While the eyes of most Harry Potter fans have been on HBO's upcoming TV adaptation of J.K. Rowling's iconic fantasy novels lately, the Wizarding World movies have also returned to prominence for an interesting reason. Tom Felton has returned as Draco Malfoy in the Broadway production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, 14 years after he last played the character in 2011's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2.
In a heartwarming turn of events, Jason Isaacs turned up to support his former Harry Potter castmate and on-screen son. Isaacs appeared as Lucius Malfoy in six of the eight movies that took Rowling's fantasy saga to new audiences around the world. Like the other actors he shared the screen with in the series, Isaacs is set to be replaced as HBO embarks on another live-action adaptation journey. Still, for many, he will always be the one and only Lucius Malfoy.
Jason Issacs' attendance at The Cursed Child adds something special to the Harry Potter play
The relationship between Draco and his father is a big part of what defines their characters in Harry Potter. Felton and Isaacs brought that dynamic to the big screen in a way that felt incredibly faithful to the source material. The strained father/son connection that exists between them serves as a loose basis for Draco and his own son later in the timeline. First appearing in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Scorpius Malfoy is a vital character in the play.
However, beyond the occasional reference to Lucius, Scorpius' grandfather, he never actually appears in The Cursed Child. As such, it's never directly shown how the Malfoy family patriarch interacts with his grandson, and whether Malfoy's becoming a father has allowed him to be less distant with Lucius. Instead, we're left to wonder how moments like that would be.
While there's no room for in the Cursed Child cast for Isaacs to reprise his role, with Lucius not being a direct part of the story, seeing the actor who originally played the character interacting with Tom Felton and Aidan Close in their respective costumes as Draco and Scorpius almost feels like a glimpse into what their characters' lives would be during this time in their lives,19 in-universe years after the main events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Jason Isaacs' career hasn't slowed down since the Harry Potter movies ended
While Isaacs had been an established actor for years before his Harry Potter debut in 2002's The Chamber of Secrets movie, his involvement with the franchise and brilliant performances as Lucius Malfoy propelled him to a new level of international fame. Since the final movie premiered in 2011, he has appeared in several other huge franchises.
One of his most prominent live-action post-Potter castings is probably the role of Captain Gabriel Lorca in Star Trek: Discovery season 1. He was a major part of the cast that brought Star Trek back to TV screens in 2017, and Lorca was woven into the story in a fascinating way.
Other career highlights since Harry Potter include voicing the Grand Inquisitor in Star Wars: Rebels, Butcher in an episode of The Boys Presents: Diabolical, and the Eminence in What If...? It's always a joy to see or hear him pop up in various roles. He's certainly had no shortage of work since parting ways with Harry Potter, making it all the more heartwarming that he found the time to show up for Felton.