Eddie was nominated for a Bafta, Golden Globe and Academy Award for the role but now believes it was ‘a mistake’.
In 2015 Eddie Redmayne received critical acclaim for his role in the biopic The Danish Girl.
The actor portrayed Danish painter Lili Elbe, a transgender woman and one of the first transgender people to undergo gender affirmation surgery.
The movie was a commercial and critical success and at the time won Redmayne numerous award nominations, including the coveted Best Actor at the Academy Awards, but it fuelled the debate around cisgender actors taking on roles that could be played by transgender actors.
Now, six years on, in a new interview with The Sunday Times, Eddie says he now considers his casting in the film a ‘mistake’.
“I wouldn’t take it on now”, the actor admitted. “I made that film with the best intentions, but I think it was a mistake”
“The bigger discussion about the frustrations around casting is because many people don’t have a chair at the table,” he continued. “There must be a levelling, otherwise we are going to carry on having these debates.”
Eddie also discussed his upcoming role as The Emcee in a London production of Cabaret, a role which has often been played by LGBTQ+ actors such as Joel Grey and Alan Cumming.
“Of all the characters I’ve ever read, this one defies pigeonholing,” he said. “I would ask people to come and see it before casting judgment.”