Tom Felton

Infobox actor


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birthname = Thomas Andrew Felton
birthdate = birth date and age|df=yes|1987|9|22
birthplace = Kensington, London, England
deathdate =
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website = http://www.tomfelton.com

Thomas Andrew "Tom" Feltoncite web | publisher=harrypotter.warnerbros.co.uk | title=Warner Bros. Official site | work=(Flash: click appropriate actor's image, click "Actor Bio") | url=http://harrypotter.warnerbros.co.uk/gobletoffire/master/index.html | accessdate=5 August | accessyear=2007] (born 22 September 1987) is an English actor and singer. He is best known for playing the role of Draco Malfoy in the "Harry Potter" film series, the movie adaptations of the best-selling "Harry Potter" fantasy novels by author J. K. Rowling. Felton, the youngest of four children, was raised and schooled in England.

Felton started filming in commercials when he was eight and in films at ten - appearing in "The Borrowers" and "Anna and the King". [http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=147081&in_page_id=1773 Prepare for Potter magic!] from The Mail on Sunday. Retrieved on 15 August 2007.] After being cast as Draco Malfoy he has subsequently appeared in all five "Harry Potter" films, from 2001 to 2007. Felton has a pencilled-in contract to return for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", due to be released in 2009. cite news | title=Video interview with Tom Felton | url=http://media.libsyn.com/media/pottercast/felton1-2006.wmv | publisher=2006 World Junior Carp Championship | date=2006-08-12|accessdate=2007-07-13] [ [http://www.harrypotterfanzone.com/fusion/fullnews.php?id=1239 Tom Felton penciled in for 'Half-Blood Prince'] from Harry Potter Fan Zone. Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] A fishing aficionado, he helped form the World Junior Carp Tournament, a family-friendly fishing tournament.

Early life

Felton is the youngest of four brothers in his family. Felton lived in Surrey, England with his parents and three older siblings, Jonathan, Chris, and Ashley. [http://www.flixster.com/actor/tom-felton Tom Felton biography] from Flixster. Retrieved on 3 August 2007.] He was in four choirs throughout his childhood, starting with his church choir at age seven. [http://www.veritaserum.com/movies/actors/tomfelton.shtml Tom Felton biography] from Veritaserum. Retrieved on 3 August 2007.] At age eleven, he worked at a fishery in Dorking, one of his first jobs. [http://www.tomfelton.com/news03.html Harry Potter’s rival is not such a bad boy at home] from "tomfelton.com." Retrieved on 3 August 2007.] Felton was educated at West Horsley's Cranmore School, until the age of 13 and then at the Howard of Effingham, a secondary school in Surrey.

Career

Early career

Felton began acting in commercials by winning a role in a coveted advertising campaign; he won the role over 400 young actors. [ [http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Tom%20Felton:1800308596:page=biography;_ylt=AidduYSsd6pSocXCER1CbHNDR60B;_ylu=X3oDMTBucmVlNmdkBF9zAzI4MTMzMTg3BHNlYwNhY3RmZWF0 Tom Felton biography] from "shopping.yahoo.com." Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] Another commercial role brought Felton to New York City's Times Square to shoot a production for Commercial Union. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/tv_film/newsid_3736000/3736247.stm Azkaban Exclusives: Draco Malfoy] from CBBC. Retrieved on 15 August 2007.] Later Felton did a series for Barclaycard. In 1995, he performed the voice of James in the television series "Bugs" and landed his first feature film role in 1997 when he played the part of Peagreen Clock in Peter Hewitt's film "The Borrowers". [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800308596/bio Tom Felton biography] from Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved on 3 August 2007.] Felton played witness Thomas Ingham opposite Clive Owen in "Second Sight" in 1999. Felton's role of Louis T. Leonowens in the film "Anna and the King", starring Jodie Foster, was also filmed in 1999. Felton made an appearance in the episode 'Hide and Seek' of "Second Sight 2" followed in 2000. [ [http://movies.msn.com/celebs/celeb.aspx?c=226092&mp=b Tom Felton biography] from movies.msn.com. Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] The Guildford Cathedral Choir also offered him a position.

2000-present

By autumn in 2001, he had become known internationally for his portrayal of Draco Malfoy, the bully, enemy, and foil of Harry Potter in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". As of 2007, Felton has appeared in all of the "Harry Potter" films. Before landing the part of Malfoy, Felton had auditioned to play Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Of the four young actors who succeeded in getting the main roles, Felton had the most extensive film experience. Thereafter Felton's schedule began to fill with the work of filming the first four movies, premieres, contributing to articles and interviews, and receiving the Disney Channel's Kids Awards for Best DVD "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" on 22 September 2003. [ [http://www.hpana.com/news.17497.html Update: Emma Watson and Tom Felton accept Disney Channel Kids Award for 'Chamber of Secrets' Popular] from HPANA. Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] Felton started his Official Tom Felton Fan Club in 2004 and took part in autograph signing events. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/pictures/galleries/newsid_3904000/3904731.stm Tom Felton fan club launch] from CBBC Retrieved on 15 August 2007.] [ [http://www.hpana.com/news.17934.html Tom Felton to start official fan club Popular] from HPANA. Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] His fan club was reported to have attracted so many fans that Felton had to put a temporary stop to people signing up to his fan club. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/tv_film/newsid_3612000/3612449.stm Felton fans in a fan club frenzy] from CBBC. Retrieved on 15 August 2007.] The autographing session in Germany drew people from Chile and one fan in Cologne summarised: "Tom is a real nice, professional young man, always happy, smiling, laughing, full of power — a real gentleman." [ [http://www.hpana.com/news.18449.html Reports on Tom Felton's recent fan-signing event Popular] from HPANA Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] When the fan asked Felton what kids should do if someone like his character is bullying them, he said: "Tell someone. You don't want to keep it to yourself."" [http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/news/story/0,6260,646288,00.html Meet Tom Felton, actor] " from Time For Kids. Retrieved on 4 August 2007.]

After filming the fourth "Harry Potter" film, Felton made a guest appearance on "Home Farm Twins" in 2005, where he played Adam Baker in the short-lived series. [http://www.mugglenet.com/castspecials/tf/information.shtml Tom Felton biography] from MuggleNet. Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] He attended Collectormania on 30 April 2005 [ [http://www.hpana.com/news.18564.html Tom Felton to appear at Collectormania in UK] from HPANA. Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/news/cult/2003/04/15/3846.shtml Meet your favourite cult TV stars for free at Britain's premiere comic fair] from BBC News. Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] and London's world premiere for "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". [ [http://www.mugglenet.com/gofpremiere/worldpremiere_gof.shtml GOF London World Premiere Report] from MuggleNet. Retrieved on 5 August 2007.] On 11 November 2005, he and Rupert Grint presented Liz Carnell with the "Daily Mirror"'s Pride of Britain Award for all of her work to raise awareness of the dangers of bullying. [ [http://www.hpana.com/news.18914.html Grint & Felton present award for anti-bullying Popular] from HPANA. Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] [ [http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16233679&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=the-pride-of-britain-awards--special-award--liz-carnell--name_page.html The Pride of Britain Award: Special Award: LIZ CARNELL] from the "Daily Mirror". Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] Felton worked on "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" throughout 2006. Now having read more of the Harry Potter books, Felton reflects: "I have had input into Draco. If they give me a line and I don't think it is something he would say, I suggest changing it. They do listen to you and you do feel a part of it." [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,5-2004241460,,00.html The Potter Kids: Day 3] from "The Sun". Retrieved on 4 August 2007.]

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". [ [http://www.hpana.com/news.20100.html 'Potter' actors attend charitable event in Denver Popular] from HPANA. Retrieved on 5 August 2007.] He was also present at Leicester Square for the premiere of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" on 3 July 2007. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/2394887.stm Stars out for Potter première] from BBC News. Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] [ [http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,1998,00.html#8_0 European Premiere of 'Harry Potter'] from Fox News Channel. Retrieved on 5 August 2007.]

Felton will also appear in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", the sixth film of the series, which is currently in post-production stage. 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." Felton will also play the character Simon in the 2008 horror/thriller movie "The Disappeared". [ [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/453942/The-Disappeared/overview The disappeared movie] from The New York Times.]

Felton posted three music videos on YouTube under an account called "Feltbeats", in which he performs fragments of original songs. Nine songs have been re-recorded and are now available on iTunes: "Time Well Spent," "Time Isn't Healing", "One of These Days", "Under Stars," "Right Place, Right Time," "In My Arms," "All I Need," and "I'll Be There" join the instrumental "Silhouettes in Sunsets." The songs were welcomed by the YouTube community with mostly positive feedback. [ [http://www.youtube.com/user/feltbeats YouTube - feltbeats's Channel ] ]

In September 2008, he played for the England side in Soccer Aid 2008.

Personal life and interests

In 2003, Felton and his brother Chris worked with Joe Babbitt, the St. Lawrence County Angler's Association, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Region 6, the Chamber of Commerce, and a diverse group of other organisations to form the World Junior Carp Tournament, [http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/harry_potter_movie/interviews/index.asp?article=tom_felton&topic=1 Tom Felton Talks About Reading, Collecting, and Being Draco] from Scholastic Corporation. Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] [ [http://www.hpana.com/news.19550.html Tom Felton in NY for Carp Tournament Popular] from HPANA. Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] which involves competitive fishing for children ages 11 through 18 in a family-friendly environment. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3718/is_200305/ai_n9279146 Lawrence lands World Junior Carp Tournament] from CNY Business Journal, archived at "findarticles.com." Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] Felton's favourite hobby is fishing and Felton plans to pursue some qualification in fishery management at Sparsholt College in Winchester, just where his brother had gone years before. [http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/harry_potter/tom_felton.htm Tom Felton] from Scholastic Corporation. Retrieved on 4 August 2007.] Apart from fishing, Felton also enjoys other sports, such as basketball, football, roller skating and ice-skating. He said during an interview, "I am generally more and more in my comfort zone in the wild. The only time I can really relax is up a tree or somewhere outside. I love being outside." His ideal place for a holiday is the United States of America. More specifically, in an interview, he said he liked to go to the St. Lawrence River in New York. His favourite villain in movies is Alan Rickman in "", who stars in the "Harry Potter" film series as Severus Snape. He said during an interview that his favourite characters in Harry Potter are Gilderoy Lockhart and Lucius Malfoy, Draco's dad. Felton said that if he could play another character in the film, he would play Lucius Malfoy, or even Voldemort. When asked which house in Hogwarts he would like to stay in, Felton said it would probably be Slytherin.

"The Sun" (London) reported that Felton is distantly related to several participants of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 including defence witness Lt. Nathaniel Felton, and John Proctor, a victim of the hunt. [ [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007280839,00.html 'Draco Malfoy' is a witch] from "The Sun". Retrieved on 4 August 2007.]

Awards and nominations

;Young Artist Award
* Nominated: Best Ensemble in a Feature Film (shared with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint), "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (2001). [http://www.youngartistawards.org/noms23A.htm Twenty-Third Annual Young Artist Awards 2002] from Young Artist Award. Retrieved on 4 August 2007.]
* Nominated: Best Performance in a Feature Film: Supporting Young Actor, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (2001).

Filmography

ee also

* List of "Harry Potter" films cast members

References

External links

* [http://www.tomfelton.com/ Official Site]
*
* [http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=232384 Tom Felton profile] at New York Times
* [http://youtube.com/user/feltbeats Tom Felton on YouTube]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/11/29/tom_felton_chamber_of_secrets_interview.shtml BBC Interview]