“Emma had the most to deal with”: Tom Felton Forever Regrets Trying to Humiliate Emma Watson on the Sets of Harry Potter When Actress Had a Crush on Him
- Tom Felton and Emma Watson's characters had a dynamic opposite to their real-life friendship.
- In his memoir, Felton recalled how he felt terrible after humiliating a young Watson.
- The Labyrinth actor not only apologized to Watson, but also understood why he should not have behaved the way he did.
Working in a franchise for years leads to co-workers forming bonds that last for lives. The cast of Harry Potter is no different as Emma Watson and Tom Felton developed a deep bond, unlike the dynamic of their characters, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, in the movies.
When the first movie was released, Watson was a mere 11 years old while Felton was three years older than her. They were even younger since they had started working on the movie two years before its release, and not knowing any better, the Labyrinth actor did things that he regrets to this day.
Tom Felton Humiliated a Nine-Year-Old Emma Watson
Tom Felton started his acting career in the late 1990s and made his feature film debut with the movie The Borrowers. He went on to star in a couple of other projects before he landed the role of the arrogant and cunning young Slytherin wizard Draco Malfoy, who often mocked Gryffindor’s Hermione Granger for not being from a wizardry family.
In true Draco fashion, who would mock Hermione at any chance, a twelve-year-old Felton once humiliated Watson. In his memoir Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard (via Independent), Felton recalled the “painful” memory of him laughing at the actress during a dance performance she did for her castmates.
He mentioned that back in the day, there was an actual rift between the actors who played Gryffindor and Slytherin students. While Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ronald Weasley), and Watson formed one trio, the other trio consisted of the slightly older actors Felton, Jamie Waylett (Vincent Crabbe), and Josh Herdman (Gregory Goyle).
Felton wrote that because they thought since they were older, they were cooler and would listen to rap music. He recounted that this is part of the reason why they were cruel to Watson throughout her performance. He wrote:
We sniggered our way down to Emma’s show, and the sniggers grew louder as she danced. We were just being s***ty boys, largely out of awkwardness and because we thought taking the piss was cool, but Emma was visibly upset by our thoughtless reaction. I did feel like a bit of a d***, and rightly so.
Watson once openly admitted her crush on Felton when they were younger so one can only imagine how she must have felt when the young actor behaved like this during her performance. Luckily, Felton realized his mistake and apologized to her later.
Tom Felton on Why He Felt Awful After Behaving Harshly Towards His Co-star
Felton wrote in his memoir that it felt like an act of teenage thoughtlessness at the moment, something that happens quite commonly. Even so, it was troubling his conscience and as he grew older, he found the answer behind his feelings towards the memory.
The answer, I think, is that I’ve grown to understand with the passing of the years that of all of us, Emma had the most to deal with, the most difficult situation to negotiate, and from the earliest age.
Watson has been smart and considerate since her early years as an actress, but it is undeniable that as the youngest cast member whose first acting role was in such a huge project, she might have faced more difficulties than any of her other co-stars. Felton wrote that he is glad that their friendship became a “touchstone” for their lives despite his initial insensitivity.
The Harry Potter film series is available for streaming on Peacock.
