Jacob Kowalski

Jacob Kowalski is a recurring character in the Fantastic Beasts movies. He first encounters magic and the world of wizards and witches when he goes to the Steen National Bank to obtain a loan to start a bakery business. However, he is unsuccessful in getting a loan as the bank thinks he needs more collateral should his business fail. 

However, on his way back from the bank, Jacob Kowalski’s suitcase, containing his baked goodies, was exchanged with the suitcase of British wizard Newton Scamander, who had just come to New York City. This instance was Jacob’s first time meeting Newt Scamander. This suitcase contained many magical beasts, most of which immediately escaped when Jacob opened the suitcase unknowingly at this house.

Jacob Kowalski is among the most important characters in the Fantastic Beasts franchise and the magical world. He is among the most important Muggle or No-Maj characters in the Harry Potter wizarding world. He may have a relative named Quentin Kowalski in the Harry Potter universe. Quentin played Quidditch for the American National Team in the 2014 Quidditch World Cup.

Jacob Kowalski is played by the American actor and comedian Dan Fogler. Newt Scamander is played by Eddie Redmayne, Queenie by Alison Sudol, Katherine Waterston plays Tina, and Johnny Depp plays Grindelwald in the first two movies, and Mads Mikkelsen in the last movie. Jacob appears in all three movies of the Fantastic Beasts film series, including Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

Etymology and Physical Description

Jacob Kowalski’s first name comes from the name of Jacob, the son of Isaac and Rebekah, the third person to have held a covenant with god in the Abrahamic Monotheistic religions. His name meant the “holder of the heel” or supplanter, which is true as he is popular for holding his elder twin brother Esau’s heel at birth. Later, he was known for seeking the eldest son’s birthright from Esau.

This name is taken from the Late Latin Jacobus. Jacob is also a reduced English form of the name James. Also, Jan Kowalski is the Polish equivalent of the American John Smith. 

Jacob Kowalski was a man in his late twenties of average height. At the beginning of the movie series, he seems to lack self-esteem, especially around wizards and witches. He may have had an exceptional memory, as Jacob’s memory was not erased despite him standing under the rain that was supposed to obliviate him.

Early Life and Steen National Bank

Jacob Kowalski was born in Poland and learned about baking from his grandmother as a young child. He fought in the First World War and was stationed in France. Jacob was a veteran of the First World War, more specifically, a combat veteran for the United States Army and a part of the American Expeditionary Forces. He showcased his physical prowess several times in the movie series. He was proficient in self-defense, emerging victorious in the physical confrontation with the goblin Gnarlak by landing only a single punch on him. 

However, despite the ceasefire, he was unaware of the war’s end and remained in France much longer. The extended length of his military service cost him his employment, and his late return made it difficult for him to get well-paying jobs. He had a brother who was killed in the war. 

He likely fled to the United States of America from Poland with his family members soon after. Since he was fighting the Germans in the war, who were responsible for the partitions of Poland, he had to leave the country. He worked in the Moreton Dale Canning Factory in America for a while. Still, he dreamed of becoming a baker and went to the Steen National Bank, hoping to get a loan. His family was among the present Polish Americans in the USA. It is also possible that Jacob and his family immigrated earlier, during the largest immigration wave to the USA.

Here, Jacob Kowalski came across Newt Scamander, who also carried a suitcase similar to Jacob’s. Newt left an Occamy egg on the chair he was sitting in, and Jacob saw the egg and tried to return it to Newt. Newt had suddenly walked away after a Niffler escaped from Newt’s case. However, he was called into the banker Gilbert Bingley’s office and went there first. 

Jacob Kowalski presented his case for a bank loan, but the Manager refused to procure a loan. Disappointed, he left the office. He saw the Niffler escaping Newt’s case and called out to Newt, who used the Summoning charm to get the egg and Jacob towards him.

Newt’s Niffler had escaped from his suitcase and eventually broke into the bank’s high-security vault. Newt and Jacob Kowalski also entered the vault, and after a while, Manager Bingley came there. He misunderstood their intentions and assumed Jacob and Newt were trying to steal money after rejecting his loan application. He saw the pilfered deposit boxes used by the Niffler and, therefore, sounded the alarm in haste, warning them to stay where they were.

Newt cast the full body-bind curse on the Manager with his wand and then disapparated with Jacob outside the bank. Jacob was shocked, as he had no experience with magic, and ran away after hitting Newt with his suitcase. Due to the similar appearances of the suitcases, the two exchanged their suitcases, and Jacob carried Newt’s suitcase, which contained Newt’s collection of magical creatures.

Jacob Kowalski in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 

After leaving the Steen National Bank, Jacob Kowalski went to his house at 435 Rivington Street in New York. He opened Newt’s suitcase, thinking it was his, which caused loose animals all over New York. An escaped Murtlap also bit Jacob on its way out, and he was found partly unconscious when Newt Scamander and Tina Goldstein came to Jacob’s apartment later.

Jacob Kowalski was sick due to the Murtlap bite, and half his house was destroyed. Tina took Newt and Jacob to her place, where Jacob first saw Queenie Goldstein, his future wife. Newt and Jacob later went into Newt’s briefcase, where Jacob was perplexed by the complexity of the inside of Newt’s suitcase. He saw a lot of Newt Scamander’s beasts and even got to feed some of them. However, the two searched for them in New York since many beasts were missing. 

They found the missing Erumpent in Central Park. Newt tried to lure the Erumpent using Erumpent musk. Still, it was distracted by Jacob accidentally spilling a lot of Erumpent musk over his body after an escaped seal threw a fish at him. However, after constant attempts, Jacob and Newt could put the Erumpent back in Newt’s suitcase.

Tina takes Newt and Jacob to the MACUSA headquarters inside the suitcase. Still, in no time, Tina and Newt are accused of letting loose the Obscurial that is causing havoc in New York by Percival Graves. They are both sentenced to death. Newt saves himself and Tina in the last moment, and they, along with Jacob, are transported out of the MACUSA headquarters by Queenie Goldstein. 

Newt, Tina, Queenie, and Jacob try to stop Credence Barebone from becoming an Obscurial. However, they are unsuccessful in doing the same, and the Aurors from MACUSA end up dueling with Credence Barebone, who has turned into an Obscurial and is wreaking havoc in the city. He is finally blown to ashes. However, he returns in the later installments of the movie series, proving that he doesn’t die in this duel.

After this duel, the Aurors, Newt, Tina, and the others surround Percival Graves, who they suspect is hiding something. Newt helps the Aurors catch him and then uses the Revelio charm to discover who he is. It is revealed that Percival Graves is Gellert Grindelwald in disguise. 

The MACUSA Aurors take him into custody, and the President of MACUSA, Seraphina Picquery, thanks Newt and apologizes for suspecting him. She also asks for his help in the memory modification of an entire city, which witnessed all the havoc and duels caused by the Obscurial running rampant around the city. 

Newt asks the thunderbird Frank to use his weather manipulation powers to mix a vial of Swooping Evil into the rain which causes the city to get obliviated. Jacob, too, since he is a No-Maj, is asked to be obliviated, and with a heavy heart, he walks away from Queenie, Newt, and Tina into the rain. 

Newt left Jacob Kowalski some Occamy eggs, using which Jacob was able to build “Kowalski Quality Baked Goods,” where he baked pastries, cookies, cakes, and many other delicacies. All of these bore a striking resemblance to the shapes of the magical beasts he had encountered in Newt’s suitcase. This incident reveals that Jacob is not completely obliviated. He soon sees Queenie in his store, and the two reunite.

Jacob Kowalski in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Jacob and Queenie arrived in London and were at Newt’s house when the latter entered his house suspiciously. Jacob seemed to be in a very joyous mood, and they told Newt they had come to announce their engagement. However, Newt soon realized that Queenie had placed Jacob in an entrancement and he persuaded her to lift it. Her use of magic awakened Jacob from his trance, and he was unaware of everything Queenie claimed he was aware of. Queenie stormed out of Newt’s house, dejected, and disappeared from the street.

Jacob stays with Newt, and the two later visit London, where they meet Yusuf Kama, and Newt meets Albus Dumbledore. Jacob later visits Nicolas Flamel, who warns of the great tragedy that will befall wizardkind at the Mausoleum.

Some believe that Credence Barebone is the long-lost brother of Leta Lestrange and the son of Dark Wizard Corvus Lestrange. However, Grindelwald reveals to Credence that he is Aurelius Dumbledore, a member of the Dumbledore family. 

Grindelwald holds a rally in the Mausoleum, where a fight erupts. Queenie decides to join Grindelwald’s side as he promises to change the Rappaport’s Law, which prevents her from marrying Jacob, a No-Maj. Leta Lestrange sacrifices herself during this battle. Nicolas Flamel and a few others help Newt and Theseus Scamander get rid of a strange fire that Grindelwald conjures.

Jacob Kowalski in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Jacob was heartbroken when Queenie left them all and decided to join hands with the Dark Wizard Grindelwald. Grindelwald convinced her that he would help her marry Jacob and ended Rappaport’s law, which did not allow marriage between a witch or wizard and a No-Maj. He stayed in his bakery and worked there until Eulalie Hicks persuaded him to join her, Theseus Scamander, Yusuf Kama, Newt Scamander, and Bunty Broadacre to help Albus Dumbledore to prevent Gellert Grindelwald from cheating in the Walk of the Qilin ceremony.

Jacob decided to join the team assigned to prevent Grindelwald from becoming the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. Jacob had had many adventures in the magical world and genuinely enjoyed his time there. Jacob visits Hogwarts along with Newt and sits at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall, eating and talking to a few students.

Albus Dumbledore and Newt presented Jacob with a wand. This wand, made of snakewood and without a core, would later be used to trick Grindelwald into thinking that Jacob was a threat. Jacob eventually used it to fake an assassination attempt on Grindelwald. He may also have used it to prevent being identified as a No-Maj during the Global Wizarding War.

During the Walk of the Qilin, Jacob reunites with Queenie, and the two eventually get married. Newt and Tina eventually get married as well. One of Jacob’s relatives, Luna Lovegood, appears in the Harry Potter series, including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Luna marries Rolf Scamander, the grandson of Newt and Tina.

Jacob Kowalski – Another Chosen One

Jacob Kowalski’s character could be more noticeable in the true sense of how movie protagonists usually enter the stage. However, his character has a very interesting arc and is subtly the chosen one. Unlike Harry Potter, who has not known about magic for eleven years since his birth and is then introduced to the world of magic and told that he is a savior destined to protect all wizardkind, Jacob Kowalski is just the most normal person one will find in theory.

However, in time, he is of great skill, integrity, and confidence – in short supply in most characters like Jacob. For one, his girlfriend Mildred leaves him after he is unsuccessful in procuring a loan for his bakery. Secondly, he is confused, unsure, and scared for most of the first movie because he is suddenly in a world that is too surreal for his imagination as he retorts. However, this exact vulnerability that he displays undoubtedly makes him a very confident and attractive character. 

Queenie is drawn to him and eventually goes to great lengths to marry him. Her interest in him exists because he can confidently be vulnerable and is very interesting to her, especially because she reads minds. Men like Jacob who do not hide their so-called “flaws” are rare. 

FAQs