One of Harry Potter's most recognizable actors made a record-breaking return to the franchise 24 years after first appearing in the original Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone movie. Since the first novel was adapted in 2001, the Harry Potter franchise has been one of the biggest juggernauts in the entertainment industry. Although the film series ended in 2011, Harry Potter has continued to make its mark on pop culture, as Broadway plays and even an upcoming HBO TV series have kept the universe alive.
Tom Felton, who portrayed Draco Malfoy in every film in the original Harry Potter movie series, will be officially returning to the franchise on November 11, 2025 when he joins the cast of the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Broadway play in New York City. Felton will be reprising his role as Draco Malfoy, and his return will break a record that has been 24 years in the making.
Since Felton will be playing the same character he portrayed in the original film series, he has broken the record for playing the same character within the franchise for the longest amount of time. Felton first portrayed Draco in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in 2001, so he reprising his role in the Broadway play in 2025 means that he will have played the same character for 24 years.
Felton, after confirming his casting in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, also announced that he would be a part of the production for 19 weeks. Officially, Felton's first show will take place on November 11, 2025, with his last taking place on March 22, 2026.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (many want to know if Cursed Child will be turned into a feature film at some point) will also mark Felton's Broadway debut. It has been 14 years since the actor officially portrayed Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Multiple actors from the original Harry Potter cast have remained tied to the franchise, but none have ever officially reprised their roles in a Broadway play or another production.
For example, Oliver and James Phelps (Fred and George Weasley) have made appearances in Harry Potter-themed competition shows such as Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking, a cooking competition show on the Food Network.
However, it is also worth mentioning that, officially, some Harry Potter actors returned to the franchise in other ways.
A lot of Harry Potter fans will be familiar with the theme park rides at Universal parks, most notably in Orlando. In the Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts ride at Universal Studios, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint filmed scenes for that ride. Since that ride opened after the film series ended, they technically played their characters longer than other actors in the franchise.
It is also worth noting that Imelda Staunton, who portrayed Dolores Umbridge in the film franchise, returned to film scenes for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, which is a brand-new theme park ride that premiered in May 2025 at Universal's newest theme park, Epic Universe.
Staunton's first appearance as Umbridge came in 2007 for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Since Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry debuted in 2025, Staunton officially played the character for 18 years, which is now the second-longest time playing one character, now that Felton is returning as Draco.
Will Tom Felton Appear in the New Harry Potter TV Series?
Since Tom Felton is returning as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Broadway play, some may think that he would be willing to come back and have a role in HBO's upcoming Harry Potter TV series (see the full cast of the upcoming show here).
While many would likely love to see Felton play a new character in the upcoming series, HBO and the executives attached to the upcoming series have reportedly said they do not want to cast original actors in the new show.
However, it is worth noting that, according to Daily Mail, Felton will still have a role in the HBO show, just not an on-screen one. The details of his role weren't given, but he was just said to be behind the scenes in some capacity.
Therefore, Felton will at least be attached to the upcoming project, which has already fixed a major problem from the films.
