‘Harry Potter’ actor Tom Felton explains how an escape from rehab helped his sobriety
By Paul Sloan
30 January 2016
The actor Tom Felton has been through the wringer since his arrest in September, when a police officer found his car containing cocaine residue and alcohol in the boot. Felton’s troubles began in 2008, when he was involved in a bar brawl and was jailed for several months for drunk and violent behaviour. Two years later, he was arrested for soliciting a prostitute and jailed for three months for public nuisance.
The events leading up to Felton’s arrest were not unusual for the actor—he had just completed an extremely troubled and stressful year: His role in the Broadway premiere of “The Full Monty” and its subsequent production by a British movie company drew headlines around the world, and he faced a high-profile court case in order to defend his controversial decision to represent a woman who claimed her sexuality was threatened by his homosexuality.
His subsequent legal battle against the city of New York to prevent its officials from closing him down from his role in an upcoming Broadway production of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” was a media circus.
In the autumn of 2011, Felton became one of Hollywood’s highest-paid stars. He played the role of Steve Jobs in the upcoming film adaptation of “The Social Network” and starred on the popular TV series “Glee.”
The events of September 10, 2012, however, caused Felton to fall to the bottom of the Hollywood heap. According to a police report obtained by The Daily Beast, a New York police officer was driving through the Brooklyn neighborhood of Cobble Hill at 5:00 a.m. when he spotted Felton’s gray 2005 Chrysler Grand Vito at a “high-traffic spot” in the neighborhood. An officer noticed that Felton’s vehicle was in such poor shape that it looked like his “roomette”—his trailer—was “standing upright in the dirt with no floors.”
While driving Felton’s car, the officer spotted a “white residue” on the front passenger seat, which he decided was “a strong indication that the vehicle had ingested something.” The officer pulled over and informed Fel