Tom Felton commented on the real-life nicknames that he utilized to make his performance as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise's cast and would play one of the most integral characters in the entire series, the conflicted and disturbed Draco Malfoy.

Following the enormous success of the Harry Potter films, which spanned eight installments with the final one being 2011's Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Felton went on to star in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Murder in the First, and The Flash. Apart from acting, Felton also has a career in music as a pop singer. He has released several singles, starting with 2010's "All I Need" and 2011's "Hawaii". He released several new songs in 2024 including "Holding On" and "Fairies and Feathers."

Tom Felton Had 2 Insulting Nicknames As A Child

"Runt" and "Maggot"

Felton revealed to Empire magazine that he was called "Runt" and "Maggot" when he was younger by his brothers. "Yeah. I grew up with three older brothers and I was affectionately known as 'Runt' for a long time, being the youngest. Maggots' was another affectionate one." Felton acknowledged that these nicknames helped him develop the particular brash attitude of Draco Malfoy during the audition process.

In a 2022 interview with The Guardian, Felton revealed how these nicknames helped craft Malfoy's palpable arrogance. "Growing up, I was the runt of the pack – or “maggot”, as my brothers affectionately called me. Mixing with older people made me confident, but I was still pretty naive and extremely cheeky, which is quite cute for a while but can turn into arrogance as you get older. Nevertheless, it came in handy when I went to my first audition for Potter." Felton also notes in the interview that his cockiness during the audition process helped him land a role of a lifetime in the Harry Potter universe.

Felton's Experience As The Runt Gave Him Mafloy's Secret Weapon

Felton inserted a certain cockiness and arrogance in Malfoy

Felton continued to explain his approach to his Potter audition. "It was very different from the auditions I’d done before – which had been: get in and get out. This was an entire nation of kids who were major fans of the book wanting to have a go." Felton revealed that he hadn't even read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone before auditioning. "I decided to steal the line from the kid next to me – quite poorly, apparently, because the director looked at me like: “Uh-huh, you wanna see Gringotts the most? A bank?” Still, that cockiness might have helped me get the part of Draco." For Malfoy, Felton's approach to the Harry Potter audition helped him nail the part.

Sources: Empire, The Guardian