Every Actor Who Played Grindelwald in Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts

There have been many Gellert Grindelwald actors throughout the Harry Potter franchise, especially as Fantastic Beasts brought him into the spotlight. Each iteration of the infamous wizard Gellert Grindelwald has been wildly different from one another, with each actor bringing their own distinct flavor to the role. Gellert Grindelwald is mentioned a few times throughout the Harry Potter books. However, his first official introduction was as an old “friend” hidden in Dumbledore’s past in the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book.

It is revealed that Grindelwald and Dumbledore were extremely close in the past and planned to bring the Wizarding World out of the shadows and subjugate the non-magical population. Dumbledore realizes the error of this plan and, after the death of his sister Ariana, distances himself from Grindelwald. Grindelwald went ahead with his plan, but was stopped by Dumbledore in a great duel. This backstory was explored in Fantastic Beastswhich ended early. There were five Gellert Grindelwald actors, some appearing in the original Harry Potter series and others in Fantastic Beasts.

Jamie Campbell Bower

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Jaime Campbell Bower was the first actor to play Gellert Grindelwald and the one who remained most consistent throughout both franchises. He first took on the role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 as young Gellert Grindelwald in photographs and flashbacks. Grindelwald’s history with Dumbledore is briefly explored, but the film puts more focus on Grindelwald’s connection to the Elder Wand instead of. He physically resembles Grindelwald described in the books, with a frightening appearance that draws people to him.

Although Jamie Campbell Bower’s appearance is reduced to not talking about Deathly Hallowshe even manages to set up the character, so the audience can understand the type of person he was with his looming presence in photos with a young Dumbledore, as well as his nimble movements when stealing the Elder Wand. Bower later reprises the role in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Once again, his role was kept in flashbacks, as Jude Law’s Dumbledore recalls when he and Grindelwald created a blood pact, so they could never harm each other.

The scene is one of few that show Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s relationship in a way that suggests they were romantically involvedwith them clasping hands and looking into each other’s eyes. The appearance of Bower’s version of Grindelwald has also been updated with him now having heterochromia, the condition of having two different colored eyes, which was added for the Fantastic Beasts films.

Michael Byrne

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Along with Jamie Campbell Bower, Michael Byrne also plays Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. He plays the character in the current timeline of the Harry Potter series, now an old man in prison paying for his past crimes. The older Grindelwald only appears in one scene, similar to the one in Deathly Hallows book, where Grindelwald is questioned by Voldemort about the Elder Wand. Byrne’s portrayal of Grindelwald is completely different from the character in the book.

The book version of Grindelwald sees the error of his ways and refuses to tell Voldemort what he wants to know, which ultimately leads to the character’s death. The film version of Byrne’s character, however, takes pleasure in telling Voldemort that the Elder Wand is with Dumbledore in his grave, even laughing when Voldemort leaves to retrieve it. Although he does not appear in the sequel series, Byrne’s version of Grindelwald remains starkly different from the performances shown in the Fantastic Beasts films.

Although Grindelwald did terrible things in all three films, he never shows pleasure at the idea of ​​hurting Dumbledoreinstead, merely demonstrating anger, sadness, or indifference to any mention of his name. Byrne’s difference from Gellert Grindelwald’s other performances, however, could be explained by a lack of knowledge of how deep Grindelwald’s feelings for Dumbledore were at the time. Deathly Hallows was being done. Regardless, Byrne’s performance remains the most different portrayal of Grindelwald to date.

Colin Farrell

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Colin Farrell was the first actor to play Gellert Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts series, although it was due to a technicality. Grindelwald was identified as a secondary threat in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Theminstead, he created the American auror, Percival Graves, played by Colin Farrell, to be the film’s main villain. In a twist ending, however, Newt Scamander reveals that Graves is Grindelwald in disguise. So even though Colin Farrell seems like a different character, all of his words and actions were those of Grindelwald.

Farrell’s portrayal of Grindelwald puts the focus on his mischievous side, spending most of the time Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hunting down a child who is an Obscurial to use in their plans. Farrell can also give tips for Fantastic Beasts’ Grindelwald twists it by showing false kindness to those he is harming (a trait later seen in Grindelwald’s performances) and immediately finding ways to bring Dumbledore into conversations.

Perhaps the biggest hint that Farrell is playing Grindelwald is the similar introduction scenes of Percival Graves and Grindelwald. Both are presented with a photo of the back of their heads with the same haircut.

Johnny Deep

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Originally, Johnny Depp would be Gellert Grindelwald throughout the film. Fantastic Beasts series. He made a cameo appearance at the end of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, with Farrell slowly transforming into Depp, revealing the twist that Grindelwald was the villain all along. In Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwaldhe finally took center stage and audiences got to see who the character is for an entire film, not just restricted to cameos or flashbacks.

Depp was later asked to step down Fantastic Beasts series and the role of Warner Bros’ Grindelwald after real-life controversies arose in Depp’s life. Along with the film’s negative reviews, Depp’s performance in Grindelwald was met with criticism, with critics and audiences feeling it was similar to Depp’s performances in other films and disliking the character’s new design with bleached blonde hair and colored eyes. totally different.

However, looking closer, his performance is more similar to how Grindelwald was created in Harry Potter books. Grindelwald’s manipulation and intelligence are cited as his greatest assets and Depp’s version of the character is the one that exemplifies these characteristics.

His Grindelwald acts more like a puppet master, getting people to do horrible things rather than forcing them to do it. Depp is also the Gellert Grindelwald actor who most resembles Jamie Campbell Bower, making it more believable that they are the same person at different points in their lives. Even so, Depp did not return to play Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore’s Secretspartly due to the controversy surrounding his court cases at the time.

Mads Mikkelsen

Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore’s Secrets

Mads Mikkelsen was chosen to replace Depp as Grindelwald. Similar to Depp, Mikkelsen was given the opportunity to play Grindelwald for an entire film rather than a cameo or flashback. Mikkelsen received more praise for playing the character, despite the lukewarm reaction to Dumbledore’s Secrets. Along with a new look with a more subtle color difference in the eyes and a more muted hair color, Mikkelsen brought a quiet danger to the characterexuding confidence while intimidating the other characters.

Grindelwald’s only demotion in Fantastic Beasts 3 is that many of Grindelwald’s motivations or actions don’t make much sense in the Wizarding World continuity or the way his character has been previously set up. However, Mads Mikkelsen’s Grindelwald stands out from the rest due to the focus on his romantic relationship with Dumbledore. Audiences, especially LGBTQ+ viewers, were increasingly tired of the little teases about the same-sex relationship between the two wizards and wanted it to be fully explored.

While Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore’s Secrets didn’t fully embrace the plot, it put more focus on it than in his previous films, having Mikkelsen and Jude Law share screen time together. After a lot of reformulation, Grindelwald started to play the role with the most different actors. Grindelwald’s portraits were supposed to be of the same person, not completely different versions of the character.

Perhaps, however, this constant reworking of Grindelwald throughout the Harry Potter series and the Fantastic Beasts series is a coincidence mirror for the character of Grindelwald and how he has many masksmany sides to him, and no one could ever tell who he really was.

Grindelwald’s Recast Couldn’t Save the Fantastic Beasts Franchise

Mads Mikkelsen failed to save the franchise

Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore’s Secrets it seemed like a last-ditch effort to save the franchise, and a the new actor of Gellert Grindelwald was unfortunately not enough. Dumbledore’s secrets tried hard to save the franchise. Not only has Grindelwald been reworked, but Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves was hired to help JK Rowling write the script.

Additionally, the LGBTQ+ storyline between Dumbledore and Grindelwald finally saw the light of day, something fans wanted to see from the beginning. Even with all these changes, Dumbledore’s secrets proved to be a box office disaster, with many of the same reviews for The Crimes of Grindelwald being level with it. The franchise was supposed to consist of five films in total, but Fantastic Beasts 4 it will probably never happen.

It seems Dumbledore’s Secrets failed to save the franchise, and the Harry Potter instead, the franchise will move forward with a new Max series from the original books, ignoring this phase in the story’s life. Although Mads Mikkelsen was a particular highlight of the third Fantastic Beasts film, his standout performance was unfortunately not enough to save the film, and the Harry Potter the prequel franchise died a quiet death.

Grindelwald never felt as imposing as Voldemort

Voldemort always felt more threatening

One of the biggest reasons why fans haven’t been able to get as attached to the Fantastic Beasts series like they did with the Harry Potter films was because there was a lack of inherent danger. Although Grindelwald possessed a threat and had almost an entire government system working for him, Voldemort was always more imposing. Both had followers, but Voldemort’s evil rule over his Death Eaters always seemed more dangerous than Grindelwald’s charismatic leadership. of your followers.

There is also the idea that Voldemort tried to kill a baby, and his main goal was to kill a child to become all-powerful; making Voldemort’s target a boy made him seem even more dangerous. THE Fantastic Beasts the franchise seemed almost obsessed with showing Grindelwald and Dumbledore’s relationship, and this made the films very different. However, at the same time, it made Grindelwald feel less threatening than Voldemort did throughout the original franchise.

THE Fantastic Beasts the films went out of their way to make Grindelwald a legitimate antagonist and cast some incredible actors, from Colin Farrell to Johnny Depp to Mads Mikkelsen. Their great talent allowed them to deliver great performances as the film’s villains. However, the scripts and battles in which he was involved made him an inferior wizard to Voldemort, even though Grindelwald was considered much more powerful. The franchise could have been successful if Fantastic Beasts made Grindelwald as threatening as Voldemort.

Which Grindelwald actor was the best?

It all comes down to Mikkelsen vs. Depp

There’s a lot of debate online about which Grindelwald actor was the best. Firstly, it’s easy to eliminate Jaime Campbell Bower and Michael Byrne from consideration, as they did little other than appear in flashbacks. It is also mostly seen that fans and critics removed Colin Farrell from consideration, as he never played “Grindelwald” and instead played the government official that Grindelwald pretended to be. That leaves Johnny Depp and Mads Mikkelsen.

It seems most fans preferred Mikkelsen in the role. In a Reddit thread discussing Grindelwald. After one person mentioned that Johnny Depp is better at playing “crazy” characters, Redditor Andregreco99 wrote that Grindelwald is not who he really is:

“For me the point is, and it always seemed that way in the books, that Grindelwald is not a mad man. He is a ruthless, violent, and cruel politician who is also extremely charismatic, but in the “trust me and my vision of the future and we will ensure a better world for our community” more than “I want to hear what sound the world makes as it burns, who is with me?!” kind of villain.”

However, there are others who enjoyed Depp’s charisma in Fantastic Beasts but Mikkelsen is more”dangerous performance.” Redditor Wise-Recognition8990 wrote: “Depp was brilliant in CoG in terms of the charismatic side of the character (although the look was strange). Mikkelsen was in his scenes with Albus, and in the scenes where Grindelwald does bad things and is more violent.“It seems most fans preferred Mikkelsen in the end, with SaintMilitant writing,”Mads makes me buy the character.“