One of my favorite films of 2014 is director James Marsh’s (Man on Wire) The Theory of Everything. The film is an adaptation of the Stephen Hawking biography Traveling to Infinity, written by his wife Jane Hawking. Starring Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables) as Hawking, The Theory of Everything chronicles his budding relationship with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wide (Felicity Jones), heartbreaking motor neuron disease diagnosis at the age of 21, and groundbreaking scientific work in the field of time. Led by phenomenal performances by Redmayne and Jones, The Theory of Everything will definitely be a player in awards season and I strongly recommend seeing it for yourself when it opens this weekend. For more on the film, watch the trailer.
Recently I landed an exclusive video interview with Eddie Redmayne. He talked about going after the role, his first face-to-face meeting with Stephen Hawking, researching the role and what material he used, never feeling comfortable with his work or being able to relax while shooting, balancing the need to make a movie while keeping the material authentic, getting to work with the Wachowskis' and Channing Tatum on Jupiter Ascending, and a lot more. Hit the jump to watch.
Eddie Redmayne:
- 00:00 – Why the stakes are so high for him on this film.
- 00:40 – Going after the role.
- 01:40 – Never feeling totally comfortable with his work or being able to relax while shooting.
- 02:47 – The ups and downs of watching rushes.
- 03:04 – The research material Redmayne focused on most.
- 04:20 – The three images Redmayne hung in his trailer during shooting.
- 05:06 – On his first face-to-face meeting with Stephen Hawking; “vomiting forth information on Stephen Hawking to Stephen Hawking.”
- 07:32 – Balancing the need to make a movie while keeping the material authentic.
- 09:54 – On working with the Wachowskis.
- 11:41 – Feeling more uninhabited than ever while working with the Wachowskis.
- 12:30 – Working with Channing Tatum on Jupiter Ascending.
