‘Harry Potter’ actor Tom Felton joins cast of Meghan Leavey’s biopic

Tom Felton, who is best known for playing Draco Malfoy in the "Harry Potter" film series, signs on to play an important role in Megan Leavey’s biopic, “Meghan Leavey.” He is set to play the role of a veteran dog handler.

Felton will be sharing the screen space with Kate Mara, who is playing the title character, Deadline reported. The real life Leavey was a female marine who turned her life around by joining K9-unit during Iraq war.

Leavey teamed up with an aggressive combat dog named Rex, and they were deployed in Iraq as an elite bomb-sniffing team. They were part of 100 military operations that searched for roadside bombs. They saved countless lives during their two stints in Iraq.

In 2006, the two were wounded in an explosion, and after her recovery, Leavey received a purple heart and was discharged from the Marines. Rex, however, continued to be on active duty. Leavey waited five years to adopt him. And, when Rex was supposed to be euthanised, Leavey saved him and cared for him till his death.

Pamela Gray has written “Meghan Leavey,” and it is being produced by Mickey Liddell, Jennifer Monroe and Pete Shilaimon on behalf of LD Entertainment, Deadline reported. Gabriela Cowperthwaite is donning the director's hat.

Other cast members of “Meghan Leavey” include Edie Falco, who is playing Jackie Leavey, Leavey’s mother, and Ramon Rodriguez, who has been cast opposite Mara and will be playing the character of Cpl. Matt Morales.

Rodriguez’s character Morales is also a dog handler like Felton and is assigned to Leavey’s unit in Fallujah. Morales and Leavey shared an up-and-down relationship during their missions in Iraq.

“Meghan Leavey,” is set to film in Spain, South Carolina and New York, and it is expected to release in 2016.

Meanwhile, Felton is currently shooting for “United Kingdom,” a period interracial love story directed by Amma Asante. Felton plays a posh and polished district commissioner of Bechuanaland.

Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au, or let us know what you think below.