Eddie Redmayne Reveals His ‘Star Wars’ Bomb And Shares His ‘Harry Potter’ Worries

By now, most know that Eddie Redmayne has taken on the starring role in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter offshoot, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but, before getting cast in Rowling’s new franchise, Eddie reveals that he had hoped to jump in on another famous franchise. Redmayne recently opened up about auditioning for the part of Kylo Ren in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. Obviously, Eddie didn’t get the part, but, as he shares details of that audition, the Fantastic Beasts star reveals just how terribly he bombed that audition. Redmayne also opens up about the Harry Potter role that he did get.

Could Eddie Redmayne Have Played The Big Villain In Star Wars: The Force Awakens?

In a recent interview shared by E! Online, Eddie Redmayne revealed that he auditioned for a role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, though, at the time, he wasn’t quite sure which character he would read for in the audition. Eddie says it was suspected that he would be auditioning for the role of Kylo Ren, which ultimately went to Adam Driver, but, as he was asked to read from Star Trek and Pride and Prejudice scripts, there was no way to know for certain.

“With films that top secret, they don’t give you the actual lines, so they give you a scene from Pride and Prejudice, but then they tell you you’re auditioning for the baddie,” explained Redmayne. “If you’re me, you then put some ridiculous voice on.”

Eddie further details that the audition was with Nina Gold, a casting director with whom he had previously worked many times. In that situation, Mr. Redmayne reveals he felt confident enough to offer up a variety of voices for the Star Wars: The Force Awakens role. Seeing that the audition was bombing, Redmayne looked to see if Ms. Gold was at all impressed with any of his performances.

“And she was just sitting there and I was trying again and again with different versions of my kind of ‘koohh paaaah’ [Darth Vader breathing sound] voice. And after like 10 shots she’s like, ‘You got anything else?’ I was like, ‘No.'”

Eddie Redmayne Stresses Over Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is potentially as big of a franchise as the Harry Potter series with author J.K. Rowling taking her first shot as a screenwriter and Warner Bros. investing as much as $223.4 million, so Eddie revealed to The Guardian that there’s more than a little performance anxiety connected to the project. He also points out that Fantastic Beasts isn’t just about his character, Newt Scamander, giving credit to actors Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, and Dan Fogler for completing the quartet of protagonists.

Even so, Newt Scamander is the primary lead of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which means, even though there is an ensemble cast, Redmayne will still be the focus of the story. Compelled to acknowledge that, Eddie finally opens up about the pressure he feels in the new J.K. Rowling franchise.

“Do you feel pressure? Of course you feel pressure,” admits Eddie Redmayne. “Also, particularly because I loved the Potter films. There was something so warming about being able to dive back into that world every year or two. And if you’ve enjoyed something, you don’t want to be the one who comes in and screws it up.”

Eddie goes on to say that he has felt pressure in every film, though the nature of the pressure does tend to vary. For instance, he says the pressure on The Theory of Everything had more to do with knowing Stephen Hawking would see the film. The Danish Girl placed similar pressure on him, because he felt concerned how the trans community would respond to the movie.

“It’s pressure here of a different type, which is called hardcore fandom,” says Eddie Redmayne of his role in Fantastic Beasts.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits theaters on November 18.

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]