Thomas Andrew Felton (born 22 September 1987) is an English actor. Born in Surrey, Felton began appearing in commercials and made his screen debut in the role of Peagreen Clock in The Borrowers (1997). He portrayed Louis T. Leonowens in Anna and the King (1999) before being cast as Draco Malfoy in the film adaptations of the Harry Potter fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling, starting with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and finishing with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). Felton also appeared in the sci-fi film Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011). He was subsequently cast in indie films From the Rough (2011) and The Apparition (2012).
Felton starred as Viscount Trencavel in the historical miniseries Labyrinth (2012) and as James Ashford in the period drama Belle (2013), which released to critical acclaim. In 2015, he recurred as a murder suspect in TNT's Murder in the First. He appeared in Message from the King and A United Kingdom, which premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. He portrayed Doctor Alchemy on The CW's The Flash (from 2014), based on the comic books Flash. Felton co-starred in the drama film Feed (2017), the action-thriller Stratton (2017), and the biographical film Megan Leavey (2017). He was a series regular on the 2018 sci-fi series Origin and appeared as Laertes in Claire McCarthy's Ophelia (2018), both to critical praise. Felton portrayed the villain in family-horror A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting (2020).
Early life
Thomas Andrew Felton was born on 22 September 1987 in Epsom, Surrey, the youngest of four sons born to Peter Felton and Sharon Anstey. Felton was raised an Anglican. His maternal grandfather is geophysicist Nigel Anstey. Anstey acted as Felton's chaperone during filming of the first Harry Potter film and portrayed one of the Hogwarts professors. Felton cited Anstey as inspiring him to create Draco's sneer.
Felton was educated at West Horsley's Cranmore School until age 11, and then attended the Howard of Effingham School for secondary education. His schedules were arranged so that he could attend school while filming the early Harry Potter films. The first film was successful earning him positive reviews for his performance. However, his altered appearance, fame and role as an antagonist subjected him to name-calling at school. He said, "But I was walking around with dyed hair and played an evil wizard. It wasn't cool." Felton also admitted to not being a model student. In his memoirs, he established a parallel between his then headmaster, Mr Payne and Dumbledore; Felton developed a belief that Mr Payne understood his behaviour at school stemmed "from an unconscious need to impose some normality into [his] existence" not intentional disruption. Felton developed an interest in singing during his childhood and joined school choirs; he was offered a place in the Guildford Cathedral Choir.
Career
1997–2000: Beginnings
Felton began acting in adverts for companies such as Commercial Union and Barclaycard. He played witness Thomas Ingham opposite Clive Owen in Second Sight in 1999 and portrayed Louis T. Leonowens in the film Anna and the King (1999), starring opposite Jodie Foster.
2001–2011: Harry Potter series and recognition
In 1999, auditions were held for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,<!--Please do not change this to "Sorcerer's Stone". This is an article about a person from England, and the British title of the book is "Philosopher's Stone". Thank you.--> the film adaptation of J. K. Rowling's novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Felton had not read the books at the time of the auditions, and originally read of the roles of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley before ultimately being cast as Draco Malfoy.