Finding friends was easier than finding beasts on the set of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Eddie Redmayne and Colin Farrell forged a bromance early on. Redmayne plays Newt Scamander, an oddball wizard who works for the British Ministry of Magic, while Farrell stars as Percival Graves, a high-ranking Auror and the Director of Magical Security for MACUSA.
The Warner Bros. film's promo tour kicked off in July at San Diego Comic-Con, and it was the first time Redmayne realized just how massive the Harry Potter fanbase actually is. "Wands were handed out, and he had to guide everyone through doing this spell," Farrell told E! News in New York City over the weekend. Redmayne, 34, looked like he was "going to s--t himself," Farrell explained, "so the least I could do was lay a little deep tissue on him before he went on."
Farrell also whispered something in Redmayne's ear. "Did I?" the actor, 40, asked. "Such a flirt."
Later, when asked about their bromance, Redmayne gushed, "I love that man!"
Without Farrell, Redmayne might not have survived Comic-Con. "Hall H is this thing that you hear about, and it's this massive room filled with eight gazillion people. You're meant to go on and sort of try to buzz up people's excitement. I was a bit terrified. Collin, who's done these sorts of things before, saw I was just standing by the stage—sort of nervous. I just gently felt a deep tissue massage and got some therapy tips in my ear," he said. "It really calmed me down."
No magic spells required.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is in theaters Nov. 18.