Harry Potter fans anxious to see how Harry Potter’s Hogwarts nemesis has grown up have been given their first look at an adult Draco Malfoy, alongside his lookalike son Scorpius.
The actors, who will be playing the Malfoys in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, have been revealed as Alex Price and Anthony Boyle.
Author J.K. Rowling teased on Pottermore that Scorpius will “do nothing to turn girls off the Malfoy men”, adding: “I love Draco and Scorpius – they actually look related!”
Price, who will step into the role of the Slytherin wizard, has previously appeared in television dramas Merlin, Penny Dreadful and Doctor Who – with theatre credits including 3 Winters, Birdland and Before the Party.
Belfast-based actor Boyle, who will become first year Hogwarts student Scorpius, is a relative newcomer. He has appeared in productions including Herons and East Belfast Boy.
Blonde-haired Scorpius is shown in his school uniform before he is sorted into his Hogwarts house, so the audience will have to wait and see if he follows in his father’s footsteps and becomes a Slytherin student.
I love Draco and Scorpius – they actually look related!
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – a new play by Jack Thorne based on a story by him, Rowling and director John Tiffany – will gets its world premiere in London’s West End in July.
Set 19 years after the books ended, Harry is now an “overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic”, juggling his career with three children. The plot for the play reads: “While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted.
“As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.”
Part One and Part Two open at the Palace Theatre on July 30, with previews taking place from June 7.
Price said: “The world outside has been brilliantly marshalled and been kept away from us by our producers.
“It’s only slowly starting to rear its head now and it’s intimidating, a little scary, but also very exciting because Jack is such a brilliant writer and he’s taken the story into a great place 19 years later, particularly for Draco.”
He added: “You can just feel the excitement in the building. We’ve been in the Palace Theatre for over four weeks now which is where we can do all the things you couldn’t do in the rehearsal room. We just can’t wait to show it to everyone.”
Fans have been asked to arrive an hour before the start time of each performance for security checks, including bag searches.
Information on the play’s website advises: “Security checks will be taking place at the Palace Theatre. Please aim to arrive one hour before the start time of each performance in order to ensure that you are seated in good time.”