“It’s like Ocean’s 11”: Eddie Redmayne Compares Himself With Brad Pitt for One of His Most Iconic Roles That Deserved More Appreciation from Fans

Eddie Redmayne is an Academy Award winner with several critically acclaimed performances under his belt. However, one of Redmayne’s more popular roles came in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, which served as a spin-off to the Harry Potter movies. In the films, Redmayne plays the role of Newt Scamander, a British magizoologist caught up in political turmoil.

Eddie Redmayne played Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts franchise (Credit: Warner Bros).

The third installment in the franchise, titled Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, was released in 2022. While promoting the film, Redmayne compared it to the classic heist film Ocean’s Eleven, going as far as to liken his character to Brad Pitt’s role in the movie. Here is what Redmayne had to say about the similarities between the two movies, despite them being different on paper.

Eddie Redmayne Compared His Fantastic Beasts Role to Brad Pitt’s Ocean’s Eleven

Eddie Redmayne debuted in the role of Newt Scamander in 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. He reprised the role in two further installments, including 2022’s The Secrets of Dumbledore, co-starring Jude Law. To promote the film, Redmayne appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Eddie Redmayne compared The Secrets of Dumbledore with Ocean’s Eleven (Credit: Warner Bros).

During his conversation with Fallon, Redmayne compared the third installment to the 2001 heist-comedy film Ocean’s Eleven, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt. The Academy Award-winning actor stated:

It’s like Ocean’s Eleven, set in a Wizarding World. And Jude Law, who plays Dumbledore, is basically George Clooney, and I’m Brad Pitt.

Redmayne likened the film to Ocean’s Eleven, highlighting the complicated heist aspect of the third installment, which unfolds in The Secrets of Dumbledore, with Jude Law’s character devising a plan to outwit his rival and the dark wizard Grindelwald.

Therefore, Law’s character in the movie is comparable to Clooney’s Danny Ocean, who serves as the brains of the operations in Ocean’s Eleven. Meanwhile, Redmayne’s Newt is similar to Pitt’s Rusty as he is Dumbledore’s confidant and most trusted ally in the battle against Grindelwald.

Eddie Redmayne’s Doubt on Fantastic Beasts Return Proves His Role Deserves More Appreciation

Despite the popularity of the Wizarding World franchise, the Fantastic Beasts sequels saw diminishing returns with each subsequent installment. The Secrets of Dumbledore managed to gross merely $407.2 million at the global box office. As a result, the franchise’s future has been in limbo with reports suggesting that future installments had been scrapped.

Eddie Redmayne hasn’t heard of plans for Fantastic Beasts 4 (Credit: The Tonight Show | YouTube).

During an interview with NME in 2023, Redmayne cast doubts on reprising the role of Newt Scamander in future installments, suggesting that the studio’s interest in the franchise had gone cold. He said:

I mean, at the moment, there’s nothing that I’m aware of. So, as I’m aware, it’s not something that’s on the cards.

Redmayne’s comments strongly suggest that we will likely never see him reprise the role. Moreover, the Fantastic Beasts sequels sidelined Newt to focus on the conflict between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, making the character a supporting player in his own franchise.

For his part, Redmayne delivered a perfectly charming performance with the $816 million gross of the first film, proving that fans were interested in following Newt’s story. As a result, Redmayne’s character getting sidelined was a tragedy, which proves he deserved more appreciation for his role in the franchise.

The Fantastic Beasts movies are streaming on Max.