Draco Malfoy actor Tom Felton recently recalled teasing Emma Watson on the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone set. Originally based on author J.K. Rowling's wildly popular fantasy books, the Harry Potter film franchise consists of eight movies and spawned three Fantastic Beasts spinoff movies. The franchise has accumulated over $7.7 billion at the box office, making it the fourth-highest film series ever.
As the original books are centered around children at a school, much of the cast consisted of young actors with little to no credits. At 12 years old, Felton landed his first film role playing the character Draco, a spoiled, conniving bully who represented the Slytherin House at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He played the foil to the series' central protagonists, the prophesied Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), his loyal friend Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), and the brutally honest know-it-all Hermione Granger (Emma Watson).
Related: How Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy Are Related
In Felton's new memoir, Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard (via Insider), the actor recalled a time he teased Watson on the set of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. He admitted that there was a divide between the children at that time, split according to their character's houses at Hogwarts. Felton claimed that the groups maintained their distance but "weren't unfriendly to each other by any means." However, when 9-year-old Watson performed a dance for the cast, Felton and his friends laughed at her during the presentation. Read what the actor wrote below:
"I suppose we thought we were a bit cooler. We'd spend our free time together listening to rap music — Wu-Tang, Biggie, 2Pac — so when word reached Josh and me that 9-year-old Emma had put together a little dance show in her dressing room that she wanted to present to us at lunchtime, we were predictably dismissive."
"We sniggered our way down to Emma's show, and the sniggers grew louder as she danced. We were just being shitty 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 dick, and rightly so."
"I did apologize and Emma accepted my apology. Everybody moved on. It was just a stupid, teenage act of thoughtlessness, the sort of thing that happens every day. So why does that moment stick in my memory? Why is it so painful for me to recall?"
Despite Teasing, The Harry Potter Cast Were Actually Really Close
Although Felton and Watson made up, the actor admits that he still feels guilt over the incident and is "ashamed by the memory" of his behavior. He acknowledges that Watson was already under more pressure than everyone else in the main cast as she was the only girl surrounded by boys and their "boy humor." However, as the film series exploded in popularity, the main cast became close friends and maintained contact after the Harry Potter movies concluded.
Despite Felton's childish ribbing, Watson later admitted that she had a crush on her costar throughout their time working on the first two Harry Potter movies. Although those feelings have waned, she has stated that the two have remained quite close since, hanging out frequently to catch up after their time away from work. Watson also previously discussed her relationship with her two principal costars stating they still converse often. Although they used to share a WhatsApp group chat — an app they now loathe — the group still maintains contact, frequently sharing photos and keeping each other up-to-date on their lives. With Felton and Watson's time with Harry Potter over, the costars can now enjoy their time together free of the pressures of the massive franchise.
Next: What Harry Potter's Cast Has Done Since The Movies Ended
Source: Insider
