Eddie Redmayne had one of the best moments in his career when he won the Oscar for his performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. The actor did immense research and training to portray the late theoretical physicist accurately and received widespread acclaim.
However, despite such training, the British actor found himself suffering from intense anxiety and lack of sleep before filming the 2014 biopic. Recently in an interview, Eddie Redmayne confessed that he could not sleep for the entire night worrying if he could do justice to the role.
The late Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with a motor neurone disease at the age of 21 that slowly paralyzed him. Redmayne was burdened with the responsibility of playing the different phases of the personality’s life with utmost care.
Eddie Redmayne was not sure if he was perfect for The Theory of Everything
Eddie Redmayne has starred in a wide range of films and has been a successful British actor. Nevertheless, The Theory of Everything was probably one of the most difficult works for the 42-year-old as it came with loads of challenges.
The Fantastic Beasts fame admitted in several interviews that he carefully studied every minor detail to bring authenticity to his The Theory of Everything role. Recently while speaking to Josh Horowitz, Redmayne admitted that the pressure of the role was so intense, it did not let him sleep.
When I did the Theory Of Everything… the thing that scared me the most about that film was portraying him authentically… Every time I feel the anxiety before shooting, it gets so intense. The night before the shoot, it got to four in the morning, and I wasn’t asleep. And I was being picked up at six! I got to five in the morning and I was like ‘Okay, I’m just not going to sleep.’ I had a bath, woke up and walked through the streets of Cambridge.
According to Eddie Redmayne, the “overwhelming” fatigue was very helpful for him. He added that there was a breakdown scene at the end of the day and he was so exhausted by then that it did not need much work to execute the scene.
At the end of the day, I had to do a full breakdown scene and I was so tired and so exhausted. So when it came to it, the director [James Marsh] poked me and I just fell apart…
The role landed Redmayne an Academy Award for Best Actor and he joked that the tiredness may be a reason behind it. The Les Misérables actor also won many other awards including a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for his role in the 2014 James Marsh directorial.
How did Eddie Redmayne prepare for his role in The Theory of Everything?
During a conversation with Empire, Eddie Redmayne stated that he spent six months reading and watching everything about the late cosmologist to grasp everything about his life.
The actor also trained under choreographer and movement director Alexandra Reynolds, to accurately capture the physical movements of the scientist. Reynolds is also popular for her work in the zombie movements in World War Z.
The Guardian (via Daily Mail) reported that Redmayne visited the Queen Square Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases to talk with MND patients and experts to learn more about it. In an interview with Nightline (via ABC News) he said:
I just needed to train my body, just in order to sustain the positions. I knew that some of the positions would be specific and contorted and not necessarily comfortable.
However, it was most difficult for the actor to replicate the facial expressions of the scientist. It took him hours of practice before he was sure that he was doing it right.
The Theory of Everything can be streamed on Netflix.
