Role Call: Steampunks and Secret Gardens

by · June 12, 2016

In this week’s Casting News, we get our first look at Nat Tena’s FishWitch, find ourselves time traveling with a Death Eater, and getting hushed by Madam Pince … in Braavos?!? All that and more in this week’s MuggleNet Role Call!

Perhaps one of our favorite Potter cast members to meet and mingle with is one who had no speaking lines in the actual films. Actor Jon Campling, best known by the fandom as the Death Eater who stops the Hogwarts Express with a single hand gesture, is quite the busy guy! Between filming music videos and having his likeness used for video games, he is an accomplished actor who never fails to entertain. This week, Jon shared his 2013 short film Step Forward, where he plays a steampunk time traveler. Check it out!

For those Potter fans who also love Game of Thrones, we hope you are paying attention this season. A familiar face made an appearance, in Braavos and who knows if we shall see her again. Sally Mortemore, a.k.a. Hogwarts Librarian Madam Pince, posted a few pics from her time on set last September, which you can see here:

Mortemore also wished the newest generation of Potter actors a great show ahead of the first preview of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Part 1:

We’ll get to see a little more of Paul Thornley’s (Ron Weasley, Cursed Child) acting chops as his previous film, musical thriller London Road, has been picked up by BBC Worldwide North America. He isn’t the only Potter alum in the film – Kate Fleetwood, who portrayed Reg Catermole’s wife, Mary, also stars. The film is slated for a September release and features the talents of Olivia Coleman and Tom Hardy as well. Both Paul and Kate previously acted in the original National Theatre stage play of the same name, which is based on the true story of the 2006 Stephen Wright killings in Ipswich. Here’s a quick synopsis:

The pic follows the residents of London Road, who struggle for years with frequent soliciting and curb-crawling on their street. When a local resident is convicted of a string of murders, the community grapples with what it means to be at the epicenter of this tragedy.

Last week, we brought you the poster for Nat Tena’s (Nymphadora Tonks) stop motion film FishWitch. This week, we have the trailer! Take a look below!

Harry Potter producer David Heyman joins Cursed Child writer Jack Thorne in a retelling of the classic tale The Secret Garden. Announced this week, Heyman will produce while Thorne will adapt the novel for film. For those unfamiliar with the tale and its many incarnations, we provide an overview of the story here:

Charting the tale of one Mary Lennox, ‘The Secret Garden’ revolves around the wide-eyed, 10-year-old girl who is sent to live with an uncle after her parents have died in a cholera outbreak in India. Initially sour and rude, Mary begins to explore the grounds of her uncle’s estate and befriends a robin. Mary hears of a locked-away, hidden garden. Together with the robin, she finds the key and enters the garden only to discover it is more magical than she could have ever imagined.

Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) has been all over the news this week! First, it was announced that she has joined a sequel to Ocean’s Eleven featuring a cast of all women. She joins Mindy Kaling, Sandra Bullock, and Cate Blanchett. While they are calling this a reboot, it appears that it is really a sequel with a working title of Ocean’s Ocho, with Bullock starring as the sister of Danny Ocean, played in the original films by George Clooney.

With help from her right-hand woman (Blanchett, playing the equivalent of Brad Pitt’s Rusty), she’ll form a team of thieves to steal a necklace from the Met Ball in order to frame a villainous gallery owner. Shooting is expected to begin this fall.

Elsewhere, Bonham Carter is set to star and produce a miniseries based on the life of Mazie Gordon-Phillips and her 2015 novel, Saint Mazie. She was “a fascinating woman who played a crucial role in the lives of New York City’s homeless residents in the early 20th century.”

Katherine Waterston (Porpentina Goldstein) is in talks to join a heist film alongside Hilary Swank. According to Entertainment Weekly, “Logan Lucky is to tell the story of two brothers trying to pull off a robbery at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina.” The film is currently in pre-production, with a fall 2017 release date.

That’s all for this week’s MuggleNet Casting News! It’s been a busy week, trying to #KeepTheSecrets. Make sure to check out our spoiler-free review of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by staffer Devin Storment!