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"Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore," the third movie in the Harry Potter spin-off series, was released in Japan earlier this month. The "Fantastic Beasts" series is one of the most popular films series in Japan, and in celebration of the movie’s release, two of its stars came to Japan for a special fan event.
Eddie Redmayne, who plays Magizoologist wizard Newt Scamander, and Jessica Williams, who plays Ilvermorny professor Eulalie Hicks, were in attendance, making them the first Hollywood stars to visit Japan since the outbreak of corona almost three years ago.
Fans who missed out on the event can see it here.
It’s been just over three years since Eddie Redmayne last visited Japan, to promote the second film in the series "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," and both he and Jessica seemed thrilled to be back in Japan.
Eddie addressed the crowd of fans first, saying, “Finally getting to be here, sharing these secrets [of the film] with you, it blows my mind. Thank you for having us.”
And Jessica, who was wearing a skirt that resembled a pygmy puff, one of the movie’s iconic beasts, opened with, “Hi! I’m very hot right now!” which relaxed the mood and made the event feel like a group of friends hanging out.
The pair also looked around at the crowd, spotting some fans who had dressed up as characters from the movie and waving at them while the interpreters translated their answers into Japanese.
“I can see Grindlewald, I can see Bunty, I can see baby Niflers… I can see a Newt in there too. That makes me very happy!” Eddie exclaimed.
Next, it was time for a Q&A session, and a familiar question was posed to Eddie: “What Japanese food do you like?”
Eddie was quick to respond, commenting, “As far as food is concerned, I don’t know where to start in Japan. I’m obsessed with sashimi, I’m obsessed with ramen… I prefer thin noodles. I like a good firm texture.” He added, “But I also love anything that’s deep fried. I’ve basically been doing nothing but eat since I arrived in Japan. Tempura-ed anything makes me happy.”
But while Eddie’s answer showed he knew a fair bit about Japanese food, Jessica also seemed to be a fan of Japanese food and was eager to answer too.
“Nobody asked me, but I would also like to answer that question. I love a citron spicy ramen… yuzu ramen — I like the noodles really soft. I love the rice here. I love a Lawson’s egg sandwich. Family Mart and Seven & i Holdings — shout out to Seven & i Holdings — I love the snacks and I love the fruit snacks, the little hard candies, and I also love the sushi, and izakaya food, and gyoza…”
“She could go on… she talked for about an hour about rice earlier,” Eddie wryly added.
Jessica, as well as being knowledgeable about the beauty of Japanese convenience stores, is also a Harry Potter fan herself, and told the audience her favorite characters are Hermione and Professor McGonagall.
Also present at the fan event was Mamoru Miyano, who voices Newt in the Japanese dub. He embraced the pair warmly as he took to the stage.
The two Newts also performed the “Manitcore Dance”, to the delight of the crowd gathered.
Miyano then presented Eddie and Jessica with their very own happi festival coats, which is the standard when foreign celebrities come to Japan for events.
“I now have a collection of happi coats,” Eddie joked.
After the interview was done, the three stars took selfies with the crowd.
"Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" was released in theaters in Japan on April 8.
Photos: ©SoraNews24
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© SoraNews24
3 Comments
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Mark
No Johnny?
No care!
Speed
Why do these Fantastic Beasts people get to visit and promote things in Japan while thousands with visas are still log-jammed out?
Why are all other tourists being kept out of Japan at the expense of hundreds of thousands of businesses while these clowns get to prance around on stage and hug each other?
Gaijinjland
@Speed. Because they’re movie stars. It’s not fair but it’s reality. They get preferential treatment and don’t have to wear masks and are paid more for one movie than the average person will ever make in 20 years of working. That’s life.