Harry Potter’s Tom Felton on Emma Watson Admiration, Child Actor Years

Tom Felton isn’t hiding his emotions in the chamber of secrets. 

While looking back at his time on the Harry Potter films, the actor admitted he still marvels at how costar Emma Watson navigated being thrust into the spotlight at such a young age. 

“I don’t think there’s anything she couldn’t do,” Tom, 38, confessed during the March 26 episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “There’s no one that I admire more, really, considering being cast for such a now pivotal role in history. The added dimension of being a young woman, a young girl going through that is another level of complexity.” 

Emma, now 35, was just 9 years old when she auditioned for her role as Hermoine Grainger. Tom started his journey as Draco Malfoy at 13, while titular wizard Harry’s Daniel Radcliffe and Ron Weasley’s Rupert Grint were 11. Though they were kids when the iconic franchise started in 2001, Tom still recognized that Emma’s rise in the industry was fairly different since she was the only girl in the core group. 

“I can’t relate to that, and I can’t even experience it,” he explained, before showing love to the entire Harry Potter cast. “But, you know, I just have huge admiration for all of them.”