• Newt's described as 'awkward', with an 'open gait' due to 'skulking through the jungle'. The blue jacket is ill-fitted because he's not used to city (Muggle, No-Maj, even), clothes.
• Eddie Redmayne was originally sought out for the role five months before J.K. Rowling finished the script. He felt an initial worry about not seeing the script yet because of the small chance it wasn't what he wanted and may have turned it down, the backlash would have been insane.
• "There were things [in the script] that were breathtaking," said producer David Heyman. "It had [Rowling's] trademark imagination."
•
Eddie on meeting J.K. Rowling: "She could talk you through everything, every intricacy. You're not playing a 'real' character, but in J.K. Rowling's mind Newt is entirely three-dimensional, and you can talk to her about what his life was like."
• Wizards and witches in the U.S. have apparently been living underground for centuries, in hiding, when Newt shows up in 1926 New York City.
• The original Salem Witch Trials didn't improve relationships between them and non-magical people, and so No-Maj people don't believe they even exist.
• Newt inadvertently threatens this status quo when the creatures in his briefcase come out, including the ones listed
here.
• Newt's suitcase is pretty similar to Hermione Granger's beaded bag, which was able to fit a library of books, clothes, artifacts and more thanks to an Undetectable Extension Charm. The suitcase is more expansive, however, and almost has an entire park full of magical creatures living in it. Seems like a combination of Hermione's bag and the enchanted expanded tent Harry, Ron and Hermione used whilst camping in
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
• The story starts off with Dan Fogler's character Jacob Kowalski breaking up with his girlfriend, meeting Newt, and somehow landing himself into the magical world. He's all for it, with wonder and openness. David Heyman says Jacob is 'our window in'.
• Colin Farrell's character, MACUSA auror Graves, is apparently after Newt.
• Samantha Morton's character Mary Lou leads the New Salem Philanthropic Society (the Second Salemers)
• Credence, played by Ezra Miller, is apparently a character that becomes notable in the Harry Potter universe.
•
Ezra Miller: "As an 11-year old I missed the Hogwarts letter, and it bummed me out. Being a part of this makes me feel like I've made it to Hogwarts - as a teacher's assistant or something."
• The actors were given an option from a dozen or so wands to choose from, and then went and took 'wand work classes' to master their moves.
•
Eddie Redmayne: "You get to have a full-on discussion of what wand you have - it's the stuff kids' dreams are made of. I was like, well, Newt wouldn't have anything leather and wouldn't have anything made from a horn. It would be something simple and woodlike."
• Colin Farrell on his glee over having a wand: "I was walking around in my bathrobe with a wand in my hand." Then, pointing on the TV, he shouted "Channel 4! BBC1!"
•
Katherine Waterston: "The most endearing thing is watching Eddie interact with the beasts. It's so beautiful. He's worked out all these different dynamics with them."
• And finally, as David Heyman promised a while ago, there will be a familiar name referenced in the movie... Dumbledore.