Eddie Redmayne

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Birthday:

6 January 1982, London, England, UK

Birth Name:

Edward John David Redmayne

Height:

184 cm

British actor Eddie Redmayne is the first, and thus far only, millennial male to have won an acting Oscar (for The Theory of Everything (2014)).Edward John David Redmayne was born and raised in London, England, the son of Patricia (Burke) and Richard Charles Tunstall Redmayne, a businessman. His great-grandfather was Sir Richard Augustine Studdert Redmayne, a noted civil and mining engineer. He has English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh ancestry. Redmayne is the only member of his family to follow a career in acting, and also modeled during his teen years. He was educated at Eton College before going on to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied History of Art. Encouraged by his parents, Redmayne took drama lessons from a young age. His first stage appearance was in the Sam Mendes production of "Oliver!", in London's West End. He played a workhouse boy. Acting continued through school and university, including performing with the National Youth Music Theatre.Redmayne's first professional stage performance came in 2002 at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre where he played Viola in "Twelfth Night". In 2004, he won the prestigious Evening Standard Outstanding Newcomer Award for his working in Edward Albee's play "The Goat". Further stage successes followed, and in 2009, he starred in John Logan's "Red" at the Donmar Warehouse in London. He won huge critical acclaim for his role, winning an Oliver Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The play transferred to Broadway in 2010, and Redmayne went on to win a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play.Alongside his stage career, Redmayne has worked steadily in television and film. Notable projects include Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd (2006), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Tess of the D'Urbervilles (2008), The Pillars of the Earth (2010) and My Week with Marilyn (2011). He co-starred as Marius Pontmercy in the musical Les Misérables (2012). He played scientist Stephen Hawking in the biographical drama The Theory of Everything (2014), opposite Felicity Jones, as Stephen's wife Jane Hawking. For his performance, Redmayne won multiple awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor. As such, he became the first man born in the 1980s to win an acting Oscar. He received further critical acclaim for his portrayal of Lili Elbe, one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery, in The Danish Girl (2015). For his performance, he was nominated for multiple awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor.In 2014, Redmayne married publicist Hannah Bagshawe. Show less «

[on being an actor] I think all actors have a similar deal. You want some people who understand. Although it looks great - and is great - th...Show more »

[on being an actor] I think all actors have a similar deal. You want some people who understand. Although it looks great - and is great - there are also shoddy moments when you feel really rotten, and when it's going well, you're not allowed to complain. Your actor friends will understand the nuances of a painful director, or the loneliness of being... okay, in a beautiful hotel room somewhere exotic. But you're by yourself for six months, and you're thinking, "Oh God, I wish I could share it with someone." I'm trying to buy a house and set some sense of roots because otherwise you're constantly chasing one job after another, and you look back and you've had all these very extraordinary experiences with extraordinary people, but there's not a line of continuity to it. [Interview with Fran Babb, November 2011] Show less «

[on the process of learning lines] That's what's been keeping me up at night. What I love about this, though, is that Daniel Day-Lewis and R...Show more »

[on the process of learning lines] That's what's been keeping me up at night. What I love about this, though, is that Daniel Day-Lewis and Ryan Gosling have to learn lines, too. Do you know what I mean? However, genius Ryan Gosling is on the ukulele, however brilliant other people are, it's reassuring to know that even Ben Kingsley has to walk around his room learning lines. It's the great leveller. Show less «

[on his favorite color] The color that Yves Klein does. Wet paint has a luminosity that dies when it dries and it loses the gloss. So Yves c...Show more »

[on his favorite color] The color that Yves Klein does. Wet paint has a luminosity that dies when it dries and it loses the gloss. So Yves created this color scientifically that retains that luminosity. He was a big showman, so he got it copyrighted. The color is called IKB-International Klein Blue. And it sounds all bullshit-y and ridiculous, but when you stand in front of those canvases, the color is sublime and dumbfounding. So that specific color is my favorite color in the world. Are you going to follow this up with a colorblind question? (No, wasn't planning on it, but if you want to discuss it. [interviewer vs. salisbury]) No, I talk passionately about that color and then people go "But you're colorblind." And I go, "I know. I don't know what I see but I see it and I like it.". Show less «

I had auditioned to play in Elizabeth I with Helen Mirren. This thing involved me horse riding, which I was asked in audition, whether I cou...Show more »

I had auditioned to play in Elizabeth I with Helen Mirren. This thing involved me horse riding, which I was asked in audition, whether I could do. And it is a common truth, that as an actor, if you're asked if you can horse ride, you say yes. But then cut to a month later, on the set in Lithuania, and there I am, on a horse, having not even set on a horse since I was four, blazing into things - I nearly killed myself and app. 43 Lithuanian extras. But at the audition of The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), they were like "So Eddie, how is your horse riding?" And I said, "Well, there is a little story I should probably tell you." And they sent me off on a two-month training camp, and I literally learned to horse ride! Show less «

When I started acting professionally, it was always theater. I'm so ignorant about films, but m getting slightly better - after having been ...Show more »

When I started acting professionally, it was always theater. I'm so ignorant about films, but m getting slightly better - after having been chastised by many co-actors. While we were shooting The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), Scarlett Johansson compiled a whole list of the films I should watch. Show less «

[on how Les Misérables (2012) was produced] Normally, if you were making an old-school movie musical, as a group of actors, we'd go i...Show more »

[on how Les Misérables (2012) was produced] Normally, if you were making an old-school movie musical, as a group of actors, we'd go into a studio, we'd record an album and then two months later, we'd arrive on set, and they would play the playback and we would mime alongside it. The problem with that is that you have to make all your acting choices three months before you've even met the actor you're working with. By recording it live, Tom [Hooper] is allowing us the spontaneity of normal film acting. Show less «

[If he has groupies following him] No, Benedict Cumberbatch is a mate of mine, and we did a charity show at the Old Vic together. There was ...Show more »

[If he has groupies following him] No, Benedict Cumberbatch is a mate of mine, and we did a charity show at the Old Vic together. There was this group of women outside the theatre who name themselves "the Cumberbitches" and follow him round the world. I have nothing like that. I really wouldn't know what to do with the situation. Show less «

[on achieving celebrity status] [On a plane recently] I fell asleep, and when I woke up the man next to me asked, "Excuse me, are you somebo...Show more »

[on achieving celebrity status] [On a plane recently] I fell asleep, and when I woke up the man next to me asked, "Excuse me, are you somebody important?" I must have looked confused. He explained: "I'm asking because the stewardesses came over and were watching you sleep.". Show less «

The director, Tom Hooper said "One last thing: Eddie, have you ever been on a horse?" I said "Yes." Cut to Lithuania, two weeks later, a hug...Show more »

The director, Tom Hooper said "One last thing: Eddie, have you ever been on a horse?" I said "Yes." Cut to Lithuania, two weeks later, a huge Elizabethan street, Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons are standing at this balcony, and there's Tom, cameras, rain machines, 50 Lithuanian extras, spurs attached to my feet, and I'm thinking, "At what point do I tell them that I have never, ever ridden a horse?" It was then that I realized a big part of the cliché of actors lying in auditions is that you should probably try to do the thing you said you can do before filming starts. Anyway, I nearly killed people as the horse galloped off at a hundred miles an hour after I gave it the slightest nudge. Tom came out with his megaphone and shouted, "You're a fucking liar, Redmayne!". Show less «

You only have those specific few hours to do a scene, and then you drive home and wait for six months to find out how it went. You can't go ...Show more »

You only have those specific few hours to do a scene, and then you drive home and wait for six months to find out how it went. You can't go back and put in a new idea. Show less «

I'm just one gigantic ball of rancid fear and self-consciousness. I'm entirely fueled by fear, so the fact that I knew it could be a catastr...Show more »

I'm just one gigantic ball of rancid fear and self-consciousness. I'm entirely fueled by fear, so the fact that I knew it could be a catastrophic disaster made me unable to sleep, and made me work quite hard. Show less «

Stephen Hawking is just effortlessly cool. He has this kind of shambolic confidence to him. I describe it as a "Lord of Misrule" quality - h...Show more »

Stephen Hawking is just effortlessly cool. He has this kind of shambolic confidence to him. I describe it as a "Lord of Misrule" quality - he's got a great sense of mischief. Show less «

You do that thing of trying to chase down the job, sounding incredibly confident because you never think you'll get it. And then you get off...Show more »

You do that thing of trying to chase down the job, sounding incredibly confident because you never think you'll get it. And then you get offered the job, and you have a moment of euphoria, and then you basically want to be sick for the first year. Show less «

It's really been bad on this press tour. I come home from trying to pretend to know about astronomy and physics all day and turn on The Real...Show more »

It's really been bad on this press tour. I come home from trying to pretend to know about astronomy and physics all day and turn on The Real Housewives. I've been a closet lover of faux-reality television since The Hills (2006). Show less «

[on how he met his wife] It was an embarrassing evening. Hannah was at a girls' school near Eton and they invited some of our guys over to d...Show more »

[on how he met his wife] It was an embarrassing evening. Hannah was at a girls' school near Eton and they invited some of our guys over to do a fashion show for charity. I had to walk across the stage topless - I was this pasty, freckly guy and when I came on the girls in the audience didn't take much notice of me, but I was followed by the best-looking boy in the school and all the girls erupted in cheers, which was emotionally scarring! I saw Hannah across the room at a party afterwards and she was very beautiful and very funny and she loves the arts and theatre just as I do, so we became friends. I'd finished rehearsals (for "Les Miserables") and was about to start shooting in a few days and so I said to myself, "I'm going to go to Florence for a quick break and write or do something like that." Before I went, Hannah and I were on a sort of date - we'd been good friends for 12 years - and we had a wonderful evening and I suddenly said, "You don't want to come to Florence with me next week, do you?" She said, "That's absurd, you don't mean it." I said, "Yes I do!" So our first proper date was in Florence. That was three years ago and we couldn't be happier. Show less «

The complicated thing with acting is that however brilliantly successful or good you are you are not in control. Unless you start producing ...Show more »

The complicated thing with acting is that however brilliantly successful or good you are you are not in control. Unless you start producing your own material or writing, even then it's a complicated world. Show less «

[2014] Buzz is worrying because it's an ephemeral thing. If you read the good stuff you also have to read the bad stuff. I try genuinely to ...Show more »

[2014] Buzz is worrying because it's an ephemeral thing. If you read the good stuff you also have to read the bad stuff. I try genuinely to just put my fingers in my ears and put one foot in front of the other. If you get caught up in listening to what too many people have to say that's where madness lies. Show less «

[on working with Julianne Moore in Savage Grace (2007)] I love that film. There are various people in my life that have fought for me and Ju...Show more »

[on working with Julianne Moore in Savage Grace (2007)] I love that film. There are various people in my life that have fought for me and Julianne was one of them. In the Savage Grace audition she said, "You even look like my son." She fought pretty hard for that. Show less «

[accepting the Best Actor Oscar for The Theory of Everything (2014)] Please know this, I am fully aware that I am a lucky, lucky man.

[on Eton College] The facilities are exceptional, and if you have an interest in anything - art, design, drama, sport, music - that school w...Show more »

[on Eton College] The facilities are exceptional, and if you have an interest in anything - art, design, drama, sport, music - that school will support you. Show less «

I had an incredibly privileged upbringing. When I was working in a pub and going to endless unsuccessful auditions, I could live at home ren...Show more »

I had an incredibly privileged upbringing. When I was working in a pub and going to endless unsuccessful auditions, I could live at home rent-free in London. That was the really great privilege. Show less «

[first meeting with Stephen Hawking] I was terrified, because I'd made choices, in terms of his physical decline and his character, that I c...Show more »

[first meeting with Stephen Hawking] I was terrified, because I'd made choices, in terms of his physical decline and his character, that I couldn't now go back on. So I was thinking "Oh God, what if I meet him and it changes everything, is this going to undermine all the work I've done?" Then his carers, who are lovely, took me in to meet him, and the first thing I do is over-apologize for the fact that someone who'd studied art history is playing this great scientific mind. And then, for some reason, I hear myself informing him he was born on January 8, because I've been talking about science and religion in our film and he makes this point in his book "My Brief History" about how he was born 300 years to the day after Galileo, and then I tell him I was born on January 6, I don't know why I say it, but I do, "so we're both Capricorns", and then the second it comes out of my mouth I'm like "Fuck. What did I just say to Stephen Hawking?" And there is this punishing four or five minutes as he blinks away. Finally, the voice says, with killer timing: "I am an astronomer, not an astrologer." And it's just, the idea that he might think the guy playing him in a biopic thinks he's Mystic Meg. I don't think I ever will get over it. Show less «

I'm someone who likes clarity, some sense of structure, and yet I've ended up in this peripatetic and crazy existence, in which you're at th...Show more »

I'm someone who likes clarity, some sense of structure, and yet I've ended up in this peripatetic and crazy existence, in which you're at the beck and call of everyone else. I think that's why family is so important to me. In the rest of my life, I'm trying to create something as rooted as possible. Show less «

[his first meeting with James Marsh] It was about four in the afternoon. James said, "What are you having?" I was trying to judge whether to...Show more »

[his first meeting with James Marsh] It was about four in the afternoon. James said, "What are you having?" I was trying to judge whether to have a proper drink or not. I asked for a beer. He came back with a coffee. I drank about five beers. He drank a lot of coffee. By the time we left, I was drunk and he was wired. Show less «

The year after I started (in Eton), a drama teacher arrived called Simon Dormandy, and he treated us like professional actors. He had high e...Show more »

The year after I started (in Eton), a drama teacher arrived called Simon Dormandy, and he treated us like professional actors. He had high expectations-you played women, you played old men, you were pushed outside your comfort zone. Everything you see about Eton from the outside is very structured: it's hierarchy and order, all uniforms and collars. But Simon encouraged freedom and playfulness and allowed you the room to make mistakes. Most importantly, for me, he taught us how to speak verse. I did Henry VI and Richard III there, and I suppose that's where it all began. In 2002, when I was still at Cambridge and Mark Rylance was putting on the 400th anniversary of Twelfth Night at Middle Temple Hall, the casting director from the Globe asked Simon if he knew any young actors who might play Viola. I auditioned and got the part. Show less «

It's impossible. If the first thing that is mentioned, before you've even done a day's work, is a comparison with the person who, as far as ...Show more »

It's impossible. If the first thing that is mentioned, before you've even done a day's work, is a comparison with the person who, as far as I'm concerned, is the greatest living screen actor [Day-Lewis] - then whatever you do, you've fallen short. Show less «

I didn't train to be an actor, I blagged my way into it, and I always feel I'm waiting to be found out. So whenever you get a job, there's a...Show more »

I didn't train to be an actor, I blagged my way into it, and I always feel I'm waiting to be found out. So whenever you get a job, there's a moment of euphoria and then the realisation, "Oh my God, you've got to do this." And you feel there should be some scaffolding. I've worked with people who have their preferred way of rehearsing guaranteed by clause in their contract. But it's not like I have a process, it's a very formless thing, and there's no one telling you, "This is what you're going to do and this is how you're going to do it.". Show less «

[on his favorite movie from 2014] Deux jours, une nuit (2014) - I think Marion Cotillard is breathtaking. In everything.

I'm passionate about painting and playing the piano - neither of which I'm very good at, but I find I'm at my most relaxed when I'm doing ei...Show more »

I'm passionate about painting and playing the piano - neither of which I'm very good at, but I find I'm at my most relaxed when I'm doing either of those things, precisely because they are focusing my mind on something else. My earnings from Les Misérables were spent on a piano. Show less «

There was a horrific moment a few years ago when I had to sing at the Oscars with the cast of Les Misérables, and I was given strict instru...Show more »

There was a horrific moment a few years ago when I had to sing at the Oscars with the cast of Les Misérables, and I was given strict instructions that Hannah, my wife, and I had to be on time, because the red carpet opened at a specific time. So we got in the car, and the whole of LA was shut down - it was the most extraordinary experience. As we neared the venue I called the publicist to say we were arriving, and she said, 'What? You're 45 minutes early. No one is here. Stop! Stop!' So we then had the rather surreal experience of standing outside in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard, next to a load of tour buses, waiting to get in. Show less «