- Tom Felton, James Phelps, Bonnie Wright and more tell FILMCLUB as part of ‘Film Journeys’ campaign –
Stars of the massive Harry Potter films have revealed that Forrest Gump, Robin Hood, The Little Princess, The Wizard of Oz and Bugsy Malone are among the film influences which set them on their journey to becoming actors. The cast members revealed their inspirations to FILMCLUB, the nationwide after-school initiative, as part of its new Film Journeys campaign.
Tom Felton, (Draco Malfoy), James Phelps (Fred Weasley), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge), Toby Jones (Dobby the House Elf) and Jessica Hynes (voice of Mafalda Hopkirk) revealed their film inspirations to FILMCLUB, the nationwide after-school initiative which encourages school children to watch films they may not normally see as part of its new ‘Film Journeys’ campaign.
Proving that film can be both enjoyable and a source of inspiration, James Phelps, who plays Fred Weasely commented: “I would say the film that made me most interested in films and acting in films when I was growing up was ‘Forrest Gump’. It has always been my favourite film for many reasons; there is no bad guy and the story went into real events in history. Plus Tom Hanks is a great actor, which makes it all so believable.”
Tom Felton spoke of his film journey to becoming bad-boy Draco Malfoy, revealing: “There are a few films that have definitely influenced me on my journey to becoming an actor. I remember as a kid loving ‘Robin Hood’ and all the James Bond movies were a big inspiration to me as a child. Those were some of the films that I thought, “That would be a very cool job to do”. So, I’m very lucky enough to be here.”
Jason Isaacs, who plays Draco’s father, Lucious Malfoy revealed an MGM classic to be his source of inspiration; “A film that changed my life and has throughout my life is ‘The Wizard of Oz’. I first saw it when I was a little kid…on a giant screen and it was overwhelming – it was awash with colours and music and extraordinary looking people…One of the great things about the film is that it makes you think about films.”
Award-winning actress Imelda Staunton, who has appeared in several Harry Potter outings as well as a number of classic British films and TV programmes cited another actress as her influence; “When I was a kid, I watched a lot of black and white films, and I was very influenced by an actress called Bette Davis, who wasn’t particularly attractive, but really, really good. A film I really liked was ‘All About Eve’.”
Bonnie Wright chose family drama A Little Princess; “The film that changed my life was ‘A Little Princess’, which I remember watching when I was a little girl and it made me really believe that inside every girl that there is a little princess.”
Actress Jessica Hynes, who voiced Mafalda Hopkirk in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix said: “I’m a big fan of ‘Bugsy Malone’. It’s a classic. Jodie Foster as Tallulah is jaw-droppingly brilliant. That was one of the first moments when I thought I just want to do that so much.”
Toby Jones who plays Dobby the House elf in the hit series said, “Films that inspired my journey within the industry include ‘Whistle Down the Wind’ and ‘Dougal and The Blue Cat’ – I loved these as a child. I particularly liked the original Willy Wonka with Gene Wilder. He was fantastically charismatic!”
FILMCLUB is a network of after-school clubs that offers children free weekly access to thousands of classic and popular films, as well as film industry news, events and talent. 4,650* schools across the UK are currently signed up to the initiative with over 125,000 members watching films each week.

For further information on FILMCLUB please visit: www.filmclub.org
To hear about more film industry and celebrity film journeys influences, and see a video of Tom Felton talking about his film influences please visit the FILMCLUB Film Journeys miscrosite: http://journeys.filmclub.org/close_encounters.html

“Harry Potter” star (and recent MTV Movie Awards winner) Tom Felton has seen his star rise steadily since first gracing the big screen as Draco Malfoy in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Fans have watched the young actor evolve from a one-note bully to a complicated and sometimes vulnerable villain.

When MTV News caught up with Felton at the opening of Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park, we asked him about Draco’s growth over the course of the eight films, as well as whether he thinks his character is really all evil.

“From my character’s point of view, a lot has been left to interpretation,” Felton said, pinpointing an important-yet-subtle moment from the final film, in which Draco is tasked with the painful decision of whether to help or hinder his nemesis’ progress. “[There is] one take where you want to help Harry. The books, I think, kind of left it up to the interpretation of the reader, really, so one way you internally want to help him, the other side where you’re just confused, so I’m intrigued to see which bits David [Yates] cuts out of it.”

Regarding Malfoy’s not-so-bad, tortured side, Felton said “Potter” creator J.K. Rowling helped him understand a softer side. “Jo always talked about him as being vulnerable,” Felton said. “Most bullies are. They’re actually hugely insecure and have their own problems, and he has the worst parental guidance of any child I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Felton added that when he and Daniel Radcliffe have discussed their characters’ dynamics, they see them as two sides of the same coin. “Harry has these great influences, even though his parents have passed,” Felton said. “Draco, he’s damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t, really. He’s kind of stuck.”

LOS ANGELES, Calif. –
When the stars of “Lord of the Rings” wrapped up filming their trilogy, they commemorated their time together with matching tattoos, something Tom Felton recently proposed to his own “Harry Potter” cast.

“I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but we’ve all got lightning bolts on our a****. No, I’m joking,” 22-year-old Tom, who grew up playing Draco Melfoy, told Britain’s The Sun newspaper. “But I did try and talk them into it.”

Tom said he almost got his co-stars, who include Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, to sign on for some permanent ink.

“I thought it was a nice idea. Maybe not on the a** — but a little something,” he said. “We talked about it, but all wimped out.”

Tom also revealed to the paper that before they parted ways on the set, he, Daniel and Emma sat down and discussed their potential futures — in jest, of course.

“We did the whole thing of where we thought each other would be in five years,” he said. “There were some shocking answers. There were some in rehab, drama teachers, Harry Potter convention runners.”

In related “Potter” news, earlier this week, the stars gathered in Florida for the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in honor of the beloved British wizard series. There, on the red carpet, Daniel told Access Hollywood about how sad he was over finishing up shooting the big screen versions of the books.

“We wrapped up like a week ago and it was bizarre,” he told Access. “I cried like a baby. It was very upsetting, but, you know, a new chapter now begins, I suppose in my life and, hopefully, in my career as well.”

The Harry Potter cast haven’t been told where the split will come and the final story divided into two movies.
Actor Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy, says despite the shoot now coming to an end, nobody has been told exactly where the break will happen.
“We don’t know where the cut’s going to be. Everyone keeps asking us ‘where is the cut?’ but they’ve shot it kind of all as one and I think they’re going to wait and see whatever feels right,” he explained.
He added: “I’m very excited to see what comes out of it!”
The young star says it did come as a relief to the cast when they first learned that filmmakers weren’t going to try and cram the book’s big ending into one film.
“It was nothing but a sigh of relief for us as there was so much in the book we thought ‘oh my God, they’re going to cut characters out, they’ll leave bits out’.
“It’s the most important chapter of the whole story really so it was important to go into it in as much detail as possible so we were all thrilled about it,” he said.
Tom admitted he had mixed feelings about finally saying goodbye to his character Draco.
“I kind of use him as therapy in a way. I get to build up these angers and frustrations and then vent it through this evil little Hitler child. Without it I may have to go to therapy – maybe it’s time to vent that way!” he laughed.

Emirates Stadium hosted its second ever fun-run for Arsenal’s Charity of the Season, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. The Be a Gunner Be a Runner event raised over £41,000 for one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals. 10 year old Tom Phillips from Highbury, saw off tough competition from over 50 other children on Saturday to win the kids’ race and completed the two laps of Emirates Stadium in just six minutes.

Harry Potter star Tom Felton who plays Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films together with football trickster Paul ‘Woody’ Wood presented Tom with his trophy.

Tom said: “It was brilliant to run and raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital. I raised £113 and I’m an Arsenal fan so that’s why I ran.”

Harry Potter star Tom Felton said: “Be a Gunner Be a Runner was a fantastic day out and raised an incredible amount of money to help the thousands of very sick young patients at Great Ormond Street Hospital.”

The Be a Gunner Be a Runner event was part of Arsenal’s season-long ‘Be a Gooner. Be a Giver.’ campaign. Through this, the Club aims to raise £500,000 to fund a new Arsenal Lung Function Unit for children who have difficulty breathing or sleeping. These problems can mean that children may not grow properly and the Lung Function Unit is vitally important in their treatment.

Tom Felton cozies up to girlfriend Jade Olivia as they step out at the Remember Me premiere held at London’s Odeon Leicester Square on Wednesday night (March 17).

The 22-year-old British actor will be back as a blond soon — he tweeted, “Back to hogwarts tomorrow for some more blonde haired nastiness. Should be fun. Not long left now! Wonder if I’ll miss the blonde hair? Not likely.”

Tom shared with us recently about the opening of the new theme park, “I’ve been there twice already and I’m quite impressed. I was there to just look around at the work they’re doing and the second time to announce the opening date. It looks awesome. I think that would be a great dream come true for any kid to be immortalized in a theme park.”

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Theme Park at Universal Orlando opens this spring.

On the day we spoke with Tom Felton in Berlin, the “Harry Potter” star was still recovering from the muscle-bruising effects of some “Deathly Hallows” stunt work.

“I’m afraid to say riding a broomstick is no easy task,” he laughed to MTV News. “They strap you in well and truly.”

With that high-flying scene behind him, Felton has been looking forward, at long last, to shooting the concluding sequence in the series — that flash-forward postscript, in which author J.K. Rowling visits her core characters almost two decades in the future. It now seems director David Yates and his crew will make those scenes the final ones of the production shoot.

“Jamie Christopher, the first [assistant director], was always really keen to do that as the final scene, because it’s such a poignant moment for the franchise, that fact that it’s 19 years on, and we get to see what happened to the characters,” said Felton, who plays blond baddie Draco Malfoy. “I confess we haven’t shot that yet, but we are all extremely excited to do so.”

Though Felton wouldn’t confirm that the postscript will be shot using “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”-style special effects — rather than older actors standing in for their younger counterparts — it certainly seems that will be the case. Both Felton and Daniel Radcliffe can’t wait.

“Daniel and I have been talking about it for ages, and we are excited to see what we look like 19 years later,” Felton said. “We want to make sure that it’s flattering and we don’t look like 60-year-olds.”

Felton counts himself lucky that his onscreen father, British actor Jason Isaacs, provides a very attractive mock-up of what Draco might look like in the future. “Jason Isaacs is a very good model,” Felton said. “He’s a very good-looking guy for his age.”

“Harry Potter” star Tom Felton had only been in Berlin shooting “The Apparition” for a few days when MTV got a chance to chat with him last week. In that short time, though, Tom said his costars Ashley Greene and Sebastian Stan made a very distinct impression on him.

“The Apparition” is getting plenty of buzz because it will be a crossover of two of the biggest teen franchises around: “Harry Potter” and “The Twilight Saga.” Add that to the fact Sebastian Stan is from cult teen TV series “Gossip Girl” and you’ve got what seems to be a perfect cocktail for the teen demographic’s box office dollars, despite the fact “The Apparition” is described somewhere between a mystery and a thriller.

When Tom first got signed on to star as bad boy Draco Malfoy in “Harry Potter,” he and his costars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were all unknown child actors who were picked from casting calls at English grade schools. While they have all grown up to be big actors in their own right, this will be the first time Tom will be walking into a film with young actors who have already established themselves as talented professionals.

“It gives me great, great pleasure to not only be a part of a great project but also to be working with such exciting new talent,” Tom told MTV News. “It’s to be part of that, really, hopefully, to be featured among that young talent.”

Tom was very impressed with how untarnished by fame Ashley Greene was.

“She seems like a very, really positive, very, very friendly young lady, in no way at all ‘Hollywood’,” Tom said. “You know, I didn’t have any expectations. In no way is she a diva or anything like that. She’s a lovely girl and clearly extremely talented, which excites me to be working with such great young talent.”

He added of Sebastian, “He couldn’t be more of a gentleman. He’s a real cool guy who, again, even in my real short time I can see the extreme talent with the pair of them. “

It’s Valentine’s Day Week here on Hollywood Crush, so stay with us as we celebrate the titular movie and the national holiday over the next five days with celebrities’ personal V-Day stories, romance tips and interviews with the “Valentine’s Day” cast!

Congratulations to Tom Felton and his girlfriend, Jade Olivia, who celebrated their two year anniversary Wednesday! When we got a chance to talk to Tom while he was shooting his new film “The Apparition” in Berlin, he admitted that the two years has passed very quickly.

“I can’t believe how quickly this time has flown,” he said with a laugh.

Having an anniversary and Valentine’s Day in such close proximity to one another may seem like more of a problem than a gift, but with Tom filming far away from her for the next few weeks, it is working out in their benefit. Tom said he had planned a romantic trip for the both of them to Vienna to celebrate the holiday of love, but has had to postpone it because he has been filming.

“I’m keeping my fingers crossed that there may be a chance that Jade might be able to come out for the weekend so we can spend Valentine’s Day together and try to make the most of our two year anniversary,” he said.

Tom kept quiet on what exactly he was thinking his plans would be (though we wouldn’t ruin the surprise even if he told us!), but according to his description of his own romanticism, we’re sure it will be something adorable and special.

Apparently Tom — unlike his character “Harry Potter” Draco Malfoy — is a sucker for romantic situations as much as the rest of us … or maybe even more so.

“I’d love to say I play it cool, but I am a young Casanova, my friend,” Tom admitted with a laugh. “I can’t help myself! What can you say? When you’re young and in love, what else can you do?”

And what exactly are his go-to gifts for Valentine’s Day?

“I’m a big fan of the two dozen roses and the kind of cheesy card to go with it,” he dished. “I can’t help myself.”

How do you keep things fresh with a character you’ve been playing nearly half your life? It helps if, as is the case with “Harry Potter” star Tom Felton and his role as blond bad guy Draco Malfoy, you get to step away and take on a new role in a decidedly un-”Potter”-like film. And it’s doubly advantageous if your established character is evolving in ways that make him a far different person than he once was.

That’s where the 22-year-old Felton finds himself at the moment, as the actor begins filming “The Apparition” in Berlin and gets set to return for the end of shooting on “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” As Felton told MTV News from across the pond, Malfoy undergoes changes in J.K. Rowling’s final boy-wizard book that reveal previously unseen layers within him and which present a welcome challenge as an actor.

“It was one of the things I was really looking forward to with ‘Deathly Hallows,’ ” he said. “My personal opinion is, deep down, Draco is desperate to get out of what he’s in. In ‘Half-Blood Prince,’ he had a real wake-up call, realizing this is not what he wants to do, this isn’t the path he wants to go down. Unfortunately, his parental influences aren’t too good. He’s kind of forced into the dark side. It’s hard when Voldemort is sort of your step-uncle, in a weird way.”

But in “Deathly Hallows,” Draco begins to indulge some of his more redemptive qualities, leading to a few compelling moments between him and longtime adversary Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe). Felton said he’s had long talks with director David Yates about the best way to approach the good/evil duality within Draco, and the payoff has been a couple thrilling on-camera confrontations with Radcliffe.

“Harry and Draco almost have a bond, and they save each other’s lives on numerous occasions,” he said. “It’s a really weird love/hate relationship. It’s great that it’s left to our interpretation of how and why this is all happening. We have shot some really interesting stuff with me and Daniel — me saving him and him saving me. For once, we’re not just bickering!”

In particular, Felton is proud of his work on a massive battle scene at Hogwarts between Harry Potter and his Dark Arts-enabled adversaries. “That’s a fantastic moment in the courtyard, where it’s kind of like a Western showdown between good and evil, and Draco’s the only character where you have to go from one side to the other,” he said.