He has remained a constant pillar of support for JK Rowling amid her row with the Harry Potter cast.
And Tom Felton continued to show his allegiance to the controversial author as he reprised his role of Draco Malfoy on Tuesday night.
The actor, 38, made his Broadway debut in Harry Potter And The Cursed Child at the Lyric Theatre, with Tom overcome with emotion during the curtain call.
Despite his decision to reprise the role being criticised by some, when he took to the stage the audience’s cheers were so loud that Tom’s dialogue could barely be heard.
Tom has remained loyal to both the franchise and JK, while many of his co-stars have worked to distance themselves from the brand.
When asked directly if the controversy around JK’s views on trans rights affected his decision to star in the play, Tom said recently: ‘No, I can’t say it does. I’m not really that attuned.’
He continued: ‘The only thing I always remind myself is that I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world.
‘Here I am in New York. And I have not seen anything bring the world together more than Potter, and she’s responsible for that. So I’m incredibly grateful.’
Tom’s comments were his latest public show of support towards JK.
The actor has continued to promote Harry Potter by attending fan conventions and events and previously explained why in a chat with The Times.
He said: ‘I couldn’t speak for what others have said or what she said, to be completely honest, but I’m often reminded, attending Comic Cons in particular, that no one has single-handedly done more for bringing joy to so many different generations and walks of life.
‘I’m constantly reminded of her positive work in that field and as a person. I’ve only had a handful of meetings with her but she has always been lovely. So I’m very grateful for that.’
Tom, who is believed to still be close to his co-stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, added: ‘I don’t tend to pick sides.
‘I won’t talk specifics but I enjoy reminding myself and others that a lot of my good friends have ways of life or personal decisions that I don’t necessarily agree with. We should enjoy celebrating each other’s differences.’
Tom is not alone in his comments, with Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs and the late Robbie Coltrane also speaking out in JK’s defence.
While Jason (Lucius Malfoy) admitted he had different views to the author, he vowed to not ‘jump to stab her in the back’ as he praised her charity work for making ‘the world a much better place’.
‘So for all that she has said some very controversial things, I was not going to be jumping to stab her in the front – or back – without a conversation with her, which I’ve not managed to have yet,’ Jason said.
Meanwhile, Ralph who played Lord Voldemort in the film adaptations, said he understands where she ‘is coming from’.
Taking a different stance to the younger members of the Harry Potter cast, he added that JK choosing to express her opinions as a woman did not make her an ‘uber Right-wing fascist’.
Speaking to the New York Times, he said: ‘The verbal abuse directed at her is disgusting, it’s appalling. I mean, I can understand a viewpoint that might be angry at what she says about women.
‘But it’s not some obscene, uber Right-wing fascist. It’s just a woman saying: ‘I’m a woman and I feel I’m a woman and I want to be able to say that I’m a woman.
‘And I understand where she’s coming from. Even though I’m not a woman.’
Helena, who played Bellatrix Lestrange, spoke out on her hatred of cancel culture as she discussed the ‘witch hunt’ against JK.
She claimed there would be ‘millions’ of people who could be cancelled if you ‘looked closely enough’ at their personal life.
Meanwhile, the late Robbie – who played the beloved Hagrid in the movie franchise-bucked the trend and spoke out in support of JK before his death in 2022.
In September 2020, Robbie told Radio Times: ‘I don’t think what she said was offensive, really.
‘I don’t know why but there’s a whole Twitter generation of people who hang around waiting to be offended.
‘They wouldn’t have won the war, would they? That’s me talking like a grumpy old man, but you just think, “Oh, get over yourself.”
‘Wise up, stand up straight, and carry on.’
He added: ‘I don’t want to get involved in all of that because of all the hate mail and all that s***, which I don’t need at my time of life.’
In contrast, relations between JK and the three lead stars have been frosty for years.
The furore began in June 2020 when JK went viral for slamming an article headlined ‘Creating a more equal post-Covid-19 world for people who menstruate’.
She tweeted: ‘”People who menstruate”. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?’
JK was accused of transphobia for not acknowledging that transgender men can also menstruate.
The author denies she is transphobic but has doubled down with a series of gender critical tweets that have prompted an outpouring of criticism.
Surprisingly, among her most vocal critics have been the ones who starred in Harry Potter.
In the immediate aftermath of her comments, lead star Daniel said he felt compelled to make a statement about the acclaimed novelist.
He hit out at the author who made him famous, saying: ‘To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you.’
In an article on the The Trevor Project website – an organisation that provides 24/7 crisis support services to LGBTQ young people, he added: ‘Transgender women are women.
‘Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.’
He continued: ‘I realize that certain press outlets will probably want to paint this as in-fighting between JK Rowling and myself, but that is really not what this is about, nor is it what’s important right now.
‘While Jo is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken, as someone who has been honoured to work with and continues to contribute to The Trevor Project for the last decade, and just as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment.’
Meanwhile, Rupert declared in an interview: ‘I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers.
‘Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgement.’
Bonnie Wright, who plays Ginny Weasley, tweeted: ‘If Harry Potter was a source of love and belonging for you, that love is infinite and there to take without judgment or question.
‘Transwomen are Women. I see and love you, Bonnie x’.
Harry Melling, who plays Dudley Dursley, said in an interview: ‘I can only speak for myself, and what I feel, to me, is very simple, which is that transgender women are women and transgender men are men.’
Emma has been perhaps the most vocal in her condemnation of JK’s views.
Recently, JK reignited their feud as she claimed the actress’s public criticism of her gender critical stance had ‘poured more petrol on the flames’ of the abuse she had suffered.
She also dismissed Emma’s recent claim that she ‘still treasures’ her by accusing the 35-year-old actress of ‘cosying up’ to a movement that ‘regularly calls for a friend’s assassination’.
In a statement, JK said Emma and her co-stars had ‘every right to embrace gender identity ideology’ but attacked them for using their links to Harry Potter to serve as ‘de facto spokespeople’ for the ‘world I created’.
She then focused her fire on Emma by suggesting her views on trans rights were due to her lack of experience of ‘real life’.
The actress recently blamed her driving ban on being a movie star from a young age, saying it had left her ‘unable to do some pretty basic life things’.
JK raged: ‘I wasn’t a multimillionaire at fourteen. I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous.
‘I therefore understand from my own life experience what the trashing of women’s rights in which Emma has so enthusiastically participated means to women and girls without her privileges.’
She went on to say that Emma’s recent claim that she still ‘treasures’ her was a cynical attempt to shift her stance after realising ‘full-throated condemnation of me is not as fashionable as it once was’.
