Stars of ‘Fantastic Beasts’ say Grindelwald isn’t Trump, exactly
LOS ANGELES Johnny Depp's charismatic leader at the centre of the new “Fantastic Beasts” sequel isn’t modeled on President Donald Trump.
But the stars of “Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald,” the film written by J.K. Rowling about a dark wizard who becomes a divisive leader in the magical world, tell The Associated Press that there are some similarities.
The film is set in the “Harry Potter” universe and finds Depp’s character, Gellert Grindelwald, seeking to gain power and divide “pureblood” wizards from humans in 1920s Paris.
“It’s shining a light, isn’t it, on things that have happened before as well,” said Callum Turner, who plays Theseus, the older brother to Eddie Redmayne’s hero main character in the film. “And how seductive and easy things can take a turn for the worse. And not just be specific to any one moment.
“That’s the question. Why are we — people being seduced in that way? What is it in the moment, in the zeitgeist, what is that? And that’s what is interesting about that — that’s the similarity. Not the person. The message.”
Katherine Waterston, who plays a magical law enforcement agent, says the villain crafted by the politically outspoken Rowling is more “subtle” than the real-life president.
“Every bad guy is more nuanced and subtle than Trump. He is like the most overt bad guy of all time,” she said. “But it’s amazing because she was actually writing this long before the election happened — this chapter of the story. So yeah, it’s interesting actually with brilliant people, if they’re paying attention to the way the world is going, they actually tend to predict the future. Yeah, but it really is I think from paying close attention. And she’s so politically active."
“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” the second of five planned movies in the franchise, hits theatres on Nov. 16.