Tom Felton Auditioned for Harry Potter and Ron Weasley Before Landing Draco Malfoy Role

As with any movie series with a large fandom, it's just as impossible for Harry Potter fans to imagine the series without Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, or Emma Watson as it is for Star Wars fans to picture a galaxy far, far away without Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, or Mark Hamill. So it might be surprising for Potterheads to learn that Tom Felton auditioned for both Harry and Ron before landing the part of Draco Malfoy.

In a 2011 interview with MTV News, Felton admitted that he would have been a "very different individual" had he been cast as one of the franchise's main characters.

"I'm very grateful I am in the film at all, but even more grateful that I got the character of Draco," Felton said. "I think Rupert and Dan, there's no question in my mind, there's no one else in the world that, A) could have played the character better, but B) could have handled the behind-the-scenes pressure those guys have dealt with over the last decade."

Even though there was jealousy between Harry and Draco onscreen, Felton said that was never the case in real life.

"There was a great sense of kind of being on a team, and Daniel kind of flew that flag from day one," Felton explained. "He was always the most excited, the most eager, he had the most fun on set. And through that, I think everyone just kind of latched on to him and sort of followed his lead. So he's definitely been like the godfather over the years, and he's definitely been the one that's been the most inspirational, for sure."

Though the Harry Potter film series ended in 2011, the cast members have maintained loyal friendships. Last October, Felton attended a performance of Radcliffe's play The Lifespan of a Fact in New York. And Felton and Emma Watson are regularly spotted hanging out together. Which just goes to show that, no matter which roles they ultimately landed, the actors seem to have become a family in the end.

This article also appears on Mental Floss.