Katherine Waterston and Alison Sudol, who will bring American witches Tina and Queenie Goldstein to life in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them films, spoke about how they were cast together as sisters, and the bond that connected them during early rehearsals.
The two were cast after Eddie Redmayne was chosen as Newt Scamander around February-March 2015.
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Alison Sudol (Queenie): ‘We were introduced and it was kind of like, “Okay Katherine, this is Alison. Alison, this is Katherine. Why don’t you have a seat on that couch and be sisters?” We were both like, “Right, okay!”’
‘And so I sat down and something happened: I just looked at Katherine’s face and felt incredibly empathetic towards her. In this scene, she – Tina – was suffering and I could see that. I started playing with her hair, and plaiting her hair, and it was a really emotional moment for both of us.’
‘You know when you meet somebody and you just know, “We don’t know each other yet but we will. Where have you been all my life?” [Katherine and I] spent a lot of time together after that day, but you don’t have to push that connection if it happens naturally.’
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Katherine Waterston (Tina): ‘The truth is that I saw Alison in a scene first. I got to watch her work a little bit before we did the improvisation, so I already knew she was a really good actor.'
‘So I went into the improvisation knowing I was with someone who would be able to hold up their side of the bargain. With things like that when you’re nervous and you’re auditioning, to know you can trust your partner gives you confidence you might not otherwise have in that situation.
'I think that made a big difference. I don’t know if I’d have been able to sit down and play like that. Just seeing this brief interaction, I was like, “Oh she knows what she’s doing”. But also, she’s so sweet-faced; feeling close to her just sort of happened naturally.’
‘I have a whole life’s history of that feeling of being a sister. That’s really what it comes down to with acting like this: it’s trust and love. We both felt that connection on the first day, Alison and I. But also, I’ve got a sister. I am a sister, so it wasn’t tricky to call on that. Sometimes my sister and I have come downstairs wearing the same outfit or we’ve called our mom at exactly the same time. There’s something witchy about being sisters anyway, don’t you think?’
David Yates recently discussed the current editing process for the first Fantastic Beasts movie, out November 18th, and admitted they are ahead of schedule. He also mentioned how much he loves the cast of the series and hopes the fans will as well.
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Harry Potter fans are very excited about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. What are you most excited for fans of the book and for fans of Harry Potter to see, with this new film?
David Yates: The new characters. We’ve got a fantastic cast, and the characters that Jo [Rowling] has created, she’s got this amazing ability to create characters that you immediately empathize with and fall in love with. I think that’s the strength of this new episode, this new world, if you like.
You’ll want to spend time with these characters. I think you’ll regret leaving them behind when you walk out the door of the cinema, and you’ll be longing to get back to them. Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne) is a bit awkward, socially, but loves these extraordinary strange beats of his. And he’s got a lot of compassion and a lot of love. He’s a marvelous creation, and the other characters that Jo has created are terrific, too.
Where are you currently at in the editing process? Are you close to finished?
David Yates: We’re quite a way ahead in the editing, and it’s all going very, very well. We lock the movie in about ten or twelve weeks. I’m working with James Newton Howard on the score, and I’m working with a visual effects team to get all of the pieces ready. So, we’re in that big post-production phase of actually getting it all finished, and it’s going very well.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them screenplay book can be pre-ordered now via the following links: Amazon.com (hardcover) | Amazon.com (Kindle) | Amazon.co.uk (UK hardcover) | Warner Bros. Shop (hardcover)