Oscar awardee British actor Eddie Redmayne has proven his diversity in the acting department through such critically acclaimed performances in “The Theory of Everything” and the recent “The Danish Girl.” It appears he is also unafraid to do some serious stunts himself.
In a recent interview with Pottermore, acclaimed stunt director Eunice Huthart spoke about the stunt-work in “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” She, in particular, talked about Eddie Redmayne’s (Newt Scamander) enthusiasm and willingness to do exciting, dangerous and life-threatening stunts on his own.
One of those dangerous stunts involved, according to the correspondent, was dangling Eddie Redmayne from the sky. “Eddie’s great. We just tell Eddie what to do and he does it,” Huthart spoke of Redmayne.
“‘I have never had to talk him into doing anything. Eddie’s just like, ‘Come on guys, what are we doing now? Bigger, faster, harder!’ It’s more a case of me telling him, ‘Eddie, we can’t do that!’ We need to make sure he can work tomorrow, you know,” Huthart added, complimenting Redmayne’s enthusiasm. She added that it is “so much fun” working with actors like Eddie Redmayne because they are unafraid to take risks.
It should be noted that Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double, David Holmes, was paralyzed for life after performing a flying stunt for “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1” back in 2009. He said he was thrown against the wall during a stunt and landed on the crash mat underneath and was only 25 years old back then.
While stunts in action-adventure and fantasy films are always dangerous, they are necessary parts of the plot. Fans of Harry Potter could expect some breathtaking action sequences and stunt work in “Fantastic Beasts” similar to the “Harry Potter” movies.
“My whole job is delivering what David [Yates] thinks up, so I have to pick my moments and just bombard him with 200 questions whenever I can. It helps me set the action for this film especially, because it’s so character-based,” Huthart said of the stunts in the movie.
“We’re not just doing action for action’s sake here, we are doing it in character. Some of the stunts on this film are great,” she clarified. She also gushed about the experience of working with David Yates. “I’m just here the whole time thinking, I get to work with David Yates, how lucky am I? It’s mental.”
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” releases in cinemas worldwide beginning November 11 this year. [Source]
