Eddie Redmayne played Newt Scamander in the 2016 film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
The film was written by J.K. Rowling and directed by David Yates. It is set in 1926, decades before the main Harry Potter story, and follows Newt Scamander, a British magizoologist whose magical creatures escape in New York City. Redmayne portrays Newt as an intelligent, reserved specialist whose care for magical animals drives the story.
The film expanded a fictional Hogwarts textbook into a separate prequel film series. In the Harry Potter books, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is presented as a textbook by Newt Scamander. Rowling’s screenplay turned that fictional author into the central character of a new narrative.
The cast also included Katherine Waterston as Porpentina Goldstein, Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski, and Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein. Jude Law later played a younger Albus Dumbledore in the sequels, which is why he is sometimes associated with the role of Newt. Redmayne remained the actor who originated Newt on film.