Tom Felton: Harry Potter stole my childhood

Tom Felton lost his childhood to the Harry Potter movie series. The 23-year-old actor — who plays evil wizard Draco Malfoy in the film franchise — insists the amount of money he was paid for portraying the villain does not make up for the experiences he missed.

“I feel a real mixture of emotions. There is a little bit of sadness, but at the same time there is excitement,” he said.

“For the past decade we haven’t had much freedom to do other projects. I certainly haven’t had much freedom to keep my own hair colour, or lay in the sun, or do anything remotely dangerous like skiing.

“One thing that people keep on saying to me is that the wealth and the fame must have made up for missing out on my childhood. But the idea of money — putting a price on your childhood — is ridiculous. You will never get those years back and you can’t put a price on them.”

Despite his excitement the British star is concerned work may dry up and he won’t be able to pay his bills.

“It’s a nervous time after having such a sure thing for 10 years,” he said. “Suddenly you are on your own and there is no guarantee of future work. I’ve got bills to pay and I’ve got to work.

“My last audition was when I was 12, but now I have to put myself out there again and it’s not easy. I went to Los Angeles for two weeks to see what it was like, and after my first audition I came out and nearly fainted. My legs were shaking and I needed to neck three glasses of water.”

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