David Heyman says Johnny Depp was the "perfect choice" to play Gellert Grindelwald in the sequel to ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’.
The 53-year-old actor plays the dark wizard in the follow-up to the ‘Harry Potter’ spin-off – which stars Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander – and the 55-year-old producer has said they chose the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star because of his ability to be both "dangerous" and "charming".
On how the casting came about, David explained: "It was the end of last year.
We filmed it early this year because of availability. What we wanted was an iconic actor to play Grindelwald, because Grindelwald is an iconic character who has a significant place in this story. His ability to persuade the hearts and minds, to persuade people to follow him is essential to this story."
And on why he was the right person for the job, he told Collider: "He is dangerous in that way.
"We were looking for someone who was seductive and could be charming and could be original, who was iconic, who was a great actor; and that’s what Johnny Depp is. He can be irresistible. He’s powerful. He’s created some iconic characters, and not made the obvious choices when doing so. The unpredictability of the choices he makes is part of what makes him so extraordinary and that was very exciting for us. He was the perfect choice for Grindelwald."
Meanwhile, although Depp’s character is more predominant in the second instalment, The Hollywood Reporter states that the Hollywood star is also said to make a fleeting appearance in the first of the new movies.
The next Instalment in the five-part series of ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ is expected to hit cinemas in 2018.
David Heyman defends casting Johnny Depp
