Tom Felton Says He Didn't Know Way He Pronounces 'Potter' Would 'Become Such an Iconic Thing'
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Virginia ChamleeThu, March 26, 2026 at 6:49 PM UTC
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Tom Felton (left), Daniel RadcliffeCredit: Warner Brothers/Everett Collection -
Tom Felton says he didn't know his line delivery of the name "Potter" in the Harry Potter films would become so "iconic"
Felton played Draco Malfoy, the sneering Slytherin, in all eight films
He is now reprising his role as the character on Broadway
Tom Felton says his delivery of some of the most "iconic" lines in the the Harry Potter films came to him intuitively.
In the Thursday, Marc. 26 episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the 38-year-old actor said of his delivery of the name Potter, "I don't know how that's become an iconic thing. I certainly had no idea."
Felton added: "I have three older brothers, so they all would always call me something like maggot or what was I also called? Runt. Runt of the pack."
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Tom Felton in Harry PotterCredit: Alamy Stock Photo
"Because I was the youngest and the shortest considerably. So I don't remember ever thinking about it for a second," Felton added. "But 'Potter,' it just got more and more venomous."
He continued: "And all you have to do is say that in the company of a Potter fan and... goosebumps and, like, applause, something happens," adding: "I never knew any of these things were gonna be iconic lines."
The actor has stepped back into the shoes of Draco Malfoy, the sneering Slytherin he played in all eight films, in the Broadway version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which picks up 19 years after the action in Deathly Hallows and follows the next generation of wizards as they navigate the latest Hogwarts' mystery.
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Felton added that Aiden Close, the actor who plays his character's son Scorpius Malfoy in the Broadway production, has taken to saying the name "better than I do on stage myself."
Felton acknowledged in the podcast that he's added some of his most notable lines from the films into the play, telling podcast host Josh Horowitz, "I even get to say one of the famous lines from the films in the play, which was not in the play before. But I said it once spontaneously in rehearsals and John Tiffany, our fabulous director, who's been doing it out for ten years. I could see his eyes twinkle and go, 'Yes. Put that back in.'"
"And it's, needless to say, it's quite a hit every night," he added.
Felton's onscreen nemesis Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe, is also currently starring on Broadway, in the play Every Brilliant Thing.
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In a post shared to Instagram on Thursday, March 5, the two could be seen locked in a hug as Felton visited Radcliffe at his performance.
In a caption, Felton wrote, "Broomsticks to Broadway," adding the handles for both Every Brilliant Thing and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. He included a series of recent photos of he and Radcliffe, along with a photo of him standing outside the marquee of Every Brilliant Thing and a throwback photo from the two as children in Harry Potter.
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