A few months back, 34-year-old Tom Felton made headlines after collapsing on the golf course while at the Ryder Cup, a celebrity golf match hosted in Wisconsin in September. The actor spoke out previously, calling the event a “scary episode” but saying he was on the mend, though at the time what happened was very much a mystery. More recently, however, he explained what actually happened leading to his collapse on the course.
Apparently, a severe case of jet lag was to blame for the incident in question. Tom Felton told Square Mile that he’d flown to Wisconsin and apparently had to head straight to the golf course without properly dealing with the aftermath of his long flight. He told the outlet he had a bunch of enthusiasm and energy just to be a part of the celebrity match event, but that it didn’t hold up over the long day, noting,
I hadn’t slept, not out of any other reason, it was just jet lag. Time difference. I was so fucking excited to be playing at the Ryder Cup!
The enthusiasm Felton had for the golfing event is palpable, even for those who don’t really know much about golf in general. Whether or not you are a golf enthusiast -- which Felton is, he even filmed a movie From The Rough about golf after Harry Potter ended--anytime you hear about someone who is fairly fit and only in their thirties collapsing at an event like this, there is some concern related to the news. Particularly when that someone is carted off and there are public shots of that someone also getting helped by pro surfer Kelly Slater rolling around the Internet. Regardless, the Harry Potter star says it isn’t anything his fans should be worried about long-term.
In fact, the actor would also like everyone to know that while the news was a big deal for a few days, him actually feeling bad after his medical incident on the course only lasted a few minutes, also noting in the interview that it did teach him a life lesson about where he and his physical health are at currently.
I felt fine immediately afterwards. But yeah, your body is going to need a little more attention… I’m no good to anyone unless I’m good to myself. And I hate to say it but I’m finally realising that.
Tom Felton is still very much active in the movie-making world, having put out both Netflix's (recently popular) flick The Forgotten Battle and Save the Cinema. However, I think the image a lot of fans still have of the actor is a youthful one from when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II hit a decade ago. Even if you’ve seen him in stuff like The Flash, Harry Potter fans including myself, still watch those movies frequently and it’s easy to forget the kids in the cast are actually in their early to mid-thirties right now. Felton’s said fame from the movies has never been a burden but being so synonymous with something that's aging must just be all sorts of weird.
I remember distinctly feeling old personally when Rupert Grint had a baby during the 2020 pandemic era, and he wasn’t even a particularly young dad, having his first kid at 31. It’s gonna feel super strange when the cast starts talking about getting too old to do stunts and more! That's hopefully a long way off, but still. The good news is that Tom Felton’s OK and as long as he gives himself the space to relax after long flights, he should continue to be OK. Who knows, perhaps the Celebrity Ryder Cup will give him another shot moving forward?
