Tom Felton’s memoir, "Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard," is on sale now. Image Source: Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Tom Felton’s memoir, "Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard," is on sale now.
Tom Felton’s memoir ‘Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard', which is now out for the audience to purchase, is surely giving the Potter Heads what they want. Some behind-the-scenes footage, details on his more-than-friends relationship with co-star Emma Watson, and much more.
Tom Felton recalls spending more hours and nights than he can remember in his mid-20s at the Los Angeles dive bar "Barney's Beanery." The actor explained that, while he wasn't a big drinker, he craved normalcy when he started going to Barney's.
Tom, now 35, wrote in his memoir that he went from being uninterested to having frequent a few pints a day before the sun went down, with a whiskey shot to go with each one and that he was getting drunk to escape a situation. Tom also admitted to drinking on set and showing up for work unprepared.
The actor revealed that he took medical action after his managers, agents, then-girlfriend Jade Olivia, lawyer, and others staged an intervention for him, demanding that he go to a $40,000-a-month rehabilitation facility in Malibu, California, immediately or that they would drop him as a client.
The actor, best known as Draco Malfoy, wrote that the nurse who checked him in at the facility offered him an alias. He replied that people would recognize him from the Harry Potter films because of his face. It will not happen due to what is printed on his name tag. One could write 'Mickey F**king Mouse' on his chest and no one would think he is him.
He checked into detox in the same room as a man who had been there three days and wasn't completely sober. He walked off the grounds and back toward L.A. and Barney's Beanery after spending 24 hours in the facility. After several conversations, he decided to end his relationship with Olivia, his long-term girlfriend. Tom writes that he did not believe his substance abuse warranted the intervention, but he is glad it happened because it temporarily removed him from the world that was causing him distress and allowed him to gain clarity.
The actor did check himself into a California facility, which he described as a sanctuary for troubled young people, but he did not follow the facility's strict rules and was kicked out after being discovered in the bedroom of one of the girls. Tom Felton stated that three weeks into the program, he felt like his life had changed and that before the program, he was in a state of total numbness.
Tom Felton then relocated to Venice Beach, where he purchased his own "shack" and began a new chapter in his life. He described his life as better than ever, so when the numbness returned a few years later, without warning and a specific trigger, it came as a surprise. He then claims to have entered another facility to seek help, describing it as one of the most difficult decisions he has ever had to make. Tom Felton goes on to say that his struggles with mental illness were a big part of what he hoped to share in his memoir. The actor writes that he is no longer afraid to raise his hands and admit that he is not okay and that he still doesn't know which version of himself is going to wake up to.
Tom Felton encourages readers to seek help if they are feeling overwhelmed and writes that he wants rehab and therapy to be "normalized." Tom Felton revealed in a recent interview with The Independent that his Harry Potter co-star and good friend, Emma Watson, had encouraged him to write about his rehab stints and mental health struggles in the book. He stated that he was encouraged by a few people, specifically Emma Watson, to tell the entire story rather than just the fluffy bits. He added that it was cathartic for him, but he also hoped that sharing those parts of his story would help others who are struggling.
"Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard," is on sale now.
