Newt Scamander

The introverted magizoologist at the heart of the Fantastic Beasts films, played by Eddie Redmayne.

Newt Scamander, in full Newton Artemis Fido Scamander, is a character created by J. K. Rowling and the protagonist of the Fantastic Beasts film series, the prequel to Harry Potter. In the novels he is only mentioned, as the author of the textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them used in Care of Magical Creatures.

In 2001 Rowling wrote a real version of that textbook under the pseudonym Newt Scamander, and in the films Eddie Redmayne plays him.

Quick Facts

Series: Fantastic Beasts
First: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Last: Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
Creator: J. K. Rowling
Portrayed by: Eddie Redmayne; Joshua Shea (teenaged version in The Crimes of Grindelwald)
Full name: Newton Artemis Fido Scamander
Nickname: Newt
Occupation: Magizoologist

Facts from the source article.

Background

Newt is an introverted British wizard and magizoologist who has been attached to magical beasts since childhood and always defends them. His former professor Albus Dumbledore often seeks his help in the mission to defeat the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, and along the way Newt meets and falls in love with Tina Goldstein, his future wife.

Rowling, who had far more say in casting than on the Harry Potter films, saw Redmayne as her subtle, understated British hero. His performance was well reviewed in the UK, while US critics were more mixed. Rowling has described Newt as one of her outsiders, people who feel set apart or othered.

His name mixes animal references: a newt is a brightly coloured amphibian, Artemis the Greek goddess of wild animals, Fido means I trust in Latin, fitting his Hufflepuff loyalty, and Scamander is a river of the Iliad that echoes salamander. Unlike Harry, a born leader, Newt is a calm loner whose only close friendship was with Leta Lestrange.