“I properly failed”: Eddie Redmayne Nearly Played a Wicked Harry Potter Character in Original Films Before Becoming Newt Scamander
- Eddie Redmayne has played some of the most memorable characters.
- He almost portrayed a Harry Potter villain in the original films.
- He gave a much-anticipated update on Newt Scamander's big screen future.
In his two decades of professional acting career, Eddie Redmayne has given many memorable performances. From the transgender artist, Lili Elbe, in The Danish Girl to the serial killer, Charles Cullen, in The Good Nurse, he has played a wide range of characters. One of these many characters is a wizard.
Redmayne made his entry into the Wizarding World as the magizoologist Newt Scamander in 2016. However, what many might not know is that he could have gotten the wand much sooner if he had landed the role he had auditioned for when he was younger.
Eddie Redmayne Could Have Become a Part of the Harry Potter Franchise Much Sooner
The Harry Potter film franchise is one of the most beloved and successful franchises despite some of its shortcomings. A majority of the characters have been portrayed by English actors and the younger Lord Voldemort/Tom Marvolo Riddle was no exception. The character’s first appearance came in 2002’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
While promoting his movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in an interview with Empire in 2016, Eddie Redmayne revealed that he had auditioned for the role.
I actually auditioned to play [Chamber Of Secrets villain] Tom Riddle when I was back at university. I properly failed and didn’t get a call back. Over the years I always hoped I might be cast as a member of the Weasley family, but unfortunately not.
The role eventually went to English actor Christian Coulson who did justice to the role. As fate would have it, this failure did not entirely kill the chances of Redmayne joining the magical franchise later in his career. It merely saved him for something better as he was cast as the hero Newt in the Fantastic Beasts film series instead of the villain Tom in that movie.
Eddie Redmayne on Newt Scamander’s Return to the Big Screens
The Theory of Everything star appeared in all three Fantastic Beasts movies that have been released so far. The film series has been commercially successful. However, the critical reception has not been just as good since the last two films received mixed reviews and the commercial performance was also not as great as the first one.
That said, the chances of Newt’s return appear to be thin if Redmayne’s recent remarks are anything to go by. While promoting his upcoming Peacock thriller series, Day of the Jackal, in an interview with Comic Book, he said:
I think they probably have [seen the last of Newt]. That was a very frank answer, but yeah. And that’s as far as I know. I mean, you’d have to speak to the people at Warner Bros. and J.K Rowling, but as far as I know, that’s it.
He also mentioned that fans can catch a glimpse of the character in the Universal world in Florida, and maybe also find out what Newt might have been up to in Paris. Overall, the chances of Newt’s return to the big screens seem to be unfortunately negligible now.
