Eddie Redmayne Was Almost This Other Harry Potter Character & We Can’t Believe It

Stoked about seeing Eddie Redmayne Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them? It turns out that Redmayne's role as magizoologist Newt Scamander wasn't the only one he was up for in the magical world of J.K. Rowling. According to the Oscar winner, he was up for the role of one of the most loathed characters in Hogwarts history: Tom Riddle, a.k.a., young Voldemort. In an interview with Empire Magazine, Redmayne revealed that his first Harry Potter audition didn't go quite as well as his one for Fantastic Beasts clearly did: "I actually auditioned to play Tom Riddle while I was at university," said Redmayne. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be: "I properly failed and didn't get a callback." It's for the best: actor Christian Coulson made a fantastic Riddle, and Redmayne now gets to play a far more heroic character when Newt hits the big screen. However, Redmayne did point out that there's one family he would have loved to be a part of in the Harry Potter universe: the Weasley clan. "Over the years, I always hoped I might be cast as a member of the Weasley family — I’m color blind, but I’ve always been told there’s a tinge of red to my hair — but unfortunately not." It's pretty surprising that the Harry Potter casting agents didn't immediately look at Redmayne and declare him fit for, at the very least, a Weasley cousin. We could have used a side plot in which Redmayne plays Ron's cool older cousin who drives a hip flying car and buys Ron Butterbeer. Of course, we'll take Redmayne in the Harry Potter universe in any way we can get him — and he should be a wonderful part of Fantastic Beasts.