Casting Harry Potter TV Show Reboot
5. Draco Malfoy - Alfie Clarke
Alfie Clarke is a thirteen-year-old British actor who has appeared in Emmerdale since 2010. While in the show, he has dealt with extremely heavy storylines, including the gradual decline and loss of his father due to dementia. He has also been involved in an uncomfortable bullying storyline as well.
Draco Malfoy needs to rise above the wafer-thin 'baddie' depiction that was shown in the films to date. Alfie Clarke won for Best Young Actor at the Inside Soap Awards in 2017, proof that he is well able to handle the pressures of a meatier role. While Tom Felton improved drastically as the films went on, with all respect - Malfoy wasn't the most intimidating character in the first film!
If you're not that familiar with Emmerdale, Clarke plays Arthur Thomas, the son of Ashley and Laurel. He's the third actor to play the part as often happens in soap operas, yet he has stuck around the longest. He can be intense in the part but, for example, his reading of the poem at his father's funeral shows just how much he can put into a heartbreaking moment.
Malfoy may be the cookie-cutter villain in the Philosopher's Stone, but there really is more to the character behind the scenes. The filmmakers of this fantasy reboot need to bring in a bit of sympathy a little earlier in his arc, so that his eventual turn hits a greater resonance.