Although JK Rowling tried to turn Draco Malfoy into this sneering Slytherin bully, Tom Felton’s charm transformed the character into a dreamy heartthrob after the films were released. Surprisingly, Rowling openly credited the actor for turning the character into a desirable bad boy, while in the novels she boldly emphasized his ruthless and idiotic side.
Well, it all started when a random fan posted a “Draco Malfoy is my friend” t-shirt in 2015, and Tom Felton responded to that tweet by claiming that Draco would not be a good boyfriend. In light of Rowling’s clarification on Pottermore about the true nature of Draco, Felton was also seen subtly apologizing to the author. Apparently, Rowling playfully blamed Felton for turning Draco into a charming character.
JK Rowling blamed Tom Felton for turning Draco Malfoy into a heartthrob
Draco Malfoy, the bad boy from Slytherin, played by Tom Felton in all eight parts of Harry Potterstill has many fans who fantasize about him as a glamorous antihero. But the problem is that they have romanticized the imagery of the character that Felton brought to the screen. At least, that’s what the actor and JK Rowling believe.
Although Draco Malfoy is clearly portrayed as a bully and a jerk in both the books and the films, the subject of fantasy came up when a fan sent actor Tom Felton a photo of a T-shirt with the words “Draco Malfoy is my friend“, To XFelton was once again shocked at how Draco’s personality as a tormented bad boy made the girls want to “fix” his ice-cold heart, and reacted with a certain evasiveness.
In his tweet, Tom Felton first reminded people that Draco Malfoy is quite the jerk and certainly not boyfriend-worthy. Instead, Felton promoted Rupert Grint’s character Ron as a good alternative for a relationship, considering some of his actions in the films. After sharing his opinion and options, Felton later apologized to JK Rowling for the popularity of his character.
When Tom Felton realized how his real-life charm had made Draco Malfoy a desirable figure, no longer the wizarding world’s version of a leather jacket-wearing, cigarette-smoking bad boy, he felt compelled to apologize to the author. Rowling obviously responded to his tweet and it sounded like she really wished he wasn’t so damn attractive. The author seemed to jokingly blame Felton for making girls dream about Malfoy and his Dark Mark.
JK Rowling revealed the truth behind Draco Malfoy’s character
Meanwhile, before the fan tweet and Tom Felton’s passionate apology, JK Rowling had already responded to Magical world about how “exasperated“It was over”the number of girls who fell in love with this particular fictional character“. By highlighting the difference between Felton, a handsome young man, and his screen character Malfoy, a snob and bully from Slytherin, Rowling was trying to do something “cold common sense over the daydreams of enthusiastic readers“.
Draco has all the glamour of an anti-hero; girls are very prone to romanticising such people. All this left me in the unenviable position of having to shower the daydreams of avid readers with cold common sense when I told them rather sternly that beneath all the ridicule and prejudice, Draco did not hide a heart of gold and that he and Harry were not destined to be best friends.
However, this was not her only attempt to stop people from fantasizing about Draco Malfoy. In 2015, on the character’s 35th birthday, JK Rowling took down her own creation by telling girls to be “it is wrong to like him“ She also described her young female fans as “delusional” for “swear eternal devotion to this truly imperfect figure“. In conversation with The Leaky CauldronIn this article, Rowling expressed her concern for those women who harbored unhealthy romantic ideas about Draco.
I try to make a clear distinction between Tom Felton, a handsome young man, and Draco, who, whatever he looks like, is not a nice man. It is a romantic but unhealthy and unfortunately all too common delusion (of girls) that they will change someone.
And this continues throughout many women’s lives, right up to their deathbed. It is unpleasant and unhealthy and actually made me a little disturbed to see young girls pledging eternal devotion to this really imperfect character, because there must be an element in it that makes you think, “I’m the one who’s going to change him.”
But anyway, despite JK Rowling’s vivid explanation, Tom Felton can’t take back the sexy eye rolls, brooding looks, and apple-chewing thirst traps he brought to the screen as Draco Malfoy. What’s done is done! Everyone can go on with their day and continue to have a crush on Malfoy.
Harry Potter Movies are available on Max.
