Eddie Redmayne is remarkably more like his
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them counterpart Newt Scamander than he realised, as revealed by a couple of new interviews.
For one thing, he actually does have his own brown briefcase, which he carries with him everywhere. Not quite as enchanted as Scamander's, nor full of magical creatures, but it's still Redmayne's 'professional' briefcase in which he keeps work-related items like film scripts. The actor even told director David Yates, when being cast in the role over a year ago, that although he has his own briefcase, it was pure coincidence.
Quote:
Eddie has a case. A tan leather case just like the one his character Newt Scamander keeps his beasts in. It’s the first thing I notice, sitting by Eddie’s feet. He notices me notice it and I say, ‘Is that an Eddie case... or a Newt case?’
‘It’s an Eddie case,’ he says, patting it fondly.
‘I’ve had it for about eight years. My dad works in the city and has always had a briefcase. I always did this acting thing for a living, which didn’t feel like a proper job and I wanted something that made me feel like I was doing a proper job and so I got this case. I use it whenever I go on set. I keep my script and whatever mementos I find useful in it.’
‘So when David [Yates] and I had our first meeting about this movie I had this case with me. We met in a pub in Soho and sat down by a roaring fire. As he started telling me about Newt and the basic plot of this film – which included Newt having a magic case – I said, “I promise I didn’t know about Newt’s case. I didn’t bring this as some sort of weird method audition – like, don’t worry David, I come with my own case!” And I’m afraid it’s still here, it’s still got my life in it. Not quite as much as Newt has in his case, though...’
‘David has such a lovely manner and this incredible kindness to him. There was no question I wanted to do this movie. For me, it was a question of whether I’d get the gig. When I read J.K. Rowling’s script, I just had my mind blown. I was so excited by it. The amazing thing was that I found it funny, I found it a thriller, I found it romantic. At the end, I was deeply moved by it.'
While SnitchSeeker is generally against paparazzi photos,
here are a couple of
shots of Eddie with said actual briefcase, just to prove that it does exist and that he does carry it with him everywhere.
The Oscar-winning actor, who will be attending and presenting at next weekend's Academy Awards, at which he is nominated again for his work in The Danish Girl, chatted with The Telegraph about what he loves about the big budget extravaganza of
Fantastic Beasts.
Redmayne also went into detail again about the painstaking research he did to get into the mind of the animal-obsessed magizoologist. More on that below.
Quote:
‘What has been so great about this one is seeing a bigger budget being used,’ he says. ‘Every single head of department on this film is at the top of their game so they use that to the most extraordinary effect. The other day I was looking down at a set they have built, New York streets in the 1920s, and as far as your eye can see are cars, smoke machines, extras… It feels like going back to, and maybe we romanticise it, but a golden age of Hollywood with this huge scale of things.’
I wonder what he did to prepare for the role of Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts. ‘Part of what I do, in relation to research is’ – he is laughing – ‘about exploiting the fact that you have one of the best jobs in the world. If you are given access to amazing astronomers to educate you when playing Stephen Hawking, why wouldn’t you meet them?
'As I am playing a magizoologist I thought, why don’t I go and shack up at London Zoo for a bit,’ he continues. ‘I spent a few days there and then I went down to Damien Aspinall’s place, Port Lympne in Kent, and met the amazing handlers there. Some of them sleep with baby tigers when they’re born. What was important for me here was to see how people with such a close relationship with animals communicate with them, because Newt has that. Then it is just a lot of fun.’
Redmayne said he will take some time off after this awards season to rest a bit and prepare for the June birth of his first child, so he has no current new acting projects in line.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, written by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, hits theaters in November.