Thomas Andrew "Tom" Felton (born 22 September 1987) is the British actor known for playing Draco Malfoy in all eight Harry Potter films. He is the original Draco in Leather Pants, inspiring many a Fangirl to sigh over the richest bad boy in Hogwarts.
Felton is one of the young actors in Harry Potter who actually acted professionally prior to the series, starting off in commercials at the age of eight. His first film role was a major supporting part in the 1997 version of The Borrowers (1997), in which he played an Annoying Younger Sibling to Arrietty Clock. A couple years later he played Jodie Foster's son in Anna and the King. When Harry Potter rolled around, he originally auditioned for the part of Harry and, failing that, went for Ron before finally ending up as Draco. For most of the series, Malfoy was a two-dimensional cowardly bully, but in Half-Blood Prince he joins the ranks of Voldemort's followers and learns the hard way that Evil Is Not a Toy. This gave Felton a chance to show that He Really Can Act.
In 2011, Felton appeared in Rise of the Planet of the Apes in a role not too far removed from Draco. It remains to be seen how Typecast he is, though Felton has said he enjoys playing evil and won't mind if he spends the rest of his career playing villains.
Filmography includes:
- The Borrowers (1997) as Peagreen Clock
- Bugs (1998) as James
- Anna and the King (1999) as Louis Leonowens
- Harry Potter as Draco Malfoy
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011)
- Get Him to the Greek (2010) as Himself
- Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) as Dodge Landon
- The Apparition (2012) as Patrick
- Belle (2013) as James Ashford
- The Flash (2016 - 2017) as Julian Albert / Alchemy
- A United Kingdom (2016) as Rufus Lancaster
- Risen (2016) as Lucius Tycho Ennius
- Megan Leavey (2017) as Andrew Dean
- Feed (2017) as Matthew "Matt" Grey
- Ophelia (2018)note as Laertes
- The Forgotten Battle (2020) as Captain Turner
Tropes that apply to this actor include:
- Dyeing for Your Art: To play Draco Malfoy, Felton had to bleach his hair to make it blonder than it already was for ten years. Felton has claimed that he doesn't even remember what his natural hair color is.
- Fake American: He does a very good American accent in Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Murder in the First.
- I Am Not Spock: He gets a chance to spoof it in his cameo from Get Him to the Greek.
- Typecasting: He commonly plays characters similar to Draco Malfoy.
- In Rise of the Planet of the Apes, his first major post-Potter role, he plays a Jerkass ape shelter staff who does everything he can to mistreat the apes, especially any that seem smart. He keeps his job because his father runs the shelter. He's also got a dimwitted friend, and bullies the ambiguously mentally handicapped other staff member.
- In The Flash (2014), he plays a Jerkass descended from British nobility who establishes a mutual hatred with The Hero. However, unlike previous examples of this for him, he's not actually evil.
- A notable aversion is his role as Laertes in Ophelia, a Nice Guy of modest origins who is largely defined by his love for his family, especially his little sister.
- What Could Have Been: He auditioned for the roles of Harry and Ron before getting cast as Draco.
