Don’t mess with Professor Snape!
Tom Felton famously played Draco Malfoy in the cult Harry Potter film series. Draco is a restless child of bad parents who often spend time with the villains of the series. Thus, Felton had many scenes with the legendary actor Alan Rickman, who plays the mysterious Professor Snape in the movie. While it was certainly an opportunity for a young actor like Felton to perform with Rickman, an iconic veteran of stage and screen, one incident made Rickman angry at Felton while filming a scene in Harry Potter. So much so that the Die Hard alum threw an F-bomb.
In a recent Instagram video, Felton promoted his new memoir Beyond the Wand, which details various moments and memories from his acting career, including from the Harry Potter films. Nostalgic for the time spent in the franchise, Felton shared a fascinating story about the moment with Alan Rickman. However, at the time, this story might not have seemed very convincing, as Felton explains:I grinned when Alan Rickman finally told me in no uncertain terms, “Don’t step on my damn raincoat.” The Death Eaters and I asked each other, “Is he kidding?” we looked at it. It soon became clear that he was not joking. For the next shoot, the director was very excited and asked me to get as close to Alan as possible. And before [choking sound] we walked halfway to the great hall. You should keep in mind that his cloak is tied around his neck. He almost killed the poor guy. He turned around and gave me a look you never wanted to see. Fortunately, the next take stepped on the cloak. So it took a little bit of heat away from me. But I’ll never forget the words “Don’t step on my damn cloak.”
Of course, I understand why Rickman was angry at Felton, because every time the young actor stepped on Rickman’s cloak, he almost choked him. And Rickman’s creepy character, Severus Snape, must be incredibly scary, so it’s no surprise that Tom Felton was scared by this event. It was obvious that he was trying his best not to step on his cloak, but considering the situation, it must have been very difficult.
There are many stories about the veteran actor, as Rickman’s family recently published diaries that the actor kept throughout his life. Alan Rickman, unfortunately, died of cancer in 2016, but his memory is alive. Her colleagues in the Potter films share stories about her sense of humor and how generously she gave acting advice to child actors in films. Although it turned out that lately he was often disappointed while working on films, there was clearly a lot of love, and Rickman had a strong positive impact on their lives.
Tom Felton loves to talk to his Potter roots, I’m so glad he shared this story with us. He said how much he enjoys answering his fans’ questions about movies, and he recently returned for a special edition of “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts”, available to HBO Max subscribers. The special was filled with behind-the-scenes stories from the Harry Potter films, including how Felton and Emma Watson fell in love with each other during filming. Although nothing comes out of this promising young novel, the actors clearly have a strong love for each other.
Tom Felton will definitely share other similar stories in the book “Behind the Wand”, which will appear on the shelves of bookstores on October 7. You can also read Alan Rickman’s own account of his experience filming Harry Potter films in the recently released film “Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman.” In addition, fans can now revisit both actors from the Harry Potter films released by Peacock subscription.