I’m sure we can all name one or two characters whose appearance on the big screen was probably a task and a half. Blondes get it the worst, because for many characters that have blonde hair that is borderline white, there are plenty of horror stories of what was done to achieve the signature look. Harry Potter actor Tom Felton had to undergo a rigorous dye routine to achieve his look. However, the screen time he had does not reflect all those hours in the chair.
Actor Tom Felton, known for his role as Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin fans love to hate, in recent years has been a lot more vocal about his experience growing up on the Harry Potter set. In his memoir Beyond the Wand, Felton shared the grueling and arduous process of getting his hair to that almost white blonde the character is known for. He discussed how it would take six or seven rounds, and if you dye your hair, you know how long arduous that task can be. This has been part of his life since his first audition for the role, at the ripe age of 12. During an ET Canada interview from 2009 (via Looper), Felton was quoted saying:
I would love to have counted how many times I've had it done, mind, 'cause it's literally in the hundreds at least now.
For anyone who knows anything about Harry Potter, we all know how rent-free Draco Malfoy lives in Harry’s head, with Half-Blood Prince focusing on Draco’s struggle with a task he must take (no spoilers). So given all this, I was shocked when an eagle eyed redditor revealed his screen time across all eight movies. In total, Draco Malfoy had only 31 minutes of screen time.
So the process of bleaching hair can take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes per session. And as mentioned, Felton himself stated it was six to seven rounds to get the desired look. One session alone was longer than his screentime across all 8 movies combined. Maybe it’s because of how much the trio talked about him, but his presence in the movies just feels far longer than it actually is.
Doing that math, at six rounds with each round taking 45 minutes, that’s 270 minutes, and at seven rounds it’s 316 minutes. Granted this is just on paper how many minutes it would take if each session went perfectly with no hiccups. And this process was done, in Felton’s own words, hundreds of times. I’m not exaggerating when I say I was speechless at that math.
Tom Felton isn’t the only actor to have experienced what some would call “the horrors” of hair dye. Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke bleached her hair for the final season after wearing wigs for her role as Daenerys, and it did not go well. Achieving a natural look for certain characters is certainly a commitment.
If you’re curious about what it was like being on set, you can check out Tom Felton’s memoir Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard. And if you want to see Felton in his new horror movie era he's going to be in the horror thriller, They Will Kill You. If you’re also interested in seeing for yourself if Draco really was only on screen for 31 minutes, all eight movies are available with a Max subscription.
