Tom Felton recalls ‘drinking to escape’ and the breaking point that led him to rehab

Tom Felton, star of “Harry Potter,” discusses his history of substance abuse.

Tom Felton began his acting career in 1997. He rose to prominence after playing Draco Malfoy in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” a film based on J.K. Rowling’s fantasy novels. He later reprised his role in all eight Warner Bros. Pictures films.

In his memoir, “Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard,” Tom Felton, 35, opened up about a dark period in his life before his rehabilitation. Tom admits to struggling with substance abuse in his twenties.

Tom Felton revealed that he spent most of his 20s drinking in Los Angeles bars, hampered his professional career because he couldn’t stay sober and would drink on set.

Tom’s agents, managers, lawyer, and former girlfriend, Jade Olivia, staged an intervention to persuade him to seek professional help for his substance abuse problem.

Tom recalls listening to the people around him share their letters of concern, which he could not hear due to his intoxication. However, one message from his lawyer had “hit the hardest.”

Tom Felton detailed:

“My lawyer, whom I’d barely ever met face to face, spoke with quiet honesty. ‘Tom,’ he said, ‘I don’t know you very well, but you seem like a nice guy. All I want to tell you is that this is the seventeenth intervention I’ve been to in my career. Eleven of them are now dead. Don’t be the twelfth.'”

Tom’s struggle with substance abuse ended when he admitted that going to rehab helped him get back on track.

Tom expressed:

“I’m no longer shy of putting my hands up and saying: I’m not okay. Which takes us back to the concept of rehab, and the stigma attached to the word. By no means do I want to casualise the idea of therapy-it’s a difficult first step to take-but I do want to do my bit to normalise it.”

“Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard,” Tom Felton’s memoir, is now available for purchase.