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Exclusive: Katherine Waterston Talks Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

Katherine Waterston speaks about her role as Tina Goldstein in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.

How did you react when you found out you’d been cast as Tina Goldstein and would be part of a whole new era of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World?

I was thrilled to get the job. First and foremost, I loved the character so much and had such a good time exploring her in the auditions. You can get a little attached in that process, so it sometimes feels a bit like a heartbreak or a breakup when you don’t get the job because you don’t get to spend any more time with that character [laughs]. I was so fixated on getting to play this character and just loved her so much that, honestly, the size of this film and what it means to so many people didn’t really enter my mind initially.

Then, it slowly dawned on me that I had been invited into this massive pre-existing entity, which was quite an overwhelming realization. My first memory of the Harry Potter series was my little brother just falling into those books and not resurfacing until he was done. That J.K. Rowling got an entire generation reading is extraordinary – I'm amazed, thrilled, and proud to now be portraying one of that phenomenal writer's characters.

When you were finding your way into the character, how much of Tina came to you intuitively and what aspects did you have to dig a little deeper to find?

To me, it all feels intuitive. Obviously, there are clues in the script and you search for them and use them as best you can. But I think connecting to a character is like connecting to any human being – either you like them or you don’t. You might not be able to list the reasons why you love your best friend, or what attracted you to them; it’s just something that you feel – a connection, an understanding, or a curiosity that makes you want to get to know them. With Tina, it was her internal struggle that caught my attention.

She seemed to totally doubt herself and to suspect that she wasn’t good enough and, yet, simultaneously, she possessed a confidence, a conviction that she could be great. She’s on a confidence rollercoaster— when she fails at something, it confirms the worst suspicions she has about herself, and when she succeeds at something, it confirms the greatest hopes she has for herself. I just found that quality – that seesawing between insecurity and confidence – really beautiful, and a condition, I think, that any human being can relate to it.

What’s it like then for her to interact with Colin Farrell’s character, Percival Graves, who is a much higher-ranking figure at MACUSA [the Magical Congress of the United States of America], where she works?

Graves has the job that Tina, in her wildest dreams, hopes to have one day. He’s respected at work, successful, has authority, skill, and confidence – Tina admires him, she’s in awe of him, maybe even has a little crush on him.

Tina’s first encounter with Newt Scamander, played by Eddie Redmayne, puts them somewhat at odds with each other, but what do you think it is that draws them together as the story unfolds?

They start to recognize that they’re both outsiders and both a little bit odd, I suppose, and I love that. It’s really tough to be weird until you find other weirdos [laughs]. I think that is beautifully woven into the story from the moment that they notice each other. In many ways, they’re both just starting to become the people they will be; they’re kind of dipping their toe in.

Something I think is interesting about the film is that it’s a coming-of-age story about adults. Even though Newt, Tina, Queen, and Jacob are technically all adults, in their own individual ways they are each a bit stunted, but as they come together – maybe even because they come together – they, finally, begin to ‘come into their own.’

How about Tina’s relationship with her sister, Queenie, played by Alison Sudol?

Really, until these men come into their lives, Tina and Queenie are everything to one another— sisters, best friends, parental figures. They were forced, I think especially Tina, to grow up quickly because they lost their parents young, but despite that painful fate their dynamic is very youthful and sweet. As the older sister, Tina definitely feels Queenie is her responsibility and is very protective of her. Of course, Queenie, being a legilimens, can see that Tina is, beneath the surface, very vulnerable and in need of protection, too.

Do you have a favorite beast?

Pickett. Of course, they’re all so amazing but yeah, Pickett’s my guy.

Can you talk about working with costume designer Colleen Atwood on Tina’s wardrobe in the film. Did that process help inform the character for you?

Absolutely. It was a dream to work with Colleen. She doesn’t just put you in clothes that fit well or look good; she really understands character. It’s detailed, smart work, and I loved everything that she made.

What’s so great about Colleen is that she’s a real collaborator. She comes in with her ideas, and I come in with mine, and we find our way together. I really wanted Tina to wear trousers. That was my idea and something that seemed right to me – that Tina didn’t have much time for herself and, because she lost her parents suddenly, she was thrust into this parental role. I thought she maybe couldn’t be bothered to go to the shop, nor did she have the time, nor would she feel comfortable spending any money on herself. So, we started to build this concept together and then Colleen, obviously, developed the clothes.

The whole look, we thought, would be something she could’ve found in her parents’ wardrobes and thrown together herself. So the trousers are ill-fitting because they were her dad’s, and she has to take them in at the waist; but, when she takes them in at the waist, they go up too short in the leg. The shirts are her mother’s, so they’re sort of Victorian, rather than current to the period of the ‘20s. Even the shoes are men’s shoes because they belonged to her father. That was where all of that came from – this idea that she was trying to cobble together a look that would give her a responsible, effective aura [laughs].

Also, I do think she definitely has a little tomboy streak. She’s dressing for comfort – to be able to move freely around in the streets – and, also, a little to hide. All of these things we talked about, as well as, obviously, how to play her look in contrast to Queenie’s.

Looking back, do you have a favorite scene to play, or a moment during production that was particularly fun or memorable for you?

Perhaps my favorite day on set was a scene with Tina and Newt on a dock. We were on location in an enormous hanger originally used to build zeppelins. It’s the biggest single storey building I’ve ever seen in my life, and had this incredible energy to it. We only shot a few takes of that scene, but that was one of my best memories. It was just one of those days that felt electric.

Favorite ships: Therru x Arren

an underrated disney pairing : tinkerbell and terence

i absolutely adore the crush terence has on his best friend, tinkerbell and how she has no idea whatsoever.i mean, there is a whole movie about their friendship. i wish the pairing were more popular, and the movies as well because they are actually very good and better than they seem. 

Newt & Leta

Leta is now engaged to Newt's, older brother, Theseus Scamander, which Rowling calls "A twist neither of them would ever have seen coming. It creates some awkwardness in their current relationship because Newt once had strong feelings for the woman who is about to become his sister in-law."

- Crimes of Grindelwald production notes

While Redmayne says It’s one of those relationships where there was definitely great love there, there was also romance, but was it ever a full blown relationship? I don’t know. But certainly she’s somebody who has touched [Newt] hugely and at the beginning of this film you realize she’s in a relationship with his brother so, of course, that comes with great complications.”

- Entertainment Weekly

Eddie Redmayne: This one [Leta] was like, I think, love of Newt's life when they were at school. But actually Newt's all like in love with Tina. He's desperately trying to get back to New York. But he cares. He massively cares about Leta.

- Extra TV

Eddie Redmayne: I mean, his brother is engaged to this girl who he had a huge affection for growing up, so there’s obviously a real tension there.

- Buzzfeed

Eddie Redmayne: It's complicated. It's all I have to say. He's kept like this girl in his heart all this time. He comes back and she's engaged to his brother. I mean, that is complicated family stuff right there.

- Entertainment Weekly SDCC

Eddie Redmayne: At the beginning of the film, Newt kind of has found out that his brother's engaged to this girl, Leta, who was kind of one of his closest friends, and perhaps they... He definitely had a crush on her when he was younger, but like that's now in the past.

- E! Insider

Why awkward? Were Newt and Leta actually romantically involved?

Zoë Kravitz: I don’t think it ever went to that place, but Newt has so few friends and connections in his childhood, maybe in his mind it might have gone there? I don’t think it was ever acted upon. But it still feels like a betrayal when she ends up with Theseus.

- Entertainment Weekly

"It's unclear whether Newt and Leta's relationship was romantic or confusing," Kravitz says. "They were both so young when they met."

- Entertainment Weekly: The Ultimate Guide to Fantastic Beasts

Callum Turner: You get the fact that there’s a deep love between [Theseus and Leta] and a connection in a completely different way than how Newt and Leta love. Theseus and Leta are opposites, whereas Newt and Leta are very similar. Theseus offers her support and love and acceptance and stability in a way that Newt was never able to; theirs was always more of a companionship rather than being in love.

- Fandom Interview

Callum Turner: It is complicated, but I think that the important thing to realise is that it wasn’t a full relationship, right? It was a companionship at school and I think he[Theseus]’s of the understanding that it wasn’t as severe as it’s being made out now.

- Futurepreviewsllc

David Yates: We have a character called Leta Lestrange and she used to be Newt's girlfriend.

- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them interview

David Yates: She [Leta] used to be Newt Scamander's love and now is this sort of very mixed-up, quite conflicted, intriguing, beautiful ex-lover of Newt Scamander. 

- HBO Asia

David Yates: Yes. Leta Lestrange comes into the second movie. She's quite complicated and damaged and confused and Newt is absolutely still in love with her, so she has a kind of power over him, and she, yeah, she's a kind of tragic figure, so we will see a bit more of her in the second movie.

- Cinemablend

Joshua Shea: When I first read the script, they [young Newt and Leta] were set to kiss in the script. We didn't [film it]. It was a decision that... I feel like I'm gonna be shot by Warner. bros snipers for saying this, but actually, yeah, basically what happened was I chatted to Eddie about it and it was actually Eddie's idea. I think he said that, "Even if there were..." I definitely think that there was a romantic relationship in some way, but I don't think it was hugely intimate. I think it was very much like a caring, loving friendship. It's that balance. I think, yes, maybe they did have a relationship, but I think it was very much... I don't think Newt is the kind of person who's very touchy-feely. I don't imagine him walking around kissing girls at school. So I'm glad we made the decision. Yeah, so I think that was why we made the decision. I think Eddie was like, "It feels too much, a kiss." And I think we decided on the sort of, if you look very carefully, it comes off like a hand touch, which I think that was enough to kind of convey a sense of like intimacy and a kind of connection.

- Speakbeasty

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