Eddie Redmayne

Edward John David "Eddie" Redmayne, OBE (/ˈrɛdˌmeɪn/; born 6 January 1982) is an English actor, model and singer. Born and raised in the City of Westminster, Redmayne studied history of art at the Trinity College, Cambridge, after which he briefly dabbled with a modelling career. Redmayne began his professional acting career as a youth in London theatre before making his screen debut in 1998 with guest appearances on television. His first film roles came in 2006 with Like Minds and The Good Shepherd, and he went on to play supporting roles in several films, including Savage Grace (2007), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).

Redmayne received praise for his performances in the stage productions of Red (2009–10) and Richard II (2011–12). For the former, he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. Redmayne's film breakthrough came when the roles of Colin Clark in the biographical drama My Week with Marilyn (2011) and Marius Pontmercy in Tom Hooper's musical Les Misérables (2012). In 2014, Redmayne's portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything earned him the Academy, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and SAG Award for Best Actor. The following year, he played Lili Elbe, one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery, in Hooper's The Danish Girl, which gained him a second Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Redmayne is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and a British Academy Film Award, and in 2015, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to drama. In addition to his acting career, he supports several social causes, including LGBT rights. He is married to the public relations executive Hannah Bagshawe.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Modelling 2.2 Stage 2.3 Film and television 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 4.1 Film 4.2 Television 4.3 Theatre 5 Awards and nominations 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Early life
Redmayne was born on 6 January 1982 in Westminster, London.[1][2] His mother, Patricia (née Burke), runs a relocation business, and his father, Richard Redmayne, is a businessman in corporate finance. His paternal great-grandfather was Sir Richard Redmayne, a civil and mining engineer.[3] He has an older brother, a younger brother, and an older half-brother[3] and half-sister.[4]

He attended Colet Court,[5] then Eton College, where he was in the same year as Prince William.[6][7] He went on to read History of Art at Trinity College, Cambridge, from where he graduated with 2:1 Honours in 2003.[8] Despite being colourblind, Redmayne wrote his dissertation on Yves Klein's signature colour, International Klein Blue.[9]

Career
Modelling

Prior to becoming a full-time actor, Redmayne modelled for Burberry in 2008 with Alex Pettyfer, and in 2012 with Cara Delevingne.[10][11] In the September 2012 issue of Vanity Fair, he was featured on its annual International Best Dressed List.[12] In 2015, he was named number one in GQ's 50 best dressed British men.[13]

Stage

Redmayne made his professional stage debut as Viola in Twelfth Night, for Shakespeare's Globe at the Middle Temple Hall in 2002.[14] He won the award for Outstanding Newcomer at the 50th Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2004, for his performance in Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?,[15] and the award for Best Newcomer at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards in 2005.[16] Later stage credits include Now or Later by Christopher Shinn at the Royal Court Theatre. The show ran from 3 September to 1 November 2008.[17]

In 2009, Redmayne appeared in John Logan's new play Red at the Donmar Warehouse in London,[18] for which he won the 2010 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He reprised his role in Red at the John Golden Theatre on Broadway, in a 15-week run from 11 March to 27 June 2010,[19] and won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. He portrayed King Richard II in Richard II directed by Michael Grandage, at Donmar Warehouse from 6 December 2011 to 4 February 2012.[20]

Film and television

Redmayne at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Redmayne was cast in his first feature film Like Minds (2006) after being spotted by casting director Lucy Bevan performing in a play called Goats.[21] Redmayne has appeared in films such as The Good Shepherd (2006), Savage Grace (2007), Powder Blue (2008) The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), Glorious 39 (2009), and Hick (2011). He starred as Osmund in Christopher Smith's supernatural gothic chiller film Black Death (2010).[22] His 2008 Sundance drama film The Yellow Handkerchief was released on 26 February 2010 by Samuel Goldwyn Films.[23][24]

He starred as filmmaker Colin Clark in the drama film My Week with Marilyn (2011). He took on the role of Marius Pontmercy for the 2012 musical film Les Misérables.[25][26]

In 2014, he starred as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, a role for which he won the Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor, depicting the debilitating challenges of ALS.[27][28]

In early 2015 Redmayne appeared in the Wachowski siblings' film, Jupiter Ascending as Balem Abrasax. The film was widely panned, including his performance. For his performance he won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor[29] in the same year that he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Danish Girl.

Redmayne made his screen debut in 1998 in an episode of Animal Ark.[30] His television credits include the BBC mini-series Tess of the d'Urbervilles, the miniseries The Pillars of the Earth, and the two-part mini-series Birdsong.[31]

In June 2015 it was announced that Redmayne will star as Newt Scamander in the film adaptation of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a spin-off of the Harry Potter film series, with a screenplay by J. K. Rowling.[32][33]

Redmayne starred in the biographical drama The Danish Girl, directed by Academy Award winning director Tom Hooper. In the film, released in the UK on 1 January 2016, Redmayne portrayed transgender pioneer Lili Elbe, a casting that has been subject of some controversy from the transgender community.[34] However, Redmayne's performance has been met with critical acclaim, and in January 2016 he earned his second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor in consecutive years.[35]

Personal life
Redmayne married Hannah Bagshawe, a public relations executive, on 15 December 2014.[36][37] They have a daughter, born in June 2016.[38]

Redmayne was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2015 Birthday Honours for services to drama.[39][40] In August 2014 he was appointed ambassador of film education charity Into Film.[41]

In February 2016, Redmayne spoke out for homeless LGBT youth in Los Angeles.[42]

Filmography
Film

Year

Title

Role

Director

Notes

2006 Like Minds Alex Forbes Gregory Read 2006 The Good Shepherd Edward Wilson, Jr. Robert De Niro 2007 Savage Grace Antony Baekeland Tom Kalin 2007 Elizabeth: The Golden Age Anthony Babington Shekhar Kapur 2008 The Yellow Handkerchief Gordy Udayan Prasad 2008 The Other Boleyn Girl Sir William Stafford Justin Chadwick 2008 Powder Blue Qwerty Doolittle Timothy Linh Bui 2009 Glorious 39 Ralph Keyes Stephen Poliakoff 2010 Black Death Osmund Christopher Smith 2011 Hick Eddie Kreezer Derick Martini 2011 My Week with Marilyn Colin Clark Simon Curtis 2012 Les Misérables Marius Pontmercy Tom Hooper 2014 The Theory of Everything Stephen Hawking James Marsh 2015 Jupiter Ascending Balem Abrasax The Wachowskis 2015 Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Ryan David Stoten Voice 2015 The Danish Girl Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe Tom Hooper 2016 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Newt Scamander David Yates Post-production 2018 Early Man Dug Nick Park Voice; In-production

Television

Year

Title

Role

Notes

1998 Animal Ark John Hardy Episode: "Bunnies in the Bathroom" 2003 Doctors Rob Huntley Episode: "Crescendo" 2005 Elizabeth I The Earl of Southampton Episode: "Southampton" 2008 Tess of the d'Urbervilles Angel Clare 4 episodes 2010 The Pillars of the Earth Jack Jackson 8 episodes 2010[43] The Miraculous Year Connor Pilot 2012 Birdsong Stephen Wraysford 2 episodes 2015[44] War Art with Eddie Redmayne Himself Documentary 2016–present Thomas & Friends Ryan Voice

Theatre

Year

Title

Role

Notes

1994 Oliver! Workhouse Boy #46 / Book Boy London Palladium 2002 Twelfth Night Viola Shakespeare's Globe 2003 "Master Harold"...and the Boys Master Harold Everyman Theatre 2004 The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? Billy Almeida Theatre 2004 Hecuba Polydorus Donmar Warehouse 2007 Now or Later John Jr. Royal Court Theatre 2009–10 Red Ken Donmar Warehouse John Golden Theatre 2011–12 Richard II King Richard II Donmar Warehouse

Awards and nominations
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Eddie Redmayne