Did JK Rowling attend the auditions?
She wasn’t at the auditions but I’m sure she saw our takes before approving us. I didn’t meet her until half way through the first film.

The Harry Potter books had an international fan base before the films even came out. I imagine that every single kid who had read it wanted to be in it.

How many people were you up against for Draco?
I didn’t count but probably a few thousand. I actually went for the part of Harry the first four times and then Ron before Draco, so I had about eight auditions in total.

Did you realise what the role meant at the time, and how it was going to change your life from then on?
I didn’t realise what a massive success it was going to be. I just enjoyed acting so the job could have been a local play and I’d have been happy. Money wasn’t something that I, as an 11-year-old, really cared about, and I enjoyed school, so I wasn’t trying to avoid that.

Did your life change drastically from that moment?
Yes it did. I was lucky that I didn’t have to quit school, because some of the others did. Attending school allowed me to have a normal social life.

In an interview, JK Rowling said that a lot of kids prefer to dress up as Malfoy rather than Harry and that people are “getting too fond of Draco”. Do you think it’s slightly worrying that kids love the bad guy?
I guess people love to hate. I remember watching pantomimes and booing the bad guy, and never cheering the hero.

Is it more fun to play the villain rather than a “goody two shoes” character like Harry?
Undoubtedly. I feel lucky because some of the cast members are very similar to their character so it’s easier for me that I can switch into something different. I can go over the top with it.

Do you ever get a little too involved with the character and start pulling pranks on set?
Time is money on set so you don’t want to mess around. I left my phone on a chair once and it started ringing and I was looking around thinking who’s is that… Oh, it’s mine. We had a ‘red card’ tin, which meant a £10 fine every time our phones went off as it messed up the tape.

Who are you closest to from the Harry Potter team and hang out with off set?
We all share a bond and have always been professional and friendly. Daniel [Radcliffe] is a good friend, I look up to him for his acting. We’re both lovers of cricket and English country pursuits. We’ve been to Lord’s a few times but now filming is stopping I want to meet up with everyone again. We’re such a tight cast we won’t fall apart.

Having done a whopping eight Harry Potter films, you have worked with renowned directors like Alfonso Cuaran and David Yates, but if you had the opportunity outside of Harry Potter, which director would you work with in the future?
Edward Zwick, who directed “Legend of the Fall” which was one of Brad Pitt’s early ones. Alejandro Gonzalez, Mexican guy who did “Babel” and “Twenty-One Grams”. Other than that, David Yates who directed the last four Harry Potters. I would love to work with him on something un-wizard-related.

Have you ever met JK Rowling and did she ever give you all advice on how to play Draco?
We’ve met a few times, and she sent me a nice letter after “The Half Blood Prince”. She said I was really evil and menacing which is the ultimate compliment. My brother opened it and told me it was from some woman called Jo and I saw the envelope with an owl on it. It was handwritten and now it’s framed on my wall. It’s always great to get the director’s compliments but it’s amazing coming from JK. She’s very smart and I didn’t know if she thought I was any good at the part. It’s such a nice relief to get the ultimate reward.

So what’s next? Any exciting projects in the pipeline or do you think you need a tenyear break after Harry Potter?
On the acting side, I’ve just finished shooting “The Apparition”, with Twilight’s Ashley Greene and I’m going to LA next week to do some reshoots. I shot a film in Vancouver which is the “Rise of the Apes”, the prequel to “Planet of the Apes”. I played an English gentleman called Dodge, who’s not the nicest chap. I had lots of fun shooting for four weeks in Vancouver with James Franco and Andy Serkis. I’m about to go to New Orleans to do an independent film called “From the Rough” based on golf in America and the adventure of four young golfers.

Harry Potter is a huge hit across the pond too, so how do you find America? Have you been to the Harry Potter theme park in Florida?
Yes I was there for the opening. Americans don’t do things by halves. It’s built like the whole book, its not selling merchandise and the greatest thing is that no branding is allowed, so you can’t buy anything from the muggle world like Coke or McDonalds. You just have things like Shepherds pie and butter beer and odd concoctions.

Are there any scary rides?
Not really, they’re more enchanting. The food and drink were the highlight for me and so were the massive sweet shops.