CEBU, Philippines – Eddie Redmayne is on a roll.
Not only is the Oscar winner already capturing awards season buzz for his performance as a transgender woman in Denmark in the 1920s film “The Danish Girl,” but he’s also currently shooting the Harry Potter prequel, “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.”
Redmayne admits he’s feeling the pressure to live up to the blockbuster franchise’s legacy.
“The stakes are high because they were so good before,” he said. “You don’t want to screw it up.”
Redmayne stars as Newt Scamander in “Fantastic Beasts,” which takes place in New York City 70 years before the Harry Potter movies. Directed by David Yates, the film is adapted from J.K. Rowling’s 2001 book of the same title. The famed author actually published the tome under the pseudonym of Newt Scamander.
The movie is set to be released on November 2016. The cast also includes Colin Farrell and Ezra Miler.
“It’s a complete privilege for me,” Redmayne said. “I love J.K. Rowling. I love the Harry Potter films and books so for me this is just the most wondrous gift really.”
The Harry Potter franchise of eight movies started in 2001 with “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and ended with 2011’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.”