After more than 20 years, Tom Felton thought the Wizarding World of “Harry Potter” might be out of magic by now. But instead, the actor finds himself set to reprise the role of Draco Malfoy on Broadway in “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”
“I think we all thought that the fandom flame might be doused over the years, but clearly it’s not,” Felton told Variety’s Gordon Cox at the Tony Awards on Sunday about his upcoming Broadway debut. “The most exciting part is to do it live. It took nine months, more or less, to shoot a film, and this is all compact. This is all reimagined into a very loving, new type of story. And I get to be a dad, which is really fun.”
Indeed, the “Harry Potter” brand is bigger than ever, with the popular stage show and a TV revival in the works at HBO. But author J.K. Rowling’s controversial views, including her anti-trans takes, often overshadow all the hype. When asked whether the contentious conversation around Rowling impacts his work in the franchise, Felton said that he was not particularly “attuned” to the conversation, but he “can’t say it does.”
“The only thing I always remind myself is that I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world — here I am in New York — and I have not seen anything bring the world together more than ‘Potter,’” Felton explained. “And she’s responsible for that, so I’m incredibly grateful.”
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” takes place 19 years after the final “Harry Potter” novel. Now, as parents, Draco — as well as Harry, Ron and Hermione — are grown up and sending their children off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Felton’s run on the Broadway show begins Nov. 11 and will last 19 weeks, through March 22, 2026. The special engagement is also the first time an original “Harry Potter” cast member has joined the stage production of “Cursed Child.” And the actor is already getting schooled about how making magic on stage differs from the movies. When Felton met with the show’s director, John Tiffany, to start preparing for the part, he told the creative team that he didn’t want to learn all the ins and outs of the special effects.
“They said, ‘Well, you’re going to have to because there’s so many physical tricks,’” Felton said. “In the films, we used a lot of green screen, a lot of effects happened afterwards. And obviously in the show, everything is live and real, so I’m really excited to get my teeth stuck into that.”
The Tony Awards, hosted by Cynthia Erivo, will broadcast on CBS. Felton will present the prize for best actress in a featured role at tonight’s Tony Awards,
variety.com
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