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Before his magical experience in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Eddie Redmayne could have benefitted from some lessons in magic from Hogwarts.
The actor plays magizoologist Newt Scamander in the Harry Potter spin-off film series.
Redmayne said he had “complete stage fright” after bringing the character to life with a wand.
“When we started on the first Fantastic Beasts, there were things that were very stressful,” he said in an interview with Vanity Fair.
“Like, having a wand is like your childhood dream. But suddenly, you’re presented with this thing, and you get complete stage fright. I don’t have a clue what to do with it.”
Consequently, Redmayne revealed the “wand school was created” to show the cast members how to swish and flick with style. The 40-year-old actor stressed that he went to an “apparating school” to ensure his mastery of disappearing “into the mist” vibe that the teleportation incantation demanded.
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How Redmayne Got Accustomed
Ultimately, the odd things about the wizarding world became familiar to Redmayne.
“You became very blasé about that stuff and about the kind of everydayness of having a wand,” he elaborated.
“But then, the joy of those films was getting to watch new actors come in. And be presented with their want and watching the inner kid just revealed itself, from everyone and anyone, however extraordinary the actor.”
Moreover, Redmayne was enamored and impressed by his character, Newt.
“I love Newt. I loved him as a character from the second I read it. He was eccentric. [And] he was unique. He had extraordinary empathy. And he was passionate,” he revealed. “Passion is an interesting thing. It’s a thing that’s not often celebrated. It is quite often uncool to care.”
However, the actor said, no one cares more about the Fantastic Beasts universe than its cast and crew.
“I loved the trio of actors that I was cast with: Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, and the wonderful Katherine Waterson,” he stated. “It was an amazing thing to get to work with these guys and on a scale that was unlike anything I’d ever seen.”
He continued: “My main takeaway from those movies was just this wonderful group of actors and crew. Invention was just spilling out of them.”
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Fantastic Beasts Finds the Secrets
Fantastic Beasts is inspired by J.K. Rowling’s book of the same name. Warner Bros. is its distributor. Additionally, David Yates – who served as the filmmaker of the Harry Potter series – directs the film series.
The three installments to the franchise are 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, 2018’s The Crimes of Grindelwald, and 2022’s The Secrets of Dumbledore.
In addition to Redmayne (Scamander), the film series stars Jude Law (Albus Dumbledore). Colin Farrell, Johnny Depp, and Mads Mikkelsen all portray the main villain Gellert Grindelwald.
Other cast members include Ezra Miller, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Victoria Yeates, Jessica Williams, Callum Turner, and Richard Coyle.
In this film series, revelations in the broader scope of the wizarding world, as well as about Dumbledore’s life, start to uncover. The Secrets of Dumbledore reveals that Grindelwald is, in fact, the future Headmaster’s lost love. Moreover, it chronicles the events of the First Wizarding War and the Second World War.
