‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ Cast, Updates: Katherine Waterston Talks Playing Next Iconic Female Character after Hermione

‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ lead actress Katherine Waterston talked taking on the next iconic female character role in the ‘Harry Potter’ spin-off cinematic franchise. She admitted that she didn’t intend for Tina to be compared to Emma Watson’s Hermione.

Waterston opened up about portraying one of the next iconic female characters in the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise during an interview with Collider. The 36-year old American actress is set to play Porpentina Goldstein, an American witch and love interest to Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander.

Tina is one of the lead protagonists of J.K. Rowling’s original book of the same name and is an auror for the Magical Congress of the United States of America. The character is known to be grounded, level-headed and practical. She is described as brave and stands up for what is right.

When asked about a comparison with Hermione, Waterston replied, “It never occurred to me to compare myself to her just because we’re both female, in any way. You know, they’re totally different characters and I don’t feel like I’m stepping into her shoes simply because I’m a woman.”

Waterston continued, “It’s just amazing to be a part of this world that means so much to people and I don’t have any problem with considering it in that way. It just never occurred to me to think of it in those terms and probably it would make me nervous at the thought of it because she was so good in those films. So, I just don’t think about that.”

According to Cinema Blend, Waterston may have admired Emma Watson’s portrayal of lead character Hermione in the original ‘Harry Potter’ films but she didn’t want Tina compared with Hermione as these would not be fair to both performances.

It was also reported that Waterston, together with co-star Alison Sudol, were given freedom to portray their characters in their own way. When asked about how she prepared for the role, she replied, “You know, I guess, what is it like, Superman goes into the phone booth to change or something, I feel like there’s sort of this idea that that’s how actors work that we have to like, place ourselves somewhere and then suddenly the character (laughs) emerges or something and I feel like it’s a lot more there’s no kind of guarantee like that.”

She continued, “But you know, a lot of the actors are listening to music from the period. So, sometimes it’s also just like the atmosphere can be helpful. You hear something coming from another trailer and you’re like, oh, right, yeah, of course, it’s the 20s.”

‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’ is an upcoming fantasy-adventure film directed by David Yates with a screenplay written by J.K. Rowling. It is scheduled to premiere in U.S. theaters on November 18, 2016. It is intended as the first film in a planned trilogy of ‘Harry Potter’ spin-off films, a franchise that earned a collective $7.73 billion at the worldwide box office.