New Draco Star Says He’ll Play the Harry Potter Villain Differently

Lox Pratt, who will play Harry Potter‘s rival, Draco Malfoy, in the upcoming reboot series, recently spoke about his portrayal of the character. In an interview, he shared that his take on the villain will be different from that of his predecessor, Tom Felton, who played him in the films.

The show will premiere on HBO in the United States and on HBO Max internationally. Mark Mylod directed it and also serves as executive producer alongside the author of the books, J.K. Rowling, and Neil Blair.

Lox Pratt previews his Draco role in Harry Potter reboot series

The Lord of the Flies star teased that his iteration of Draco Malfoy in the HBO Harry Potter reboot series will have a lot of depth.

While speaking with Variety to promote his new BBC show, Pratt revealed that his version of Draco will be the one fans are familiar with. However, he said that he was “putting [his] own spin on him.” The young actor added, “He’s definitely got more layers.”

Pratt also addressed the parallels between his character in Lord of the Flies, Jack, and Malfoy. He noted that both of them, who harbor villainous traits, were explored in previous adaptations of their respective source materials. He also stated that, because of this, seeing their “differences” fascinated him.

“I think they’re two very different kinds of sadness and meanness. Draco’s loved, but he’s got this horrible, crippling family pressure,” he explained. “He’s not quite who he wants to be the entire time and can’t live up to his father’s expectations.”

Pratt continued, “Whereas I felt with Jack that he got his own thing going on. He’s just unloved, and that’s never been a thing that he’s needed.”

The actor also appreciated how the trailer for the series does not show more of Malfoy beyond a quick shot in which he takes his wand. “I’m glad they kept it quite minimal, and it wasn’t too exposing,” he shared. “And I’m glad it was very quick-as-a-flash.” He then expressed his excitement for fans to see his portrayal of Malfoy, reiterating its differences from Tom Felton‘s performance.

Pratt also revealed that he stole some props from the set, but did not specify how many. Felton earlier encouraged his successor to do this, confirming it on Happy, Sad, Confused. Also in that interview, Felton recalled telling Pratt to “have as much fun as possible” and “take as many pictures as [he could].”