Top 5 Things You Didn't Know About Eddie Redmayne

Before becoming the award- winning movie star that we know him as today, Redmayne’s story started in the theatre. A much younger man, he attended the Jackie Palmer Stage School – which also counts James Corden amongst its alumni. But Eddie’s big break came in productions of “Twelfth Night” and “The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?”. Quickly making a name for himself, he eventually scaled the headiest heights of theatre-land when he won a Tony Award in 2010, for his performance in the play “Red”. By contrast, his on-screen career started off quite modestly. Redmayne’s first television appearance came on the CiTV classic, “Animal Ark”.

Throughout his education, Eddie attended some pretty distinguished schools. Not only did he read History of Art at Cambridge University but, prior to that he also went to Eton College. There, he had a now-star-studded line-up of school peers, including Tom Hiddleston – who even acted alongside Redmayne in a school play. But a certain schoolmate trumps even Tom in terms of worldwide prestige… Prince William. While at Eton, Redmayne was in the same year as the heir to the throne. They don’t seem to have kept in touch, but we’d wager that they’ve both done a fair bit of name dropping since then.

Life might have led Eddie in another direction, had some other early jobs played out differently. While trying to make it as an actor, he did a spot of modelling on the side. His unique look and individual style certainly caught attention, and he has even done shoots for high-ranking brands like Burberry. But even the best models have some questionable shots under their belt. Eddie Redmayne’s involved an arts and crafts reel for a magazine of knitting patterns, featuring some exceptionally dashing jumpers. If nothing else, it’s something for the CV… And a go-to topic for interviewers looking for a laugh at the actor’s expense.

Throughout what’s still a fairly short career, Redmayne has built up quite the portfolio. Though he unsuccessfully auditioned for both Bilbo Baggins in “The Hobbit” and Tom Riddle in “Harry Potter”, he famously spent months preparing for roles in both “The Danish Girl” and “The Theory of Everything”. Stephen Hawking was said to be especially impressed with Redmayne’s portrayal of him, and the actor was even invited to read at Hawking’s funeral. Of course, despite the early knockback, Redmayne eventually entered the Wizarding World as Newt Scamander, and the awards have mounted up. Although he is one of a small group of actors to have bagged both an Oscar and a Golden Raspberry – the latter given for a questionable part in “Jupiter Ascending”.

For his History of Art degree, Redmayne wrote his final dissertation on a work by Yves Klein called “International Klein Blue”. The strange thing about this particular piece of art is that it appears to be just a square of specifically-blended blue and, to add to the weirdness, Redmayne wrote his entire assignment on it despite being colour blind. He might not even see the colour blue – as most would see it - when he looks at the piece, but that didn’t stop him from graduating with honours. Eddie is truly unstoppable.