Tom Felton is creating quite a stir now that he’s reprised his role as Draco Malfoy on Broadway in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Now, he’s offering a behind-the-scenes peek behind the magical curtain about what went on during his first stint as a member of the Harry Potter cast. Felton recently revealed that getting Malfoy’s hair right was a bit of an ordeal while they were making the movies, and I was surprised those methods ended up attracting a lot of bees.
Amid production on the Harry Potter movies, Malfoy’s hair was kept completely bleach blonde. It was a bit golden in the first few films, but, by the last Potter movie, Draco’s hair was so blonde that it was almost white. In an interview with People, which was shared to TikTok, Felton revealed what the secret was to keeping his hair so platinum throughout the film’s run. Unfortunately, it was much more of an undertaking than I imagined. He said:
I couldn’t tell you what Draco’s [hair routine] was. I know Tom’s was getting it dyed every nine days with the little paintbrush to fill in the roots. It’s a miracle I have any hair left at all really. But it took quite a lot of work from the hair and makeup department to keep Draco platinum blonde and a lot of gel in the first few films. We used to plaster it down so much so that when we’re outside, the bees were very attracted to my bonnet.
In the first few movies, Draco’s hair was plastered to his head, so I assumed something was at play. However, I don’t think I ever processed how much gel would be involved. I’d imagine the Quidditch scenes were particularly tricky with the bees considering how much time was spent outside. While the tidbit about the bees is news to me, this isn't the first time Felton has discussed his hair challenges on set. He previously lamented about the amount work done on his hair, given his limited amount of screen time.
The good news is the later films allowed him to ditch the gel. However, he still had to deal with that platinum blonde. Bleaching one's hair every 9 days is no joke, and it must’ve been tough on the health of his hair. Felton kept it short throughout the movie’s run, and I could see that helping with keeping it on his head at least. Still, he’s right in that it’s a miracle he has any hair left at all. Thankfully, the Cursed Child's hair and makeup team decided to go with a wig during his latest Potter run, so the current state of his hair has been left intact.
Despite the hair-related nuisance of playing Draco as a child, Felton seems to always look back on the whole Harry Potter experience with a positive mindset. Now that he’s donning a wig for Cursed Child, he can fully embrace Draco’s look without enduring an unrealistic bleaching cycle or a swarm of bees. The only swarm Felton now has to worry about is the swarm of fans making their way to Broadway to cheer him on while he plays his iconic character once again.
See Tom Felton in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway in New York City now through May 10th, 2026 at the Lyric Theatre. Fans can also revisit his platinum blonde hair and memorable performance in the Harry Potter movies, which are now streamable with an HBO Max subscription.
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