Harry Potter's New Draco Malfoy Reveals How the HBO Reboot Changes the Villain

The Harry Potter books are being adapted as a television series for HBO. With the goal to adapt one book a season, they will have more time to flesh out the characters and expand the universe.

In a new interview with Variety, new Draco Malfoy actor Lox Pratt revealed how he changes the iconic villain. In the eight Harry Potter films, the character was perfectly played by Tom Felton. The actor is universally beloved, so his take on Draco Malfoy ended with the character being more loved than he deserves.

Lox Pratt Reveals How Harry Potter Changes Draco

Speaking about how the new show changes the character, Pratt revealed he gets more time to shine than Felton did. While Felton had such a huge impact on the story, his screentime ended up being a mere 30 minutes in total across all seven films. In the series, Pratt will get more than that.

"He’s still very much Draco, but I’m putting my own spin on him," the 14-year-old shared. "He’s definitely got more layers."

Speaking about the first trailer, which gave a blink-and-you-missed-it glimpse at his Draco, Pratt explained, "I’m glad they kept it quite minimal and it wasn’t too exposing. And I’m glad it was very quick-as-a-flash. I’m excited for people to see it because he’s so different to how Draco was in the films."

The actor is just getting started, but he already has two major villains under his belt. Aside from the upcoming villain in Harry Potter, he also plays Jack in the limited series Lord of the Flies, which just premiered on Netflix on May 4.

Speaking about the similarities between the two, Pratt explained that there are differences between Jack and Draco. "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’s not quite who he wants to be the entire time and can’t live up to his father’s expectations. 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 young actor acknowledged that "baddies are just much fun to play" because "there's just so much more you can do," he claimed, "I don’t think I’d take another bad guy role straight after this."

The Harry Potter Series Is More Book Accurate

While the series is still tightly kept under the invisible cloak, some details tease that the series is largely staying faithful to the books, as promised by Warner Bros. The most recent set photos tease another book-appropriate scene: the ending.

Several cast members, including leading star Dominic McLaughlin, were seen at Waterloo station in London, filming what is believed to be the ending of the season. Instead of ending it on the Hogwarts Express, like the 2001 film did, with Harry's iconic line, "I'm not going home. Not really," the series shows Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Percy returning from Hogwarts. In the set photos, Molly Weasley and Vernon Dursley were waiting for them at the train station.

Draco has a bigger presence in the books, so it's only fair for him to have more screen time in the series and get more opportunities to explore the character further, and Pratt had previously confirmed the series will show Draco Malfoy at home.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as Season 1 is titled, will premiere on HBO Max on Christmas Day