Brooklyn native Dan Fogler (46) already fought three times on the side of good with the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald alongside Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) and Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore’s Secret (2022). For fans of a more gritty spectacle, he went into the zombie series The Walking Dead (2022) as Luke. The artist, who received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, also creates successful comics, such as Moon Lake. Above all, he was also a guest of the ongoing Comic Con Prague 2023 on Friday and Saturday, where he was also interviewed by Blesk.
The famous director Coppola is played by Fogler in the series The Offer, which tells the story of the creation of the legendary films The Godfather.
Autor: Paramount Pictures
The first question is clear: Have you already managed to see something in Prague and how do you like it here?
Dan: “I’ve been here less than a day so far, arriving Thursday evening. But Prague is truly legendary! I had to take my wife and children too, because they really wanted to see the city. Even though Saturday was rainy, at least we could see the Castle and St. Vitus from the window, amazing. I look forward to seeing it up close. But even in the rain, Prague is like a beautiful film shot.”
You are known here as an actor, but you have also succeeded in musicals, in dubbing, you are a director, a musician, you create comics… Which profession is closest to you?
Dan: “I’m a happy guy because I get to do all the things I loved to do as a kid. Acting is basically like playing outside. Everyone is an actor in their own way. All of you have ever played different characters and adventures with your friends. And comics. As a boy I drew, my brother made up stories, then we stitched it together and had our first notebooks. They played Dungeons and Dragons and Marvel Super Heroes… I was a typical 80’s kid who is into a combination of everything. But if I had to choose, it would be acting.”
Dan Fogler has already played Jacob Kowalski in Fantastic Beasts three times.
Autor: Warner Bros. / Vertical Ent.
Let’s go to Fantastic Beasts. Last year before the premiere of the new sequel, when asked by The Flash “what fantastic animal would you like in the real world”, you said Polovida (a magical ape-like creature with the ability to be invisible) so you could go to the casinos and win with him. Does it still apply?
Dan: “Sure. Halflings are very practical, they don’t need an invisibility cloak. So playing cards in the casino with him by your side is a no-brainer. He can also see into the future, which would be useful, for example, at races. He could tell me what will be needed in a year. It would be nice to have certainties.’
In the last movie, you got a magic wand for a while. If you really could control magic, is there anything you would change in the world?
Dan: “I don’t have to think about it! I would instantly conjure up peace on the whole earth. Constant well-being, so that everyone is well and life is fun. No one would have to worry about their health, their lives. No war, that would be nice. Just so we don’t get bored…”
Now it has been announced that a new Harry Potter series will begin filming for television. What character would you like to play in the original story?
Dan: “People are so in love with the original movies that the idea of a new narrative may seem strange to some, but I believe they will pull it off and it will be amazing. What if Jacob appeared there in some time loop?! (laughs) Nope. I would choose Hagrid, to play his younger version for example. Um, I’d like to be tall at least once, that would be nice, yeah!’
Watch the trailer and trailers from Fantastic Beasts:
Dan Fogler has already fought the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald three times on the side of good alongside Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts movies. • VIDEOS Vertical Ent., Warner Bros.
As Jakob Kowalski, you fight magic, as Luke fights zombies. Is it the diversity that you enjoy in acting?
Dan: “Exactly. I’ve always enjoyed fooling around and – having fun. I wasn’t the best student, but I was good at acting. Once, after a school play, my art teacher, Mr. Waithe, came up and said, ‘Fogle, you’re funny, man.’ I asked him if I could do it as a job. And he: ‘Sure, I’m sure’. I’m thinking about him. He gave me the courage to take on all those roles and the stage.”
As a film actor, you don’t have much opportunity to see the reactions of the audience in the cinema immediately. How do you enjoy meeting fans live, for example at Comic Con?
Dan: “That’s part of life’s miracles. The opportunity to connect with that common energy, tune in to one frequency and have fun with each other.”
You have a lot of interests and hobbies, as well as a lot of work. Where do you find time for your wife and two daughters?
Dan: “It’s hard, but once you have kids, your priorities change. We live together in London, and I’d rather bet that I wouldn’t move from Brooklyn. My family comes to see me on set, and that’s great. That’s how Francis Ford Coppola, who I play in the series The Offer, did, he always had his family close by. In addition, my children enjoy my work, they want to go to the premieres and Comic Con with me. Now we are reading Harry Potter together. I quickly enjoy it and save it for the days when they become teenagers and start to feel ashamed of me.”
Did your childhood wishes come true, is there anything you would like to say to your younger self in the past?
Dan: “Absolutely nothing. Maybe thanks to how the ten-year-old Dan gradually turned me into a happy guy.’