Eddie Redmayne Had to Swim in the Winter for ‘Fantastic Beasts 3’

The “Fantastic Beasts” movies star Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, a wizard and Magizoologist who embarks on a series of adventures that take place decades before the Harry Potter books.

In an interview for Variety’s Actors on Actors, presented by Amazon Studios, Jamie Dornan recalls celebrating with Eddie Redmayne on a vacation in Istanbul — the two are close friends — when he got the news that he’d been cast as Newt.

The two actors also discussed their latest roles, among other topics. In the romantic fable “Wild Mountain Thyme,” directed by John Patrick Shanley, Dornan plays an Irishman trying to figure out his feelings for his neighbor. 

And in “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, Redmayne plays antiwar activist Tom Hayden who faces federal charges for protesting at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Redmayne is now filming “Fantastic Beasts 3,” which hasn’t been an easy production. The Warner Bros. tentpole had to delay its summer shoot date due to the coronavirus, and recast Johnny Depp — who portrays the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald — after he’d been asked to resign by the studio following abuse allegations.

Mads Mikkelsen will now play the role of Grindelwald.

“What can we expect from the third installment of ‘Fantastic Beasts’?” Dornan asks Redmayne.

“I can’t tell you anything other than the fact that I think I’ve got some night shoots in Watford, in Leavesden, [England], that we were meant to shoot in the summer in water,” Redmayne says. “But now obviously because of lockdown, and the film shutdown, they’re being shot in early December. And suddenly you find yourself swimming outdoors in British winter.”

After pausing, Redmayne adds: “What can I tell you about the plot? Really, not much, mate. I mean, when you come over for dinner, I can tell you. Except — I can’t, because that would be the NDA that I signed.”

For more from our conversation between Redmayne and Dornan, click here, and watch the full conversation below.