Eddie Redmayne Had a Very Specific Condition for His Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Wand

When Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits theaters later this year, audiences will be introduced to magizoologist Newt Scamander, a character who plays a large role in the history of the wizarding world as we know it. So when Eddie Redmayne — who plays Newt — was tasked with selecting a wand for the role, he took the decision very seriously.

“I sort of assumed that I would have a wand sort of plopped in my hand,” Redmayne told Entertainment Weekly. “But the reality is that these amazing props designers come, and then you have really a quite intricate discussion with [director] David Yates about what qualities Newt has. He’s not a showy guy, Newt, so I wanted it be to quite simple.”

The Oscar-winning actor went on to describe all the different elements of the finished product, and why Newt likely wouldn’t accept a leather handle. “So we decided to have the wand be made out of ashwood, and it has quite a few scratches and sort of burn marks — so that you could get the sense that he’s been traveling the world with it, and it’s got quite a history to it,” he said. “But for the handle, they were sort of talking about whether it should be horn or leather, and I didn’t like the idea of animal products being used, given that he’s a zoologist. So in the end, they came up with this idea of sand shell… and it has a slightly mother-of-pearly feel. So we had all these discussions and went back and forth with designs, and when the thing arrived I was pretty excited. My inner 9-year-old was having a disco, and then I was actually presented with it!”

The Nov. 18 release of Fantastic Beasts will come on the heels of the stage debut of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child — J.K. Rowling’s eighth story of the Boy Who Lived.

Read more at EW.com.

Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com.