that it will be empowering to other people that they get a chance to know that they're not alone.

It’s worth noting, too, that Tom stayed away from mentioning J.K. Rowling too much and his praise of her was minimal. I think she was mentioned by name only four times in this book and that was a really smart move to mention her so little since J.K. Rowling is engaging in so much hateful rhetoric online. His talk of Emma honestly had me in near tears. It’s a well known fact these two are soul mates, and their friendship is honestly the best and most pure thing you’ll read in here. In her foreword and his chapter about her, the emotion in every single word is THERE. He speaks fondly of all his cast, but I get the sense, some tears and laughs were shed when he wrote about her. It just reads differently--more emotional. More…honest? Just more. I understand and respect their hesitation to ever be more, given their pure friendship, but since she’s uber successful in everything she’s done, and he too, I’d love to see at one point in their lives, even further down the road, them give it a shot. Be the rom-com - one week of trial dating. They’re amazing friends, but love is friendship on fire, and I bet these two would be so good together. Picture their babies… Imagine the Dramoine fics after a real-life situation lol. Although unsaid by both them, you have to wonder if that’s also their hesitation. Its one thing to put aside friendship and see if you can be more but these two are Hermoine and Draco. The media would be NUTS. the Harry Potter fandom would blow up. They’d get hate for “dating the enemy” or they’d get obsessive love for making Dramoine a real thing. Media wouldn’t separate Draco from Tom and Hermoine from Emma, especially if they were dating, and I think it’s sad the celebrity life could be one more thing keeping them apart.

NEED SOME HELP?

FP: What was your favorite part of the book to write, and what part was the most challenging for you? My first five star read of 2023 and easily one of the best non-fiction books I’ve ever read. Tom has a fun personality and sense of humor that shines through in all his stories. Reading this book was like watching one of his panels at a comic con and it made the experience really enjoyable. If you’ve had the pleasure of meeting Tom and seeing him speak, you’ll know how well he translated his personality into his writing. It is truly phenomenal. Take a trip into the magical world of Harry Potter with one of the films’ biggest stars, Tom Felton. Celebrating the publication of his new book Beyond The Wand– a magical coming-of-age memoir – Tom will bring the audience behind the scenes of the iconic films and reveal what it was really like playing Harry Potter's wizarding nemesis, Draco Malfoy. I love that it was narrated by Tom. I feel it gives his story a little more oomph. It's 6 hours and 36 minutes. I am used to listening at 2-2.5x, but my daughter is not, so we mostly were around 2x. With his accent it is a little difficult to understand him at super speed, so 2x was a sweet spot. There is something uniquely nostalgic about listening to your first movie crush talk about his time as a child on the set of your favorite childhood fictional world. (If you’re planning on reading this, get the audiobook!!)

TF: I like to think yes — I think we would do it in a heartbeat. Honestly, if the right project came up. I can't say there's anything on the imminent horizon. But as far as the first question, I've got no idea. I'm afraid you're gonna have to ask her that one.I grabbed a physical copy from my library too so I could leaf through it. I enjoyed looking at the pictures that showed his life growing up with his family, and on sets, and the lifelong friendships he made along the way. TF: That makes it sound like it was a legal affair. It wasn't like that. In fact, Emma [Watson] was a big reason that I sort of decided to make this, really. I think a lot of the stories that I'd written down over the years, I shared with her. She was very encouraging. She read a lot of the early scraps of paper [where I was] just sort of sharing stories. And she was very encouraging to write more and sort of [helped] fill in the blanks as far as to what my normal muggle life was like inside and outside of Potter. What a talent, what a career, what a life, and what a treat to relive it all with this most down-to-earth of demigods. Farrah Penn: Have you always known you wanted to write a memoir? And why do you feel like now was the best time?

FP: You write so beautifully about your friendships, and your relationships with all the cast, especially Emma. It seems like you have this special connection with her. Even if your friendship didn't start off on the best foot! You really seem to understand each other. So, I do have a two part question here: Do you think that Emma will one day write a memoir like you have? And do you think the two of you will ever act alongside each other again, if the right opportunity arose? 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. He tells all about his big break, what filming was really like and the lasting friendships he made during ten years as part of the franchise, as well as the highs and lows of fame and the reality of navigating adult life after filming finished. Based on my shelves, I can count the number of non-fiction books I have on one hand, but the moment Tom Felton announced this book, I knew. JUST knew I had to read it. Own it. Cherish it.

From Borrower to wizard, Tom Felton's childhood was anything but ordinary. His early rise to fame saw him catapulted into the limelight aged just twelve when he landed the iconic role of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films. FP: I do feel like I need to ask, since at BuzzFeed, we work to provide a safe space for our readers — and Hogwarts has been such a safe space for so many readers and fans throughout the years. But highly criticized anti-trans statements from J.K. Rowling has caused so many to feel excluded, to say the least. I wondered if you had any intention of echoing the sentiments of your cast mates, Dan, Rupert, and Emma and advocating for and standing by trans and nonbinary individuals? And of course, Harry Potter. The auditioning. Which, let’s be honest, Tom MADE Draco. He might have tried for other parts but no one was a better Ron and Harry than Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe, and no one could have been a better Draco, so the movie people definitely knew what they were doing. How they knew he was the ideal kid to be Draco, his story behind it, made it all the better. He speaks so fondly of all his cast, not just the main three, but the others, especially the older cast. It’s one thing to be friendly with your child co-stars, but I loved his stories of meeting the adults. I don't read too many biographies/memoirs, but if I do it's on a celebrity. Since my daughter and I read the Harry Potter books together a few years ago I thought it'd be nice to read this one together. He tells his story of being in the public eye and his struggles with alcohol and drug use. Of course I wasn't aware of his struggles, since I don't follow him, so I appreciated his candor and willingness to get help.