Actor Johnny Depp, who plays Gellert Grindelwald, the villain in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, was interviewed by Entertainment Weekly, revealing the behind-the-scenes and his arrival in the Wizarding World’s franchise.

Creating Grindelwald
“The beauty of J.K. and of Yates is they put trust in me to a degree,” said the actor, as he had his own ideas about Grindelwald’s look. His first contact to the screenwriter was through Skype, “We had a very long conversation“ that followed up when Depp arrived in London to do measurements for his costume. “The opportunity to play one of her characters and try to bring something to the part that might even hopefully surprise her or Yates, that was a great challenge but a real gas. A lot of fun.“

“Sometimes things arrive and for me at the moment and it’s always important to pay attention to whatever that is when you have a certain instinct about something,” says Depp, who is known for his improvisation while filming. “She and David were great in terms of allowing me to step outside of the screenplay and dialogue as written and travel a bit more and try things.“

The Crimes of Grindelwald
Gellert Grindelwald preaches wizard supremacy over Muggles. As soon as he flees MACUSA, at the beginning of the film, he starts to gather followers through his speeches. “To me, there’s something almost childlike in [Grindelwald]. His dream is for the wizarding world to stand tall and above. It’s a fascistic element, and there’s nothing more dangerous than somebody who is a dreamer with a specific vision that’s very strong and very dangerous and he can make it happen“, he says.

Even though there is some controversy on how Dumbledore’s homosexuality will be portrayed in this film, the actor guarantees that the lack of focus on the relationship between the professor and Grindelwald is something positive. “It makes the situation with Dum­bledore all the more intense. I think there’s a jealousy with Scamander. He sees Scamander as Dumbledore’s protégé — his boy, in a way. That in itself is enough for Grindelwald to want to take Scamander down in a way that is ferocious and eternal“, he explains

With Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Jude Law, Johnny Depp, Zoe Kravitz, Ezra Miller, Claudia Kim, and Callum Turner, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald opens worldwide on November 16th, 2018.

Translated into English by Nuara Costa
Edited by Aline Michel