'Fantastic Beasts 2' Cast News: What Daniel Radcliffe Thinks of the Johnny Depp Casting Controversy

By Janna Dela Cruz, Christian Post Contributor Sunday, January 14, 2018

Harry Potter himself Daniel Radcliffe has commented on the controversy surrounding Johnny Depp's casting on "Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes of Grindelwald."

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he admitted that it is a "very hard thing" for him since he wants to be supportive of the producers who "gave me a great start in life and an amazing job."

Radcliffe did say that he understands where people who are outraged about Depp playing the titular character Gellert Grindelwald are coming from.

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Fans are not happy that the actor is not only getting to start in the film, but also the main antagonist role, in light of his ex-wife Amber Heard's claims of domestic abuse when his career should already see its end like how things turned out for sexual predators like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey.

I can see why people are frustrated with the response that they were given from that ... I'm not saying anything that anybody hasn't already said — and this is a weird analogy to draw — [but] in the NFL, there are lots of players arrested for smoking weed and there is other people's behavior that goes way beyond that and it's tolerated because they're very famous players. I suppose the thing I was struck by was, we did have a guy who was reprimanded for weed on the [original Potter] film, essentially, so obviously what Johnny has been accused of is much greater than that.

The actor was referring to Jamie Waylett, who played Hogwarts bully Vincent Crabbe. Waylett starred in all films except the last two after he was arrested for growing 10 marijuana plants in 2009. In 2011, he was also arrested for packing a homemade bomb during the London riots that year. The actor's firing is often pointed out by fans who want Depp out of the film.

"Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes of Grindelwald" director David Yates, J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. have all responded to the backlash, all suggesting that they would not fire Depp.