Eddie Redmayne: 10 Rare Facts About The 2016 Oscar-Nominated Actor


Eddie Redmayne rose to fame quickly when he played the role of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

This year, he is once again a nominated actor, this time for his role in The Danish Girl.

There are a number of interesting facts about this talented actor that most people probably don’t know.

1. International Business Times reports that Eddie Redmayne didn’t have to audition for his role in The Theory of Everything. The role was simply offered to him, which Redmayne found terrifying.

“At least when you’ve auditioned, they’ve seen some sense of what you can do. I was thrilled and instantaneously nervous.”

2. Even though he was predicted to win the Oscar for Best Actor for The Theory of Everything, Eddie Redmayne was not nervous on Oscar night.

“I feel, like, relatively relaxed. Last time I was here I knew I had to sing… Just before I went on to sing, there was a guy with a headset who was like, ‘That’s a billion people watching.'”

3. When it came to playing the role of Stephen Hawking, Eddie Redmayne had to lose 15 pounds and prepare for the physically demanding role.

“So I’d spent months basically doing sit-ups and eating chicken, and then the day that it finished, I started prepping for The Theory of Everything. I was like, ‘Please, it’s the only time in my life that I’ve ever got close to abs! Can’t I just walk down a beach?'”

Watch Redmayne speak about preparing for the role in The Theory of Everything.

4. Eddie Redmayne’s wife was late for their wedding; but, while everyone else was stressed out, he was relaxed.

“Her grandfather had to be sort of held back from going and summoning her. Everyone else was really stressed, but I was kind of relaxed, knowing that she’d never been on time for pretty much anything in her life.”

5. According to Moviefone, Eddie Redmayne went old-school when he proposed to Hannah Bagshawe. He actually went to her father first, to ask him for permission to marry his daughter.

6. Eddie Redmayne is colorblind, so his wife frequently picks out his clothes for him. However, he does have a favorite color, International Klein Blue.

7. Digital Spy reports that Eddie Redmayne met his wife, Hannah Bagshawe, while attending Eton College. Redmayne was participating in a charity fashion show and Bagshawe noticed him, when none of the other girls did.

“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.”

8. When Eddie Redmayne studied at Eton College, he was in the same year as Prince William. They were both prefects at the school.

9. Eddie Redmayne lied when he auditioned for his role on BBC’s Elizabeth I. Apparently, he told the director, Tom Hooper, he could ride a horse, but when they started shooting, Redmayne lost control of the horse and many of the crew were nearly killed. Hooper grabbed a megaphone and shouted, “You’re a f***ing liar, Redmayne!” Eddie Redmayne then had to go to riding school.

10. Boomsbeat reports that Stephen Hawking was so impressed and convinced by Eddie Redmayne’s portrayal of him that Hawking emailed director James Marsh and told him there were times when watching the movie that he truly thought he was watching himself.

[Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]

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