“I just wish I’d been born 10 years earlier”: Daniel Radcliffe’s On-Screen Rivalry With Tom Felton Became Intense After Crushing on Same Harry Potter Co-Star

“I just wish I’d been born 10 years earlier”: Daniel Radcliffe’s On-Screen Rivalry With Tom Felton Became Intense After Crushing on Same Harry Potter Co-Star
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In an alternate reality, it seems as though Harry Potter has a thing for Bellatrix Lestrange. As opposite as the two are in terms of their alliance toward good and evil and the orientation of their moral values, the fact that opposites attract now seems to actually be true. Daniel Radcliffe, the lead of the Harry Potter franchise has enjoyed many a tumultuous year in the spotlight of fame and exposure.

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And even though these factors can bring their fair share of traumatic memories (especially in one’s formative years), they can also lead to a trove of nostalgic experiences. Getting infatuated with the goth-queen actress, Helena Bonham Carter just so happens to be one of those experiences.

Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes as Bellatrix Lestrange and Voldemort
Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes in Deathly Hallows

Also read: Harry Potter Reboot Reportedly Being Used as Leverage to Force Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson Return for 9th Movie to Milk $7.7B Franchise

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Daniel Radcliffe Reveals His Crush on Helena Bonham Carter

The Harry Potter star, Daniel Radcliffe had joined the Wizarding World before the age of 10, as did most of his Hogwarts yearmates. However, what separated the titular protagonist from the rest of the cast was the fact that the Boy Who Lived managed to fall a bit in love with the villainous and menacing Bellatrix Lestrange and have the affection be acknowledged 20 years later in the form of a little note, signed and annotated by Daniel Radcliffe, that Helena Bonham Carter carefully kept with her all these years.

Daniel Radcliffe and Helena Bonham Carter in Return to Hogwarts
Daniel Radcliffe and Helena Bonham Carter in Return to Hogwarts

Also read: Hogwarts Legacy Defies All Odds, Generates More Than $850M in Revenue – More Than the First $811M Fantastic Beasts Movie

During the 20-year reunion on HBO Max, Daniel Radcliffe was shown a picture of the autographed note that was given to Carter during the filming of Order of the Phoenix. It read:

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“Dear HBC, it was a pleasure being your costar and coaster, in the sense that I always ended up holding your coffee,” the note read. “I do love you and I just wish I’d been born 10 years earlier. I might’ve been in with a chance. Lots of love and thanks for being cool.”

The co-stars had enjoyed a good laugh over the note which on retracing back to the days of filming can be found to be written when Radcliffe was 17 and Bonham Carter was 40.

Tom Felton Proves a Worthy Rival For Carter’s Affections

In the years since their Harry Potter days, Tom Felton‘s Draco Malfoy has been the deus ex machina to Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry Potter. The two have sparred since the very moment of their meeting up until the younger Malfoy’s shocking sacrifice in a final stand against Lord Voldemort. Although their reality is a bit less dramatic, Tom Felton and Daniel Radcliffe still contested over one major matter: their affection toward Helena Bonham Carter.

Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy with Helena Bonham Carters Bellatrix Lestrange
Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy with Helena Bonham Carter’s Bellatrix Lestrange

Also read: “Daniel was so upset”: Harry Potter Actor Daniel Radcliffe Was Not Proud of His One Mistake While Shooting Iconic Movie

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Tom Felton revealed years later, in a graciously articulated manner, what Carter had meant to him in the understandings of a formative, adolescent brain who happened to have a crush over one of the greatest English actresses of the time:

“I had a little boy crush on Helena Bonham Carter. She’s a very beautiful woman. She is completely unique, an English rose with a crazy twist. She wears vintage French clothing and she’s very cheeky. Off the set it’s all hugs and darlings, then when the camera starts rolling she turns into a complete psycho. It’s amazing to watch.”

The Harry Potter franchise is soon to be treated to yet another version of the Boy Who Lived, the menacing Malfoys, and the pure-blood witch with the powers of Occlumency, Bellatrix Lestrange in Warner Bros.’ reboot of the franchise. The series which is set to arrive on Max is yet to roll out its casting carpet or announce a pre-production date.

The Harry Potter film series is available for streaming on Max.

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Source: Return to Hogwarts [via Insider]

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Written by Diya Majumdar

Articles Published: 1505

With a degree in Literature from Miranda House, Diya Majumdar now has above 1500 published articles on FandomWire. Her passion and profession both include dissecting the world of cinema while being a liberally opinionated person with an overbearing love for Monet, Edvard Munch, and Van Gogh. Other skills include being the proud owner of an obsessive collection of Spotify playlists.