What do you think would be the most inconvenient phobia for you to develop at this stage of your life?
A fear of interviews.
Which cinematic villain or antagonist have you always felt the most empathy for?
Beetlejuice, he just wants the house to himself! I usually empathize with the bad guy. Good movies rarely have a villain with no redeemable characteristics or moments where they question everything, however briefly. I’m thinking of Charlize Theron in Monster or Jack Nicholson in The Shining, Darth Vader etc. Moments when the armour cracks and we catch a glimpse of the person that once was. I should state for the record that I don’t want to go on a murderous rampage or take over the universe…
If you found out the world was ending tomorrow at an exact time, what would your last words be?
Probably “Hey, what time is it?”
Money notwithstanding, if it were completely up to you, how much would you want to work per week/ month/ year?
6 months on, 1 month off would be a good cycle I think. It was the reverse ratio at times in my career and I nearly lost my mind, so anything but that. When a great project comes up I don’t really care how much I’ve been working before then, I just want to do it.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you ‘grew up’?
A marine biologist. I didn’t really know what one was, but I wanted to swim with sharks and save whales from nets.
(L) Jacket, top & trousers by JOHN VARVATOS. (R) Jacket by BELSTAFF. Jumper by FOLK.
In Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, what word or spell did you come across that’s the most difficult to pronounce?
I’m only a lowly No-Maj so I left the spells to Eddie and Katherine, but I’d give anything to be able to whisper Lumos Maxima when I’ve lost my keys or something.
Inspired by Bob Dylan, what award would you make no public comment upon winning?
An Oscar. No, I’m kidding, give me one!
If you could swap one species into extinction with one Fantastic Beasts species into existence, which would you swap?
Oh I’d swap in a Niffler for any of our species: panda, snow leopard… Man – don’t care. I just want a Niffler.
One of your upcoming projects, The Terror, is an anthology drama/ horror series focusing on a naval expedition beset by an ominous creature. The anthology format for television continues to gain in popularity, what is a film you admire that you think could be interesting to reformat as an anthology series?
Reformatting films has been outrageously successful in some cases – Fargo is an amazing piece of work. But I think the future of the anthology series lies more in original content. Not needing to write 5-7 seasons of a linear show is giving writers and studios much more room to experiment with genre, style and casting. True Detective lead the way a few years ago, and hopefully The Terror is going to change game again. David Kajganich, Soo Hugh and their team have written some incredible scripts.
If you could play any creature or monster in film history in a spectacular remake, what would you want to play?
I would like to play all of the Gremlins.
Ronan Raftery can be seen in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in cinemas now globally.
As told to Paul Vaughan for TPJ
Creative Director & Photographer: Jessie Craig
Stylist: Christopher Preston
Grooming: Oliver Daw
