Tom Felton talks to “Glamoholic” about “Belle”, “Murder in the First”, and more!

Tom Felton recently sat down with Glamoholic to talk about his upcoming film Belle, his television debut Murder in the First, and life in general. Oh, and to star in a photo shoot that was, well, glamorous.

Belle, which is now open in select US theaters and opens in the UK on June 13, tells the story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, a woman of color and a member of the British aristocracy. Dido’s story is a remarkable one, and Tom has many reasons why he was drawn to the film:

Well, I’m a sucker for period pieces; I love the language and costume and all of the big things that come with it. But the story is very compelling…It’s very easy to see [the character I play] as a straight-out racist, but really, it was just what they were used to, and the differences and the changes that were occurring at that time really scared him. I thought the character was a very interesting one.

I enjoy the language very much of the day, so speaking in a period of time was definitely good fun. As well as the mannerism[s] that I had to learn as far as how they [would] walk, how they would eat, how they would drink…It was great that we had an ethical coach to teach us how to embody the characters of 18th century England.

But however enjoyable getting into character might have been, he still admits that some parts of the job were difficult.

Honestly, the hardest part was getting into costume. So many layers, so many laces, nothing had a buckle back [in] those days; it all used to be laces and very elaborate buttons. So it took me a while every day to get into that.

Tom also remarked upon the fact that though Belle is set in the eighteenth century, many of the issues Dido faced are still a part of today’s social commentary.

One of the big things you get to see is how the flaws system back then sort of ruled everything. Now it’s still a part of our society, but there are a lot of other facets, whether it’s race or religion. It’s quite fascinating to see a topic that’s still so relevant today, presented in its earliest form at the burst of the first movement to abolish slavery and racism as a whole.

In case you haven’t seen it, you can watch the trailer for Belle here.

Glamoholic also took the time to ask Tom about his upcoming television debut in Murder in the First, where he will play the tech savvy Erich Blunt. Not too much has been revealed about this show, so Tom delved a bit into what his character is like.

He’s a tech genius, one of those modern-day rock stars of the Silicon Valley world. I’m very excited to hear what people think of him…He’s not very easy to put your thumb on. But yeah, in that way is he villainous? He’s just a very strong individual and someone who does not have much time [for] people who don’t understand that. There are many different facets and sides of Erich Blunt’s character that I think people will find pretty interesting.”

Tom has a lot more to say about his career and upcoming projects in the full interview, which you can read here. You can see some of the images from his Glamoholic photoshoot in the gallery below.

Which of Tom’s upcoming projects are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!