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South China Morning Post
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Aydee Tie

Meet Claudia Kim, the Korean actress who plays Nagini in ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald’

South Korean Claudia Kim, whose character’s identity in the forthcoming film ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ has just been revealed. Photo: Instagram

The final trailer for the highly anticipated new fantasy film, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald, with a screenplay by J. K. Rowling, has been released, and speculation about the character Nagini’s true nature has been answered.

She is a Maledictus – someone who is a carrier of a blood curse that will ultimately transform them into a beast permanently.

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If you haven’t yet seen it, watch the trailer to catch a glimpse of actress Claudia Kim, who you will see transform into Nagini.

So who exactly is Kim?

Here are five things you need to know about the actress.

1. She’s a South Korean actress

View this post on Instagram

Busan International Film Festival. #BIFF #DonnaKaran #ClaudiaKim #수현 #부산영화제

A post shared by C L A U D I A 수현 (@claudiashkim) on Nov 20, 2014 at 5:18am PST

Although she spent six years of her childhood in the United States, Kim, also known as Kim Soo-hyun, was born in South Korea on January 25 1985.

Before securing roles in a number of Western films, she was a South Korean television actress and model (she’s 177cm tall!). She made her entertainment debut when she won a modelling contest in 2005.

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2. She’s appeared in some big American productions

You may recognise Kim as Doctor Cho from Marvel’s superhero film Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), or from the dark fantasy The Dark Tower (2017), where she played Arra Champignon alongside Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey.

Viewers of Netflix’s Marco Polo, will know her as Khutulun – the most famous daughter of Kaidu, a cousin of Kublai Khan.

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3. She enjoys film marathons – just like the rest of us

View this post on Instagram

@rickyune watching youuuuuuu #007marathon #dieanotherday #아빠 어린 #릭윤 이쁘네~

A post shared by C L A U D I A 수현 (@claudiashkim) on Aug 18, 2018 at 4:28pm PDT

Anyone who follows her on social media will be able to tell you that she loves films. She even recently “marathoned” some James Bond films in support of her friend and co-star from Marco Polo, Ricky Yune, who is also a South Korean entertainer in America.

4. She kicks butt pretty hard

Everyone’s first introduction to Kim in Marco Polo is in a fight scene. Her first introduction to the character Marco was also a fight scene – which turned into something steamier.

Kim says the shooting was not awkward and felt very natural to her.

5. She’s pretty good at keeping secrets

Kim’s role in the forthcoming Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald film was always as a Maledictus, but she had to keep her character’s name a secret until recently – and had a very emotional time when it was finally revealed.

Despite all the fan theories posted online, nothing was leaked so the cast were able to do reveal the secret themselves to fans.

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