Ten points for Slytherin! Tom Felton’s debut memoir, Beyond the Wand: The Magical Mayhem and Magic of Growing Up a Wizard, dives deep into every aspect of the actor’s personalAnd professional life, from his relationships with the main Harry Potter cast — Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint — to his own personal battles, including substance abuse issues and several run-ins with the law while filming the franchise.
Felton, 35, famously portrayed the platinum blonde, bad-boy-turned-ultimate-good-guy Draco Malfoy throughout all eight of the Harry Potter films, starting with 2001’s Sorcerer’s Stone — which was released when the British star was just 14.
The Surrey native was able to reveal in Beyond the Wand (out Tuesday, October 18) that he was caught while attempting to steal a DVD “of adult nature” from HMV, a video/CD store chain in England. Though the news was kept quiet at the time, Felton shared that he was named and shamed within the store: his photo was plastered on the wall — where it’s still hanging, the actor claimed.
In another hushy-hush incident, Warner Bros. was the company that distributed the material Harry PotterFranchise (never found out about) Origin alum “was going through a typical adolescent phase” and got arrested for weed possession.
These moments were lighter-hearted, but Felton later struggled with substance abuse while living in Los Angeles post-traumatic stress disorder.Potter.
“It came to the point where I would think nothing of having a drink while I was working,” he wrote in the book, explaining that his team and then-girlfriend staged an intervention for him.
The Flash alum’s first two attempts at rehab, however, were unsuccessful. He left the first stint after one day and was kicked out of the second facility after being found in a fellow female patient’s room.
The third time was the charm for Felton, who detailed how he sought help several years later after “the numbness returned.”
“It was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make,” the actor wrote, noting that he hopes that revealing his own story will be able to help others dealing with the same or similar issues.
Keep scrolling to read more of Felton’s Beyond the Wand revelations — including his unique relationship with Watson, why Radcliffe had a photo of Cameron DiazOn set and the 16 llamas Grint purchased after spending some substantial Harry Potter money:
