How Emma Watson Had an Unrequited Crush on Tom Felton and Conflicted With Him on the Screen, and Then They Became Friends Forever
Becoming friends on the film set is not a rare thing. Colleagues get to know each other better, so sympathy appears, even though they may be playing enemies. For example, Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart have been very good friends for many years. Emma Watson and Tom Felton were great in the “mudblood” scene and when Hermione punched Draco in the face. We decided to find out how the actors managed to keep their good feelings for each other through the years.
Tom Felton appeared in the Harry Potter movies when he was 13 and Emma was just 10. They played Draco and Hermione in the entire franchise. This work was a breakthrough in their careers and a starting point of their strong friendship, which started with Emma’s crush on Tom.
In her interviews, Emma said that she was crazy about her movie colleague. Tom won her heart. She was noticeably anxious when she had to do scenes with him. But her tender feelings didn’t stop Emma from being professional in the role of a brilliant student, a muggle girl. She punched him in the face in The Prisoner of Azkaban. Felton was shocked, “My male ego didn’t quite know what to do with that.”
But a romance between them wasn’t meant to happen. As Felton explained later, they were very close. He thought Emma was a fantastic person, but a romance was “a Slytherin-Gryffindor thing rather than a Tom and Emma thing.” Tom said that she was the youngest on the set, so he’d always watch out for her and protect her. Despite her young age, Emma nailed her part and became part of a big team.
Their movie colleague Rupert Grint spoke out about them. He said that there was a certain chemistry between Emma and Tom. “There was always something. But we were kids. It was like any kind of playground romance, I didn’t have any sparks. I was spark-free.”
More than 20 years after the premiere of the first film, Emma and Tom are still close as ever and often call each other. For example, Watson can complain to Tom about a broken sink or dog food. And Tom often visits her in Los Angeles and has dinner with her.
Felton wrote some good words about Emma in his book Вeyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard, and he regularly posts childhood photos and videos of young Emma from the Harry Potter set. Besides, it was Emma who inspired Tom to write the book in an honest way. Felton said that he’s always loved Emma, but these feelings weren’t the romantic type as many fans would hope.
According to the actress, many people said that she and Tom just had to try and date or at least kiss each other. But Watson says that the deep relationship they have is much better. She says that they are 2 halves that support each other, and Felton says she means the world to him.
This example shows that a good relationship is possible, no matter what gender you are. And not even the romantic interest at the beginning can’t stop people from becoming close friends in the future.
In your opinion, why did Emma and Tom choose not to date and decide to be friends? Can friends be even closer than romantic partners?