Eddie Redmayne
Birthdate: Jan 6, 1982
Birthplace: Westminster, London, England, UK
Eddie Redmayne (birthname: Edward John David Redmayne) is the only actor in his generation to win the Oscar for Best Actor (for The Theory of Everything (2014) and then be nominated for the same award the following year (The Danish Girl in 2015). A quicksilver performer capable of a wide range of roles, Redmayne’s fame has nevertheless been restricted to main biopics or huge studio productions, such as Warner Bros.’ Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022), his third in the series after Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).
Encouraged by his parents to explore acting as a child, Eddie Redmayne’s first stage experience was in director Sam Mendes’ West End production of Oliver! Debuting professionally at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre as Viola in Twelfth Night, Redmayne went to great success in Edward Albee’s The Goat and John Logan’s Red, which earned him an Oliver (2009) and a Tony in a featured role (2010).
At the same time, Eddie Redmayne was making a significant mark in the movies, most notably in supporting roles in The Good Shepherd (2006), with Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, and director Robert De Niro; Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), with Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, and Geoffrey Rush; The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), with Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson; My Week with Marilyn (2011), with Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh; and Les Misérables, with Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway (2012).
In 2014, Eddie Redmayne’s Oscar-winning portrayal of physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything changed everything in his career, catapulting him to leading-man status. This, of course, received a fascinating (if controversial) spin the next with Redmayne’s performance as trans artist Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl, which, though highly acclaimed, received strong criticism from the trans community for a CIS man like Redmayne being cast as a transgender character. Despite the storm, Redmayne received a second, consecutive Oscar nomination.
In between his time-consuming assignments as Newt Salamander in the Fantastic Beasts series, Redmayne has expanded his interest in portraying real-life characters, including his Tom Hayden in Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) and the infamous serial killer-nurse Charlie Cullen in The Good Nurse (2022) with Jessica Chastain. Eddie Redmayne has also turned to family-friendly projects, both on-screen (The Aeronauts (2019) with Felicity Jones) and off-screen, lending his voice to Aardman’s animated Early Man (2018).
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Personal Details
A Londoner by birth, Eddie Redmayne’s parents are Patricia and Richard Redmayne. He has two brothers, James and Thomas, and two half-siblings, Eugenie and Charles, a CEO of the UK division of HarperCollins publishing. He attended Eton College, followed by Cambridge University’s Trinity College, where he graduated with a degree in art history. Redmayne married his wife, Hannah, in 2014; they have two children, Iris and Luke.
Filmography
actor
Previous (6)
- 2022 | Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of DumbledoreasNewt Scamander
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Professor Albus Dumbledore must assist Newt Scamander and his partners as Grindelwald begins to lead an army to eliminate all Muggles.
- 2018 | Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of GrindelwaldasNewt Scamander
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
The second installment of the "Fantastic Beasts" series featuring the adventures of Magizoologist Newt Scamander.
- 2018 |
- 2016 | Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemasNewt
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York's secret community of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book in school.
- 2015 | Jupiter AscendingasBalem Abrasax
Jupiter Ascending
A young woman discovers her destiny as an heiress of intergalactic nobility and must fight to protect the inhabitants of Earth from an ancient and destructive industry.
- 2012 | Les MisérablesasMarius
Les Misérables
In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who, for decades, has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives forever.
Some Facts About Eddie Redmayne
Roots: Eddie Redmayne’s great-grandfather is the renowned civil engineer Richard Redmayne.
Royalty Adjacent: Eddie Redmayne attended Eton College in the same class as Prince William.
Rejected: Redmayne faced rejection at a young age, when, at 12, Ian McKellan turned him down for a role in the film version of Richard III (1995).
Worst Actor?: In one of the more dubious of all Razzie Awards, Redmayne was named “worst actor” by the spoofing awards group for his turn in the Wachowski Brothers’ Jupiter Ascending (2015).
Millennial Man: Eddie Redmayne is the first millennial generation male to win the Best Actor Oscar.
Put Together: Redmayne was named at the top of British GQ magazine’s 50 best-dressed British men.
High Honor: Eddie Redmayne was named Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2015.
