12/17/2023 0 Comments Eddie redmayne![]() We know that the plan of the five movie arc of the Fantastic Beasts films will take the story into the 1940s, which means that it will cross the point at which autism becomes diagnosed. While I found the new film to be mostly unimpressive, I just loved the fact that the hero of this massive global blockbuster movie franchise was a clearly autistic character.Īt this point, Newt's mannerisms are a mostly incidental part of his character, but one wonders if that will continue. However, I found myself unable to see almost anything else while watching Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, perhaps the lack of magical beasts kept me focused. I don't recall noticing Newt Scamander's autistic tendencies when I watched Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (though my wife insists we had that conversation), perhaps I was distracted by the various magical creatures. At a certain point, if it's not viewed as something that even requires a diagnosis, then it's just a quirk of personality. It was 1938 when autism was first given a name, and so the new movie, being set in 1927, wouldn't have a reason to discuss Newt's personality as anything other than just the way he is. As Eddie Redmayne points out.Īt that point, it hadn't been defined - that was in the '40s, I think - so those qualities were something, yes. Autism wasn't viewed as something that needed a name during the period in which the Fantastic Beasts movies are currently set. The fact that Newt's apparent autism isn't remarked on in the film is actually quite fitting for the time period of the film. Newt Scamander isn't without a superpower of his own, he is a wizard after all, but his autism, be it Asperger's Syndrome or something else, is not connected to it in any way. That's obviously not what's happening here. It's also kids a lot, as it turns out, and more rarely a grown adult. It's the kid in The Predator or the kid in The Girl in the Spider's Web. However, frequently, these characters are portrayed either as handicapped in some way, as needing to overcome their autism, or autism becomes some sort of superpower, giving a character an ability others don't have, which usually comes to the aid of other more "normal" heroes when the plot requires. In recent years we've seen various actors take on characters who deal with autism in a variety of ways. Seeing autism portrayed on film isn't that unusual. Interestingly, it doesn't sound like Rowling specifically said that Newt Scamander suffered from some form of autism, but she did discuss the character's various qualities with the actor, and he took care of the rest. ![]() Rowling, as Eddie Redmayne tells Digital Spy that his understanding of the character came from his early conversations with the author. ![]() That understanding apparently came directly from J.K. While nothing has been said in the film about Newt's personality, and thus attention hasn't been drawn to it, it seems that Eddie Redmayne has a clear understanding of just who his character is. The Wizarding World is one in which so many characters behave in strange and different ways that maybe Newt Scamander's mannerisms might be written off by some as just being his unique affectations, but there's much more to it than that. When he was first described by Jo in the first film there were various qualities - the way he walked, the way he looked, and his eye contact - was spoken about, and yeah, I think he is on the Asperger's spectrum.
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