--- title: Eddie Redmayne Shares His Main 'Fantastic Beasts' Fear description: The actor — who stars in J.K. Rowling's new magical movie as the animal-loving wizard Newt Scamander — was afraid of the green screen. canonical: https://time.com/4488451/eddie-redmayne-shares-his-biggest-fear-about-filming-fantastic-beasts/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-12T21:12:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:36:28.142Z og:title: Eddie Redmayne Shares His Main 'Fantastic Beasts' Fear og:description: When it came to filming the new J.K. Rowling movie, Redmayne had one challenge. og:url: https://time.com/4488451/eddie-redmayne-shares-his-biggest-fear-about-filming-fantastic-beasts/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda9eac15d51c6ccf/6988a5a7f887dc6a90e9762e/eddie-redmayne.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3646 og:image:height: 2051 og:image:alt: CinemaCon 2016 - Warner Bros. Pictures "The Big Picture," An Exclusive Presentation Highlighting The Summer Of 2016 And Beyond og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Eddie Redmayne Shares His Main 'Fantastic Beasts' Fear twitter:description: When it came to filming the new J.K. Rowling movie, Redmayne had one challenge. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda9eac15d51c6ccf/6988a5a7f887dc6a90e9762e/eddie-redmayne.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Eddie Redmayne Shares His Biggest Fear About Filming _Fantastic Beasts_ > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Sep 12, 2016 9:12 PM UTC  Actor Eddie Redmayne attends Warner Bros. Pictures' "The Big Picture," an exclusive presentation highlighting the summer of 2016 and beyond at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Actor Eddie Redmayne attends Warner Bros. Pictures' "The Big Picture," an exclusive presentation highlighting the summer of 2016 and beyond at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Gabe Ginsberg—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Sep 12, 2016 9:12 PM UTC Anticipation continues to mount for the November premiere of J.K. Rowling’s [_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_](http://time.com/4288046/fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-footage-mtv-movie-awards/?iid=sr-link6) and Oscar-winning [actor Eddie Redmayne’s](http://time.com/4439978/fantastic-beasts-eddie-redmayne-harry-potter-favorite/?iid=sr-link10) turn as the legendary magizoologist Newt Scamander. It’s a lot of pressure on one actor, with a rabid global fandom chomping at the bit — and, [perfectionist that he is,](http://time.com/4437196/fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-eddie-redmayne-wand/?iid=sr-link4) Redmayne revealed he did have a main concern going into filming. “My fear was doing a lot of green screen, because I have quite a dodgy imagination,” Redmayne [told the _New York Times_.](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/movies/fantastic-beasts-j-k-rowling-eddie-redmayne.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront) (For non-Anglophiles: “dodgy” translates as “unreliable.”) To get around this small personal flaw, Redmayne even asked an animator to get into character as one of the creatures and act out the beast’s mannerisms on set, all so that Redmayne could really get a feel for the CGI character and perform at his best in the face of a blank green screen. Redmayne also shared some inside information on a few of the creatures we’ll find in the movie, including what they look like (bowtruckles appear as a kind of cousin to the classic stick insect) and have distinctive mannerisms. (Hint: for _Harry Potter_ know-it-alls: nifflers can be subdued with some tummy tickling.) Clearly, the _Beasts_ team knows its audience won’t stand for anything other than absolute attention to detail. Read more at [_the New York Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/movies/fantastic-beasts-j-k-rowling-eddie-redmayne.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4488451/eddie-redmayne-shares-his-biggest-fear-about-filming-fantastic-beasts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4488451/eddie-redmayne-shares-his-biggest-fear-about-filming-fantastic-beasts/"},"headline":"Eddie Redmayne Shares His Biggest Fear About Filming Fantastic Beasts","datePublished":"2016-09-12T21:12:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:36:28.142Z","description":"Green screens can be tricky to act with","url":"https://time.com/4488451/eddie-redmayne-shares-his-biggest-fear-about-filming-fantastic-beasts/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Entertainment","movies","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda9eac15d51c6ccf/6988a5a7f887dc6a90e9762e/eddie-redmayne.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda9eac15d51c6ccf/6988a5a7f887dc6a90e9762e/eddie-redmayne.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"CinemaCon 2016 - Warner Bros. 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