Entertainment
'Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them' Should Get One of These Dudes to Play Newt Scamander
Unfortunately, JK Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is likely still a couple years away from actually being in front of our faces like we need it be. Daniel Radcliffe, star of the original Harry Potter series, has commented recently that he likely will not be appearing in the new set of films (which makes sense because, 1) it's set decades before his character's existence, and 2) Radcliffe has spent the years since Potter trying to distance himself from his iconic character).
We've already fantasized about who might direct Fantastic Beasts , but who will our new iconic character be? Who will play Newt Scamander, world explorer and famed magizoologist?
Rowling made a point of closing the original casting of Harry Potter's characters to only actual Brits. It's yet to be seen whether that'll be the case here, but then again, a lot of things are yet to be seen about this movie.
So, since we can't really wait until 2014 to find out who Newt Scamander will be, we came up with our own list of actors we could see in the role.
(Image: Lisel Meminger)
Unfortunately, JK Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is likely still a couple years away from actually being in front of our faces like we need it be. Daniel Radcliffe, star of the original Harry Potter series, has commented recently that he likely will not be appearing in the new set of films (which makes sense because, 1) it's set decades before his character's existence, and 2) Radcliffe has spent the years since Potter trying to distance himself from his iconic character).
We've already fantasized about who might direct Fantastic Beasts , but who will our new iconic character be? Who will play Newt Scamander, world explorer and famed magizoologist?
Rowling made a point of closing the original casting of Harry Potter's characters to only actual Brits. It's yet to be seen whether that'll be the case here, but then again, a lot of things are yet to be seen about this movie.
So, since we can't really wait until 2014 to find out who Newt Scamander will be, we came up with our own list of actors we could see in the role.
(Image: Lisel Meminger)
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett
Popular already with fans of the comedy-drama Misfits, we saw a tumblr GIF set of Stewart-Jarrett in the role of Newt and it just felt right. He hasn't appeared in very many well-known projects yet, so if Warner Bros. decides to cast someone who is relatively unknown to international audiences, Stewart-Jarrett gets our vote.
Ben Whishaw
He's got the body and the face of a scholarly woodland nymph, so what better place for the Skyfall actor than the Wizarding World?
Tom Hiddleston
We have to be honest here: Hiddleston is one of our personal favorites at the moment. Any of the actors on this list could easily rock the role Newt Scamander, but we picture Hiddles — the deep voice, the palpable intelligence and compassion, the curls — frolicking with phoenixes and puffskeins and we go into this fangirl coma, only to wake hours later with 15 tabs of Hiddles poetry recordings mysteriously opened in our browser.
Hiddleston is also working with our Fantastic Beasts dream director Guillermo Del Toro on a film right now; maybe if the two get along they can team up again to take on Rowling's world.
Robert Sheehan
You can most recently see him as a bright spot in the ill-performing Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, but Robert Sheehan is more well-known to the geeky community as the sarcastic Nathan Young of Misfits.
Sheehan can deliver quips in a way few can, and we have no doubt he'd be able to carry a film (or a series of them) following a young man's adventures through a mystical world.
Ben Barnes
He first burst into the consciousness of American mainstream audiences as Prince Caspian in the second of the Chronicles of Narnia films, but Barnes is another British actor who's been making the rounds for a while. He's got a small but fervent fan base already, and is popularly fan-cast as Sirius Black in probably thousands of tumblr GIF sets, so he could become a Hollywood mainstay if this role goes in his direction.
Andrew Garfield
Garfield made big splashes in America with his roles in The Social Network and The Amazing Spider-Man, but he was known to the Brits for a while before that. He's got the acting chops, the mass appeal, and if we can't go back in time and cast him in the original Harry Potter films, this seems like a good option.
Matt Smith
You can't really get much more British than playing The Doctor in Doctor Who. Smith brought a gangly oddity to the Doctor in the character's eleventh incarnation but he's leaving the show this season, so he's currently on the market for a job anyway. He's also got some of Britain's best hair, and we wouldn't complain about seeing it taken to a big, CGI-enhanced screen.
Arthur Darvill
Darvill made his Broaday debut in Once after leaving Doctor Who, but we sense it's about time for his big-screen breakout role. We think he could really let his brand of nerdy charisma work playing a guy named Newt.
Richard Ayoade
A favorite to play the Twelfth Doctor when people were bandying about British actors to take up the Doctor Who role a few months ago, Ayoade showed us his mastery of weirdo intelligence as Moss in British sitcom The IT Crowd. He's also an experienced comedian and director. If he's looking for a way to break into the mainstream audience, this might be the perfect vehicle for him.
Suraj Sharma
If Rowling and Warner Bros. decide to depart from the Harry Potter tradition of only casting Brits in British parts, we'd love to see Sharma in the role. He hasn't been in much yet — Ang Lee's adaptation of Life of Pi was his first acting role, but he certainly established himself as a talent with that one.
Lee Pace
Thought we'd throw an American option in here as well. The Pushing Daisies star has most recently been seen as willowy elf king Thranduil in the Hobbit movies, so he's got some experience in fantasy series. If they do end up going for a guy in his thirties, this Juilliard grad would be a solid pick.
Patrick Stewart
He might be a little old for the part (he's certainly older than a lot of the other guys on this list who are already too old for this part). But come on. He's Patrick Stewart. We're pretty sure he hasn't aged since Star Trek: TNG anyway.
