NEED TO KNOW
Tom Felton is donning Slytherin green once again!
The 37-year-old Harry Potter alum — who first gained notoriety as Draco Malfoy in all eight installments of the original film series, from 2001 to 2011 — will return as the pompous, tortured foil to protagonist Harry this fall as he makes his Broadway debut in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
As announced on the Today show Thursday, June 5 (which is also, incidentally, the character’s 45th birthday!), Felton will take over the role of the now-adult Draco from Aaron Bartz. The stage show first kicked off in London in 2016, before opening on the Great White Way in 2018.
Felton’s return marks the first time any actor from the original movies has starred in Cursed Child. He will appear as Draco at the Lyric Theatre in New York City starting Nov. 11 for 19 weeks.
“It’s very much a pinch-me kind of situation,” he said on Today. “I keep thinking I’m dreaming. I let go of that character 16 years ago, and now getting a chance to step back into his shoes — as a father this time, in a new story — I get to meet Draco as an adult, which is very exciting.”
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As footage was rolled of him in costume as Draco again for the stage, Felton admitted that he “cried” when he donned the character’s signature platinum wig again after so long, as the franchise was “such a huge part of my childhood.”
“I’ve been very excited to share this news, and I had to keep it under wraps for quite a while,” he told Craig Melvin and Savannah Guthrie, smiling.
The actor also said in a statement shared by Today on Thursday, “Being a part of the Harry Potter films has been one of the greatest honors of my life. Joining this production will be a full-circle moment for me, because when I begin performances in Cursed Child this fall, I’ll also be the exact age Draco is in the play.”
Manuel Harlan
“It’s surreal to be stepping back into his shoes — and of course his iconic platinum-blond hair — and I am thrilled to be able to see his story through and to share it with the greatest fan community in the world,” Felton added in his statement. “I look forward to joining this incredible company and being a part of the Broadway community.”
Cursed Child takes place 19 years after the closing of the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, picking up right where author J.K. Rowling left off: at Platform 9 3/4, with Harry and his wife Ginny (née Weasley) saying goodbye to their younger son Albus as he heads off to his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Originally told in two parts, the play was retooled as a one-part show once Broadway re-opened following the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.
Although Cursed Child has not yet gotten the film treatment, Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Harry Potter movies, previously said he’d be down to helm an adaptation of the sequel — with the original main cast of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as their adult counterparts.
“A version of Cursed Child with Dan, Rupert and Emma at the right age, it’s cinematic bliss,” the filmmaker, 66, told The Hollywood Reporter in November 2021.
He added, “To able to actually see these adult actors now back in these roles? Oh, yeah. It would be amazingly fun to make that film — or two films.”
Broadway World/Shutterstock
As for Felton, he hasn’t been shy about his willingness to return to the Wizarding World. Speaking with PEOPLE in June 2021, he revealed that not only would he jump at the chance to portray Draco again, but any Malfoy — like Draco’s father Lucius (originally played by Jason Isaacs) or son, Scorpius.
“If you’re asking me will I dye my hair blonde again to be Draco, abso-bloody-lutely. Either [him or Lucius]. I’ll play Draco’s kid if you really want!” Felton exclaimed. “Any chance to be a Malfoy again would be greatly accepted.”
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The Rise of the Planet of the Apes actor admitted he felt “a bit of ownership” over the character of Draco, who serves as a multi-layered foil throughout the series to Radcliffe’s Harry.
“I do feel if someone else played him, I’d be slightly possessive, going, ‘Hang on,’ ” Felton said.
Tickets for Felton’s performances are on sale June 12 at 11 a.m. ET at broadway.harrypottertheplay.com, with a presale beginning Tuesday, June 10, at 11 a.m. ET for fans who sign up for first access.
