Colin Farrell’s Character in ‘Fantastic Beasts’ is “the ultimate wizard”

 Pottermore recently reported from the set of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, this time on Colin Farrell’s character, Percival Graves.

Three-time Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood (Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha, Alice in Wonderland) has been in charge of his costume, and from the previews of his character in the trailer and below, Eddie Redmayne’s already infamous coat may have some competition. The Pottermore correspondent suggests a good compromise: ‘Newt’s coat on weekdays, Graves’s when you’re in the mood for danger.’

Back in October, even Farrell had no idea of his role in the wizarding world, but we’re gradually learning more about the nature of his character – an improvement upon ‘a wizard that Newt Scamander meets in New York’, at the very least – as more details about the film emerge.

As the wizard who is sent to track down Newt Scamander and his ‘fantastic beasts’, Graves is a powerful auror and the right-hand man of President of the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA), the American equivalent of the Ministry of Magic.

Certainly a character with a formidable edge, Colleen Atwood tells Pottermore how this inspires his costumes, as well as intriguing suggestions about his abilities, calling him ‘the ultimate wizard’:

‘When I heard it was going to be Colin, I was excited because he looks good in everything’

‘Graves is the ultimate wizard so I wanted to take it to a level of 20s elegance with a touch of glamour, of fantasy. So I took a coat and I made it a little bit longer, I exaggerated the shoulders and I shaped it a little bit more. Then I made it out of a spectacular piece of cashmere that just kind of moved and had a lot of light’

‘It also has a little bit of lurex* in it, so it catches the light at night and almost looks wet, which I really think makes it stand out from other things. That’s where I was going with his character. And then I kind of edged his things so they were very graphic black and white too, in a way that made him special.’

And incase you were wondering just what ‘lurex’ was,  Pottermore added a complimentary ‘fabric fact’:

‘Lurex is a fabric with glittering metallic thread weaved into it to give it a shimmering look. To me, it looks almost like the fur of a wet, majestic seal… But in a fancy, magical way. It’s iridescent and slick, which makes it perfect for Graves.’

Read the full article here.