Harry Potter Actor Tom Felton Says Rowling Was On Set 'Once Or Twice'

For as much as we discuss Harry Potter creator and author J.K. Rowling, you might think that she not only read the books, designed the toys, and directed all of the movies. But her involvement in the movies was much less than people might think, according to Draco Malfoy himself, Tom Felton, in a new interview with The Independent about his book, Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard.

The wide-ranging interview covers a bunch of topics, but eventually, Rowling's controversial views regarding trans people come up when it's mentioned that her name is missing from the acknowledgments. Felton says first that he doesn't have time for anything that isn't pro-human rights, but adds that "It is also a reminder that as much as Jo is the founder of [these] stories, she wasn’t part of the filmmaking process as much as some people might think. I think I only recall seeing her once or twice on set."

Felton avoids speaking directly about his personal feelings on Rowling's views or about speaking about his own views, noting that Rowling is still responsible for creating the stories which he says are beloved by people "of all ages, of all backgrounds." He adds that his friends "all have differing opinions on various matters, and we celebrate our own choices, and that "we certainly don’t take any pleasure in putting crosshairs on people that may have said things that we disagree with."

Elsewhere, the interview discusses Felton's struggles with mental health in the years since the film series finished, the role that Harry Potter co-star Emma Watson played in encouraging him tell the full breadth of his story instead of just the fun parts, and more.

Meanwhile, Rowling remains unrepentant about her previous statements, responding to a Twitter follower that anytime she's reminded about fans she might've lost, she just reads her "most recent royalty cheques" and finds "the pain goes away pretty quickly." After years of making questionable changes to her books' characters via posts to Twitter, Rowling chimed in with her feelings about trans people, and has remained under fire among fans ever since. Since then, Harry Potter stars have talked about their relationships with Rowling in light of her views while the developers behind the upcoming game Hogwarts Legacy have tried to distance themselves from her views and organizations like US Quadball have stopped referring to their sport as Quiddich, specifically mentioning her views as one of the reasons.