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It was pure magic on Broadway on Tuesday, Nov. 11 as Tom Felton officially made his debut in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Two decades after Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone first hit theaters, the actor proved he still knows exactly how to cast a spell as he stepped onto the stage of New York City’s Lyric Theatre and back into the shoes of Draco Malfoy, the sneering Slytherin he played in all eight films.
PEOPLE was there for the milestone moment in the packed audience that included plenty of lifelong Potter fans, all dressed as their favorite characters from J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World.
The Tony Award-winning play — penned by Jack Thorne as the eighth story in the Harry Potter series with help from Rowling and the production's director, John Tiffany — picks up 19 years after the action in Deathly Hallows and follows the next generation of wizards as they navigate the latest Hogwarts' mystery.
Returning to the role that made him a household name, Felton was met with thunderous applause during his entrance. But the crowd truly erupted when he recreated one of Draco’s most memorable movie moments, raising his wand over his face and delivering that line with a knowing grin: "Scared, Potter?"
Of course, this was more than a nostalgic wink to his Harry Potter days, it was a chance for Felton to revisit the character that defined his youth and explore him from an entirely new perspective.
As a grown-up Draco — older, wiser and still shadowed by the choices of his youth — Felton leaned into the quieter complexities of a father still learning how to move beyond his family’s dark legacy. In doing so, he found new layers of heart and humanity in the onetime Hogwarts bully, with a performance that carried the weight of redemption with a hint of reckoning.
By curtain call, the emotion of the night clearly caught up with Felton. His eyes were glistening as he took his final bow, visibly moved by the roaring standing ovation that met him and the rest of Cursed Child’s newly launched Year 7 company.
This marks Felton's first time playing Draco since the final Harry Potter movie wrapped in 2011, and his first time ever being on Broadway. It's also the first time an actor from the film has appeared in the hit stage show.
"I keep thinking I’m dreaming," Felton told PEOPLE back in June, on the red carpet at the 2025 Tony Awards, adding that he's a "huge fan of the show" and has seen it "a dozen times, nearly in England and a few times now on Broadway."
"I just never saw myself having blonde hair again and reprising that role,” he admitted. “Now as a dad, Draco has a son. So yes, it is an old character, but in a very new set of circumstances. I'm excited to explore it."
The actor added that his former costar Daniel Radcliffe, a Tony Award winner and longtime Broadway vet, has been giving him advice ahead of his debut.
"My old school chum, Potter, [Daniel] Radcliffe, has done quite a bit of Broadway, so he's holding my hand and certainly helping me through all the things that are hard to learn," Felton said. "But from what I gather, it's an amazing community of people. The fans are really, really gracious and excited. So I'm just thrilled to be part of it."
Felton's limited 26-week engagement in Cursed Child is currently scheduled through May 10, 2026.
Joining Felton on stage is John Skelley, Emmet Smith, Aidan Close and Trish Lindstrom, who join the Broadway company as Harry Potter, Albus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy and Ginny Potter, respectively, after originating these roles in the North American touring production. Other cast members include Rachel Christopher as Hermione Granger, Daniel Fredrick as Ron Weasley, Janae Hammond as Rose Granger-Weasley, Kristen Martin as Delphi Diggory.
The company includes Chadd Alexander, John Alix, Logan Becker, Darby Breedlove, Megan Byrne, James Cribbins, Ted Deasy, Gary-Kayi Fletcher, Dani Goldberg, Alexis Gordon, Caleb Hafen, Logan James Hall, Chance Marshaun Hill, Jay Mack, Samaria Nixon-Fleming, Bradley Patchett, Alexandra Peter, Dan Plehal, Allie Re, Gabrielle Reid, Isaac Phaman Reynolds, Kiaya Scott, Maren Searle, Stephen Spinella, Tom Stephens. Khadija Tariyan, Baylen Thomas, Julius Williams and Riley Thad Young.