Who is Eddie Redmayne?

Eddie Redmayne, born on January 6, 1982, is a British actor known for his transformative performances. He trained at the Jackie Palmer Stage School and performed with the National Youth Music Theatre. In 1994, he was part of the ensemble in a production of Oliver! . Redmayne continued to build his stage presence, including a role as a gay teenager in Edward Albee’s The Goat; or, Who Is Sylvia? (2004). He moved into television roles, notably playing the earl of Southampton opposite Helen Mirren in the miniseries Elizabeth I (2005). Redmayne won an Academy Award for his role in The Theory of Everything (2014).

What are some movies Eddie Redmayne is known for?

Eddie Redmayne, born January 6, 1982, is a British actor celebrated for his transformative acting. He won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything (2014). Redmayne earned another Oscar nomination for playing Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl (2015). He also played Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) and its sequels. Other notable films include The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), where he played Tom Hayden, and Les Misérables (2012).

Which major award did Eddie Redmayne win for his acting?

Eddie Redmayne, a British actor, won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2015 for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything (2014). He also received the Golden Globe Award for this role in the same year. In 2010, Redmayne won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor for his role in Red .

What role did Eddie Redmayne play in 'The Theory of Everything'?

Eddie Redmayne played the role of Stephen Hawking , a legendary theoretical physicist, in The Theory of Everything (2014). His performance earned him both a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for Best Actor. The film explores Hawking's life, including his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and his groundbreaking work in physics.

How has Eddie Redmayne contributed to theater in addition to film?

Eddie Redmayne began his acting career at a young age, training at the Jackie Palmer Stage School and performing with the National Youth Music Theatre. He was in a production of Oliver! (1994) and starred as Viola in Twelfth Night (2002). Redmayne's stage credits include The Goat; or, Who Is Sylvia? (2004). He won an Olivier Award for best actor in a musical for Cabaret (2021–22). He also received a Tony nomination for the Broadway transfer of Cabaret in 2024.

How has Eddie Redmayne's acting been recognized by critics and audiences?

Eddie Redmayne, a British actor, is known for his transformative performances in film and theatre. He won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything (2014). In 2015, he received an Oscar nomination for playing Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl . Redmayne's performance in Red earned him a Tony Award for best performance by a featured actor in 2010. He also received an Olivier Award for his performance in Cabaret and a Tony nomination when the show transferred to Broadway in 2024.

Eddie Redmayne

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Images

Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, wearing glasses and holding books while walking through a university courtyard with other students nearby.

Raffiella Chapman, Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking in a wheelchair, and Oliver Payne IV with a soccer ball in a garden scene from The Theory of Everything (2014).

Eddie Redmayne as Lili Elbe, with short curled auburn hair and a tan sleeveless dress, in a scene from The Danish Girl (2015).

Callum Turner as Theseus Scamander holds a lantern beside Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander in a dimly lit cave scene from Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

Quick Facts

In full:: Edward John David Redmayne

Born:: January 6, 1982, London, England (age 44)

Awards And Honors:: Academy Award (2015); Academy Award (2015): Actor in a Leading Role; Golden Globe Award (2015): Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama; Tony Award (2010): Best Featured Actor in a Play

Married To:: Hannah Redmayne (2014–present)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "The Yellow Handkerchief" (2008); "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" (2008); "Birdsong" (2012); "The Pillars of the Earth" (2010); "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (2007); "Hick" (2011); "Elizabeth I" (2005); "The Good Shepherd" (2006); "The Trial of the Chicago 7" (2020); "Savage Grace" (2007); "Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure" (2015); "Animal Ark" (1998); "Early Man" (2018); "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" (2018); "Powder Blue" (2009); "The Theory of Everything" (2014); "The Danish Girl" (2015); "My Week with Marilyn" (2011); "Black Death" (2010); "Jupiter Ascending" (2015); "The Aeronauts" (2019); "Glorious 39" (2009); "The Other Boleyn Girl" (2008); "Like Minds" (2006); "Les Misérables" (2012); "Doctors" (2003); "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" (2016)

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Eddie Redmayne

British actor

Also known as: Edward John David Redmayne

Written by

Richard Pallardy

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 14, 2026 •History

Early career

Redmayne was raised in London. He began acting at a young age, training at the Jackie Palmer Stage School and performing with the National Youth Music Theatre. He appeared as part of the ensemble in a production of Oliver! (1994) directed by Sam Mendes at the London Palladium. After graduating from Eton College, Redmayne enrolled at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he performed in student productions while studying art history. Prior to graduating in 2003, he starred as Viola in a 2002 Shakespeare’s Globe production of Twelfth Night at the Middle Temple Hall in London.

Redmayne continued to accrue stage credits, including a turn as a gay teenager in Edward Albee’s The Goat; or, Who Is Sylvia? (2004). He later moved into television roles, notably portraying the earl of Southampton opposite Helen Mirren in the miniseries Elizabeth I (2005).

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Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

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Red and The Theory of Everything

Redmayne’s first major film role was as disturbed Bakelite plastics heir Antony Baekeland in Savage Grace (2007), about the twisted relationship between Baekeland and his mother (played by Julianne Moore). After he took supporting roles in the films Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), Redmayne returned to TV in the acclaimed miniseries Tess of the D’Urbervilles (2008) and The Pillars of the Earth (2010).

Redmayne trod the boards as the son of a U.S. presidential nominee in Now or Later (2008) and as an assistant to painter Mark Rothko in Red (2010), a role that earned him a Tony Award for best performance by a featured actor. In the film My Week with Marilyn (2011), Redmayne assumed the role of Colin Clark, a film production assistant who forms a friendship with an erratic and distraught Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams). Redmayne then joined the cast of the film adaptation of the musical Les Misérables (2012). He won both the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for best actor for his portrayal of legendary physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything (2014).

The Danish Girl, Fantastic Beasts, and The Day of the Jackal

Redmayne then assumed the role of Lili Elbe, a Danish painter who was born male and later became the first documented person to undergo gender-reassignment surgery, in The Danish Girl (2015). His performance earned Redmayne an Oscar nomination. He next starred as Newt Scamander, an expert on magical creatures, in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), a Harry Potter prequel featuring a screenplay by J.K. Rowling. He reprised the role in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022). In 2019 Redmayne appeared as a meteorologist in The Aeronauts, an action-adventure film based on an actual balloon expedition in 1862.

In The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) Redmayne portrayed Tom Hayden, who was among a group of political activists tried for their antiwar activities during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Redmayne later earned accolades—including an Olivier Award for best actor in a musical—for his performance in a West End production of Cabaret (2021–22). He continued with the play when it transferred to Broadway in 2024, and that year he received a Tony nomination. Redmayne later starred in the well-received miniseries The Day of the Jackal (2024), an updated take on Frederick Forsyth’s novel about an elusive assassin.