It was a Potterhead’s dream come true: The two villains we love to hate together in the same place. After hearing that for the first time ever, Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy, and Jason Isaacs, who took on the role of Draco’s father Lucius Malfoy, would be doing a panel together at none other than our own Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. It was 45 minutes of unadulterated bliss exploring how two of J.K. Rowling’s most interesting and devious characters took shape on the big screen.
Must to the horror of his costar Evanna Lynch, Tom Felton had not read the books prior to auditioning for the role of Draco, and even after being cast, he read the scripts before ever reading any of the material that provided the basis for them. Out of place among the many kids who knew the story during auditions, he described his thought process as,
It sounds wonderful but I have no idea what they’re talking about!
On his role as Harry’s main antagonist at school, Felton stated that he thankfully does not share any traits aside from eye colour with his character.
Jason Isaacs, on the other hand, originally auditioned for the role of Gilderoy Lockhart (which would be played by Kenneth Brannagh), but was later asked to read for the part of Lucius Malfoy. He grudgingly agreed, read for and secured the part of the disgraced Death Eater, however nearly turned down the part out of his own pride.
I went in and read for Lucius Malfoy, probably with a contemptuous look on my face.
When the first scene in which Lucius appears in The Chamber of Secrets, Isaacs misjudged how heavy the head of his serpentine walking stick was and whacked Felton hard on the hand, causing him to tear up as the scene went on. Perhaps not a stellar first impression, Felton recalls Isaacs’ entrance into the role of his onscreen father,
I’ll never forget your ability to turn into a filthy piece of work. […] You’re a lovely man as Jason but a complete a** as Lucius.
The pair believe that the films captured the spirit of the books, which are no less than a gospel to many, but allowed for creativity, as opposed to simply filming the book. Lucius Malfoy was described as a racist who feared for his status within the wizarding community and whose reactions came from a place of fear, ignorance and a worry of progress. As a follower of dark lord Voldemort who seems to fail him at every turn, Lucius was on a mission to save face, which (spoiler alert!) didn’t turn out well and culminated in being humiliated in his own house by Voldemort snapping his wand in half. Draco, on the other hand, was considered a shell of his father when they were together, but a young version of him when they were apart. To help justify Draco’s poor behaviour at school, Isaacs bullied the character of his son, and in that helped to establish the antagonistic father-son relationship that existed between Draco and Lucius.
Although it was a very large panel proportionately to many others held at Expo, it felt very intimate and allowed fans to reminisce and look back on two complex and intriguing characters in a more in-depth way. Between jokes about blondes indeed having more fun and us Canadians living up to the stereotype of all being so nice, there could not possibly have been a more magical way to celebrate an integral part of the Potterverse. Jason Isaacs even went as far to say (much to my pleasure),
I think that all of Canada is Ravenclaw basically: smart, loyal and not too extreme either way.
Of course, since the advent of Pottermore, more details surrounding the family life of the Malfoys has been made available, however, all discussions took place without taking any of this into account, providing an authentic experience that was not a look at the characters in retrospect now that we know all of this new stuff, so to speak. It was a compelling look at parts of the world that surrounds Harry Potter that isn’t always looked at in such fine and personal detail by fans as the main characters and protagonists due to the negativity that surrounds the Malfoy family and the dark side of Rowling’s magical world.