‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’: How Claudia Kim Learned About Nagini
We’re one month away from learning more about one very iconic beast.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Nagini actress Claudia Kim, walked into her audition not knowing what she was up against.
Previously, the actress had read for a character known as Maledictus; a woman dealing with a “blood curse.” She knew nothing else about the role when she went into the last audition, which happened to be with director David Yates.
Kim was really excited for the opportunity and was introduced to British director Yates when she arrived in London. Yates worked on the final four Harry Potter films, so you could imagine the nerves associated with the meeting.
Yates soon revealed to Kim that her character wasn’t just any person struggling with a curse. It was Nagini.
“I think my jaw dropped. I was speechless for a little bit.” she said.
If you love Harry Potter, then you know that Nagini is Lord Voldemort’s right hand snake who takes his every direction. J.K Rowling ssays she had Nagini’s backstory in mind for almost 20 years. She was once a human woman and circus performer who could transform into a snake whenever she chose. She ends up beginning to lose control of her abilities, and then becomes friendly with Credence Barebone (played by Ezra Miller).
In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Barebone kills his adoptive mother and has trouble controlling his own abilities as well.
The Crimes of Grindelwald, a prequel set decades before the events in Harry Potter, will bring the backstory to life on the silver screen, which is super exciting.
The transformations will be assisted by special effects, but be reliant on Kim’s physical movements. She has since worked with a contortionist to perfect her snaky movements.
“I would act with Ezra and while we were doing the scene I would get directions like, ‘Can you do 2 percent more snake? Or: ‘Five percent more snake.’ So that was challenging.”
Miller told EW,
“Claudia Kim is a living god. You’re about to get your head blown off. There’s going to be a venom in your veins that you’ll feel just like love. Prepare yourselves for Nagini. This is a tragic and beautiful story that in some ways we already know the end of.”
We believe this, as Kim has been a Harry Potter fan since sixth grade and fell for the world she discovered through J.K Rowling’s writing.
“I love all the books and absolutely fell in love with this world and watched all the films,” She told EW.
Are you excited to see more about Nagini’s origins? Do you think we’ll find out how she becomes trapped at the hands of the Dark Lord, and if its voluntary?
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald slithers into theaters on November 16th!
Micajah McGregor, Editor in Chief of FanFest.com and renowned entertainment journalist, graduated from USC with a focus on Journalism and Film Studies. With an MBA from The Wharton School, he began his career at “PopCulture Pulse” and has been instrumental in shaping FanFest into a prime entertainment news source. Known for his financial analysis of celebrity net worths, Micajah received the ‘Digital Editor of the Year’ award in 2018. He’s also an active blogger, sharing his passion for superhero films and ’90s TV. Contact him at [email protected] for engaging entertainment insights.
