In addition to starring on Broadway, Tom Felton is back in a big way this year with his latest sci-fi actioner Altered, where he plays a man named Leon, who partners with a young girl named Chloe (Liza Bugulova), in an effort to bring balance to their dystopian future by taking down the genetically enhanced.
Without giving too much away, the film's synopsis reads, "In an alternate present where genetic enhancements have become the norm, those who cannot take advantage are pushed into the underground. It’s up to a few brave souls to level the playing field for everyone, but every revolution has its cost."
In our informative conversation, Felton walks me through the challenges of playing a wheelchair bound character, finally getting to play a hero, moving around in his own superhero suit, being selective with his roles, the physically demanding stunts, sharing his experiences with his young co-star, sparring with a formidable foe, his approach to complex characters, and a whole lot more!
Tom Felton is, of course, best known for portraying Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series from 2001 to 2011, starring in all eight films as one of the franchise's most iconic antagonists. He recently reprised the role for the Broadway run of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a story which is set nearly two decades after the events of the original series. His more prominent film and TV credits include Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Message from the King, Megan Leavey, and The CW's The Flash.
In addition to Felton, the film stars Elizaveta Bugulova, Richard Brake, Aggy K. Adams, Igor Zhizhikin.
Altered is now available in theaters and on VOD from Well Go USA.
Keep scrolling to read our full interview with Tom Felton!
ROHAN: It was cool to see you a play a heroic role after playing so many characters with grayer shades. When you first read the story, what was it that piqued your interest about playing Leon?
TOM: I think the human side of it, you know, just the actual characters themselves and what they go through. I'm a sort of selective fantasy and sci-fi adventure kind of fan, like some of it clicks with me, some of it doesn't, but I love when a film - it can even be animation, it could be something like Toy Story, or it could be, well, it could be Harry Potter, where there's a lot of human elements to a world that you don't necessarily see as your own, and there were so many like symbiotic things between what was going on in this new, altered world and the world that we live in today. I thought that would be cool as a story. But yeah, as you said, I've rarely played the good guy, let alone one with a fully working superhero suit. So, I didn't have to think long to be honest with you about saying yes to doing it.
ROHAN: In addition to the superhero suit you get to wear, your character is also wheelchair bound for much of the movie. What kind of physical challenge did that present? And which of the two proved to be more challenging?
TOM: That's a great question. I hadn't thought of that. Both, to be honest with you, for different reasons. The wheelchair bound part was trying to make it as authentic as possible, and also experiencing the difficulties that come with that, you know, if the road is slightly uphill, it makes a big difference than if it's slightly downhill, so a lot of time spent in the wheelchair trying to figure out the best way. Obviously, him living in this altered world has a very unique one, shall I say, it's like a steampunk one that they made especially for the film. So, it wasn't always the most functional, shall I say. The actual suit itself was a real surprise, because on paper, it looked like it would be very clunky, very heavy and very fragile. And I don't know, I mean the team that put the whole suit together, it takes about an hour to put it on and off, but it's about eighteen different pieces that are all delicately strapped to you so you can almost move exactly as you would normally. Visibility is a bit poor out of the helmet, but, and yeah, you can kick ass on it. And amazingly, we barely scratched it. We barely had any problems with it at all.
ROHAN: Yeah, I can imagine with the helmet, and I remember thinking the suit looked surprisingly comfortable throughout the movie.
TOM: We only had one and a half of those suits. We didn't even have a full second one cause it cost so much to make the thing, so there was very much a sort of hidden message of, please don't break it. But every time you get thrown against a car or shoved to the floor, you think, oh, no, that's it. We've shattered it. And remarkably, because of the design and people that built it, it was fun.
ROHAN: You mentioned earlier how you’re more selective with picking sci-fi and fantasy roles, and obviously you’ve done Harry Potter and shows like The Flash, but when you’re approaching a character in a world like this - are you thinking about the character first? Or do you try to immerse yourself in the world first?
TOM: I think, character first, because sometimes when you read a script and it says, you know, dystopian future city, you know, you can think of that in a thousand different ways. Sometimes it's quite hard when, you know, they say zombies are doing this, it's like, well, you could picture zombies in many different ways, but the character yourself, that's what you can bring to it, or at least try to. And it's nice when you read the script, and you fall in love with the character a bit. Then you have these powerhouses of sci-fi knowledge around you, such as Timo, to create the world and make it believable, make it seem like it's real. And then my job, really after that, is to sort of stay as real to the character as I can. You can imagine how cool it is when I got to these various sets and was like, wow, okay, this is Leon's workshop. This is much bigger than I thought it was gonna be.
ROHAN: You’re working very closely with Timo to tell this original story, which has a very unique vision and requires a lot of calibrating, so what was your working relationship with him as you work to get a better understanding of the script and what he’s trying to pull off?
TOM: You definitely got to have a lot of faith in that he has this vision as strongly as he claimed to, and he did. He really did. He went on for hours about all sorts of insignificant details in this world that he created, or he's creating, you know, with the help of lots of very talented other crew members, of course. Yeah, no, he loved it. He's a real geek for all that stuff. Like when we're walking outside, there's a little scene in the specials zone, and they're just littered with old bits of computers, like Amstrads and like all sorts of old decks and keyboards smashed up. In his lunch break, he’d be fiddling through it, and be like ‘Oh I remember this from way back.” So, he was so immersed himself, I think, in the world, that it made it very easy for us to believe that this was all the real deal.
ROHAN: You really get put through the wringer over the course of the movie with all the stunt work, especially in the final act. Was there a day that proved extra challenging for you or a specific sequence that you remember?
TOM: Oh Yeah - I did also assume, surely, just put the helmet on and can't you just whack someone else in there, a stuntman can do the whole thing, but apparently not. To be fair, we had a very talented stunt crew who were very helpful in teaching me how to move in the suit and how to keep yourself safe, how to keep everyone else safe, but also how to really sell it. So, I think, you know, one of the hardest parts was we did, you know, a lot of the fight sequences, a lot of the battle action scenes, we learned and created them together, you know, in normal clothes. So, once you do that, that's one thing, and then you add in an eighteen-piece, you know, carbon fiber suit that you have to wear over it. Some of that was a little tricky, but again, with the good team around us, we pulled it off, and I think those action scenes are some of the best ones in the film.
ROHAN: You’re working with this great young actress in the film, Liza Bugulova, and I’m sure you have a different perspective on it, having grown up working on the Harry Potter films. What was your experience getting to see it from a different vantage point now and being in a position to mentor her?
TOM: I know! I was the old man for once, good God what’s happening! Time does move fast. No, it was, yes, I can't say enough nice things about Liza. And annoyingly, she's incredibly talented, and she's a real one of those Whiz Kids where she's just good at everything that she does. She's razor sharp with her academics. She does all the painting and dancing and professional singing and you think that would mean that she's a bit of a stuck up so and so. And you think it would mean she doesn't have to try very hard, but she does the opposite. She knows every scene before you. She knew my scenes! She corrected me on my lines at least once a day, so she would know the script so well, bearing in mind that this is not her first language, either. She's so very impressive to work with, and then once I got up to her speed, then I got to bring in the silliness. You know, we just do silly games like rock-paper-scissors or anything to make us giggle.
ROHAN: You also get to work opposite Richard Brake, another great actor who is quite intense. What was it like getting to spar with him throughout the film?
TOM: That was really fun. It was quite surprising as well, because I think we only met the day before the scene, or maybe even the day of the scene. So, we had a lot to catch up with about the father-son relationship, you know, with very little time to do it, obviously he's a charming man, a very great actor, but when he turns it on, as far as when the cameras start rolling, he definitely turned into a slightly nastier piece of work. And everything just clicked, as soon as he came in, it was like, ah, that's the reason why my character is this. That's the reason why he feels this way about his mom. So, he just sort of sat right into the pocket, I think, of what that character needs to be. And, you know, if you're acting by yourself, it's hard to really do anything with a scene, but if you've got two or three actors in the room, or in this case, just the two of us, father and son, having a long, overdrawn conversation, then it's quite easy to do, and it's a lot of fun. So, yeah, he was a great person to work with. He's lovely and charming, and then suddenly, wham, he just turns into that menacing character. So, it's quite insane.
ROHAN: Since the world is so interesting and complex, and the ending leaves the door open for more adventures. Have you and Timo discussed plans for a future installment?
TOM: If I told you that I'd have to kill you. *laughs* No, there's been talks about all sorts of ways of taking it from the get go, but I'm afraid you're gonna have to ask Timo and the powers that be above him about that.
In an alternate present where genetic enhancements have become the norm, those who cannot take advantage are pushed into the underground. It’s up to a few brave souls to level the playing field for everyone, but every revolution has its cost. From Timo Vuorensola, visionary director of Iron Sky, and Tom Felton (Harry Potter Franchise) comes an exciting new tale of a dystopian Earth in need of a hero in Altered.