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Review of Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton

By Curlygeek04 @curlygeek04

I’ve been recommending this book a lot in the few weeks since I read it.  I don’t typically like actor memoirs, since I’m not all that interested in the life of an actor. But I heard great things about this one and it didn’t disappoint.  Not because it’s amazingly well-written (it’s a bit repetitive), and not because Felton has had an amazing life. As he points out quite a few times, he’s a pretty ordinary guy who lucked into a life-changing, 10-year acting role. But it’s exactly that humility that made this book stand out. That, and it’s a fantastic behind-the-scenes look at the Harry Potter films.

Review of Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton

As Felton puts it, he grew up in a family that was much more Weasley than Malfoy – loving parents and three older brothers who gave him a very hard time (hence the humility). His family didn’t push him to act, but he gave it a try, landed a few good roles, and showed up for the HP audition. I enjoyed hearing about his first big role in The Borrowers, based on the classic children’s book. I need to look that up.

He talks a lot about his experiences making the movies, from the mundane (having to dye his hair white over and over again) to stunts and CGI, to working with what may be the greatest cast of British actors ever. He talks about his friendships with the actors playing Crabbe and Goyle, his father-son relationship with Jason Isaacs, and his great respect for Daniel, Emma, and Rupert. He talks about what it’s like to spend most of your teen years working on big-budget, super-famous movies and then the rest of the time going back home and just being an ordinary guy (he notes that Daniel, Emma and Rupert weren’t able to do that, and he appreciates that he could. At the same time, he also learns to appreciate that he was part of a series that shaped many people’s childhoods. I loved the story he tells about going to his first fan conference.

It was interesting to hear his take on the evolution of his role. He notes he had to do very little acting before Movie #6, mostly just sneering). He thought of Draco Malfoy as an abused and lonely child, with a domineering father who only uses him, and he compared that to his own loving family. I’ve started rereading Book 6, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, to get a better sense of the character. It’s interesting to me that Rowling was writing the later books after all the movies were cast, so at some point she’s literally developing the characters with the awareness of who is playing them. It would be interesting to know if that influenced her story.

What made this book stand out for me was the last part, when Felton talks about his addiction and mental health issues. I’m glad we’re living in a time when mental health is talked about openly, and while Felton’s experiences may not be unique, I appreciated hearing about what he went through and how he came out on the other side.

On a humorous note, I loved when he shared all the times people mistook him for other famous actors, like Eminem, a guy from Breaking Bad, and “that guy from Malcolm in the Middle”. The truth is, even though he starred in movies I’ve seen many times, I probably wouldn’t know him if I saw him. And he seems to like it that way.

Not surprisingly, Tom Felton reads his own book for the audio version, and this is an example of a perfect book to listen to rather than read. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoyed the Potter movies.

Review of Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom FeltonReview of Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton

This book meets the Nonfiction Reader Challenge (memoir), the PopSugar Challenge (a nontraditional education) and the Beat the Backlist Challenge.


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