Beyond the Wand summary

As strange as it sounds, not preparing for his audition may have been what landed Tom Felton the iconic role of Draco Malfoy. While most kids were already huge fans of the material, twelve-year-old Tom showed up to the Harry Potter auditions without having read a single one of the books.

The first step of the audition process was to have the kids line up along a wall and tell the director what they were most excited to see on screen. As each actor answered the question, Tom began to realize that he had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

Over the next ten years, Tom would have the opportunity to work with hundreds of actors and form some of the most important and lasting friendships of his life. 

While they mostly kept their distance in the beginning, Tom’s friendship with Daniel Radcliffe developed significantly during the later films. They played bitter enemies on screen, but Tom has a lot of love for Daniel and a deep respect for the way he conducted himself under such immense pressure.

A typical day of filming the Harry Potter movies would begin at 6 a.m. sharp, when Tom would stumble into a waiting car and sleep through the hour and a half drive to Leavesden studios.

After getting his scripts for the day and dressing in his Hogwarts robes, he would spend an hour in hair and make-up and then head off to set.

Tom’s first project after finishing the last Potter film was a lead role in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which was offered to him with no audition required.

Since his experience with this film had been so rosy, Tom assumed that everything would continue to be easy. Unfortunately, this was not the case. After moving to Los Angeles, he found himself going on hundreds of auditions – many of which could only be described as cringeworthy.

Almost immediately after arriving at rehab, Tom knew that he was in the wrong place. Although he admits that he did have a drinking problem, most of the other patients at this facility had severe substance abuse issues and required intense psychiatric treatment. 

Just twenty-four hours after checking in – while on a walk across the grounds – Tom found himself staging an accidental “escape.”

Tom’s journey to sobriety would bring him to two more rehab facilities over the next few years. Although he was initially against the idea, he now realizes that his stints in rehab helped him to break through the social stigma surrounding mental health treatment.

Today, Tom lives a much simpler life in London with his dog, Willow. He wakes up each morning full of gratitude and takes things one step at a time. He still has his bad days, but he sincerely hopes that his experiences will help others who may be in the same situation.