Inside the Magic: The Making of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Out of that weekend of auditions they found the three actors who gelled perfectly with their Newt: Dan Fogler (as innocent Jacob), Katherine Waterston (as resolute Tina), and Alison Sudol ­

(as dreamy Queenie).

‘J.K. Rowling, David Yates and David Heyman were really keen to make the chemistry work between these people,’ says Redmayne. ‘It was wonderful to work with three such brilliant people, who all have such different qualities. We’re all bound up by this sense of responsibility. We don’t want to screw this up. We just want to do the characters proud.’

Fogler, whose character Jacob becomes almost a comic sidekick to Newt, claims they were all inspired by the excellence and strangeness of their lead wizard.

‘He’s so charming and funny. And he brings a real sensitivity to Newt that I don’t think a lot of actors could pull off.’

Waterston became in awe of his diligence to the tiniest gesture. ‘It was as if his work was never done,’ she says, having shared so much of the film with him. ‘It’s always more fun to work with people who set the bar really high. Plus, he’s not a jerk, which helps too!’

For Redmayne, entering this world has been all he dreamed it would be and more. He had half suspected he would face ‘a world of green and blue curtains’ but he was staggered by the scope and scale of the sets. ‘The entire world is fastidiously detailed, from New York in the 1920s, with its shop fronts and the cobbles on the street, to the interior of Newt’s case, which is more of an abstract world and yet fully realized. What has been so amazing to me is you read Jo’s script and imagine what it is like, then you arrive on set and it is bigger, better and wilder than your own imagination.’

Redmayne claims that he couldn’t have had two better guides through this world than the ‘two Davids’ – Heyman and Yates. ‘I can’t think of two more passionate people to take these stories into the world of film,’ he says. ‘They are scrupulous with character, but allow you the freedom and space to come up with your own ideas.’

He has also been enormously grateful that J.K. Rowling has remained so close to the production, visiting the set with updates to the script and yet more knowledge to impart on every aspect of the wizarding world.

‘We just jumped straight into his character,’ he laughs, ‘and she gave me all of his backstory, and answered any question I had about him and this world and all the beasts. For an actor that’s the dream.’

A NEWT KIND OF WIZARD: (#ulink_089406b8-9ac4-5b2e-ac3c-b04d90cb4379)

CAST AND CREW FATHOM THE ENIGMA OF NEWT SCAMANDER

J.K. ROWLING (WRITER & PRODUCER)

‘I like Newt as a character. I like what Newt’s all about. I’m also very interested in the period of wizarding history in which he was living and active, and hardcore fans will know what I mean by that.’

DAVID HEYMAN (PRODUCER)

‘Newt is an outsider, uncomfortable with people, comfortable with creatures. He marches to his own beat. He’s never been to New York before. He’s never seen steam coming up from the underground. He’s never seen this much traffic in his life. He’s very much a fish out of water.’

DAVID YATES (DIRECTOR)

‘He’s a unique character, because nobody thinks beasts are a good idea to get involved with. They can poison you.’

CARMEN EJOGO (SERAPHINA PICQUERY)

‘I think that the way that Eddie Redmayne is approaching the character and the fact that he is an Englishman in New York really adds to the otherness that we’re exploring in this film. Newt is the perfect embodiment of otherness in many ways. He is more like a Buster Keaton character. He’s not quite an antihero, but he’s certainly not your typical hero. He comes with foibles and insecurities and all kinds of messiness. From the costume to the hair to the mistakes he makes throughout. I think he is a really endearing leading man.’

ALISON SUDOL (QUEENIE GOLDSTEIN)

‘Newt brings a humanity towards these creatures, which are previously misunderstood. That’s the beauty of his character. Through his eyes we get to see how lovely they are.’

DAN FOGLER (JACOB KOWALSKI)

‘When Newt is trying to coax the Erumpent back into the zoo by doing a very, like, sensual dance – because the Erumpent is in heat – that’s hysterical, but it’s also science. That’s where he’s like David Attenborough. I could just imagine David Attenborough sticking his head up in one of these scenes and trying to coax an Erumpent back into its case.’

EZRA MILLER (CREDENCE BAREBONE)

‘There is something that is quintessentially perfect about Newt for Eddie, because there is this innate charm and what I can only describe as a wonderful Britishness that Eddie already has. He is someone with a lot of integrity and kindness and warmth. ­And Newt is like that. He’s a little befuddled, a little all over the place, which we can all identify with.’

RON PERLMAN (GNARLAK)

‘Eddie Redmayne, don’t let him know I said this, because I don’t want him to know how good he is. But just winning the Academy Award® shouldn’t have been the signal. He’s the real deal. He’s going to have quite a body of work behind him before it’s all over with. He’s really deep and layered and kind of a ­beautiful dude to go along with it.’

Director David Yates and Dan Fogler watch the action unfold on set. • Katherine Waterston carries Newt’s case as she and Eddie Redmayne take instruction from their director. • David jokes with production designer Stuart Craig and associate production designer James Hambidge.

DAVID YATES – DIRECTOR (#ulink_52e63eae-5260-5be9-ac10-8550e772d1ef)

David Yates was in the South of France when his phone insisted it be answered. David Heyman, his longtime producer, was on the other end of the line getting straight to the point: ‘Would you read this script?’

Reasonably enough, Yates first wanted to know what it was.

‘It’s called Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,’ Heyman replied. ‘Jo’s written it.’

‘Jo’ was J.K. Rowling.

Yates had to read it. He had to know what it was about. A secret package duly arrived, if not by owl then by highly secure channels.

Yates’ first encounter with Newt Scamander and Magizoology seemed blessed by its own magic. ‘I was absolutely enchanted,’ he recalls. ‘It was so fresh and different and special.’

Twenty-four hours later it was Heyman’s phone demanding to be answered, and his old friend was on the other end of the line getting straight to the point: ‘I have to make this film.’

Yates earned his stripes on British television, garnering particular acclaim and a pile of awards for his six-part political thriller State of Play in 2003. Heyman admired Yates’ dynamic direction, his ability to direct such a wide variety of tones, how in State of Play he made the world of politics so accessible, which felt appropriate given that the world of Potter was becoming more political. It is true that Yates has shown himself to be a ­wonderful director of actors and it was important that the actors continue to be pushed and challenged.

Heyman was keen for a director to stretch the young cast of Harry Potter into the dramatic demands of the later books.

‘It’s changed my life really,’ Yates reflects of the years he has spent in J.K. Rowling’s universe. ‘It’s been an extraordinary journey. It’s been good … and strange sometimes. You’re privileged when you get a chance to work in this world, but in all honesty you can never quite get a handle on it.’

The stress and expectation, he says frankly, can be extreme. Still, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

And over those years climbing the mountains of Harry Potter, and now navigating the peaks of Fantastic Beasts, he has come to know Heyman as a friend as well as a collaborator, establishing the key creative partnership behind the scenes of J.K. Rowling’s expanding Wizarding World.

‘He’s very discerning and very hard to please,’ says Yates with a smile.

Yates describes his own style as ‘measured’. He tries to get the best out of everyone without resorting to hysterics. The work may be ­demanding, but there is no friction on his sets.

‘So I need David for friction,’ he laughs. ‘I need David to drive me nuts. There’s a very British thing of being diplomatic about getting to the point you need to reach, whereas David and I can just tell each other what we really feel without offending each other, which is quite healthy.’

Yates has also got to know J.K. Rowling fairly well, although save for a couple of special visits she stayed at arm’s length from the earlier productions. Given she had written the new script herself, this was a novel experience for the both of them.

‘It’s been one of the highlights of making this movie, to work so directly with her,’ he says. ‘When she’s at a distance she’s kind of a rock star. She’s sort of an icon. She is part of the cultural landscape. But when you are in a room with her bashing ideas back and forth what is so enchanting is that she’s very grounded, very pragmatic.’

Alison Sudol discusses her scene in a bakery with her director. • David Yates shares a joke with Eddie Redmayne.• Jon Voight listens closely to the director’s thoughts on Henry Shaw Sr’s next scene.

‘I FELT INVESTED IN THE FOUR CENTRAL CHARACTERS, ALL OF WHOM ARE ACTUALLY GROWN-UP CHILDREN. THAT WAS WHAT WAS FASCINATING ABOUT THEM’

The director who worked through some dark times with Harry Potter was charmed by how completely different J.K. Rowling’s new slant on the ­wizarding world turned out to be. One of the chief draws for Yates was that, while it has its darker elements, it was an altogether more upbeat, well, beast.