Eddie Redmayne has been leading the Harry Potter prequel series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them since 2016. His character, Newt Scamander is a powerful wizard who fights dark wizards with a bag full of magical creatures by his side. His character may have no problem conjuring up powerful magic, so he figured maybe showing his kids a magic trick would get him some “cool dad points.” Unfortunately, his kids weren’t too impressed.
In a recent interview with Variety's Awards Circuit Podcast, Redmayne discussed his new film, The Good Nurse, and his experience working in the Potter universe in the Fantastic Beasts trilogy. Every dad wants to impress their kids with their work, but he considered that telling them he was actually a wizard could be misleading. The Oscar-winner detailed:
That’s one of those moments in life where, partly you want to be the cool dad and go, ‘Yeah, I’m a wizard!’ and the other part of you doesn’t want to lie to your children and set them off in the wrong direction.
While Redmayne may not possess the same powers as his wizarding character, the Danish Girl actor thought maybe a simple magic trick would be enough for his kids to see him as such. Unfortunately, this didn’t have the effect he may have intended.
I got out a coin and did a slightly shoddy magic trick to make the coin disappear and she was like, ‘Okay that’s good. But in that trailer I saw, you managed to make a building disappear.’ So I think she’s seen through my lack of wizarding prowess.
While Eddie Redmayne may not be as magical as his kids had hoped, they still have plenty of reasons to be impressed with their dad. Outside of lending his talents to the Fantastic Beasts trilogy, Redmayne won an Oscar in 2015 for playing Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. He was nominated again a year later for The Danish Girl. In The Good Nurse, Redmayne plays against type, taking on Charlie Cullen, a prolific serial killer in the 90s through the early 2000s. He stars alongside fellow-Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain.
It's still up in the air whether the Fantastic Beasts trilogy will continue on, as five films were originally planned. The production on the films was riddled with controversy, with Mads Mikkelsen replacing Johnny Depp halfway through the franchise. In addition, the third film, Secrets of Dumbledore was the lowest grossing, so therefore Warner Bros. may not be fully convinced a fourth Fantastic Beasts would lead to enough fan support. Even if this is the end for the Potter prequel, Redmayne certainly left his mark. His “wizarding prowess” helped Fantastic Beasts become a multibillion dollar franchise, even if his kids aren’t impressed by any of it.
You can catch Eddie Redmayne in The Good Nurse, which is currently available to stream for Netflix subscribers. In addition, all three Fantastic Beasts films are also streaming for fans with an HBO Max subscription. For more information on other films coming to streaming platforms this year, check out our 2022 movie release schedule.
