One of the most impressive films of the year is now in theaters: The Theory of Everything, directed by James Marsh. It’s a stellar telling of an extraordinary real life biography, classically centered on a moving love story and the overcoming of extreme physical disability. Based on the memoir by his first wife, Jane, The Theory of Everything tells the truly inspiring story of physicist Stephen Hawking, who, despite being stricken with ALS while in college and given two years to live, went on to marry twice, father children, live for decades (still ticking!), and oh-by-the-way, develop the most advanced cosmological theory since Einstein met Relativity.
To say The Theory of Everything is Oscar bait would be to state the obvious, but to ignore its achievement—or its likely resonance with Oscar voters–would be naive. It’s a period piece, it’s British, it’s an important biopic, it’s about love overcoming immense hardship, and it’s a true story. Most importantly, it is powered by an extraordinary performance, one you simply must see to believe. Eddie Redmayne, the young British actor who stole Marilyn Monroe’s heart in My Week with Marilyn (my favorite film of 2011), completely inhabits the character of Stephen Hawking, delivering a turn that is as deeply moving as it is physically impressive. With this film, Redmayne leaps onto the A-list and becomes a formidable contender for the Best Actor statue come Oscar time.
I sat down with Eddie Redmayne in San Francisco recently, and talked with him about the challenges he faced playing the iconic physicist. My first question was simple: How did he do that?! Stephen Hawking would certainly qualify as one of the most difficult roles imaginable. How does one even approach such a challenging part?
Redmayne laughed and said he was already deep in the audition process before it occurred to him exactly how he might do just that. “The weird thing about making films is that no really tells you this beforehand…I was on the phone with James Marsh and he asked me that exact question. I thought, ‘Why have I not thought of an answer to this?’ So I came up with an off-the-cuff remark, but ended up following that instinct, which was to work with a team of people. I worked with an amazing make-up designer, an amazing costume designer, a vocal coach, a choreographer…we went to motor neuron clinics and met specialists, and worked out what we thought Stephen’s decline may have been like. I was really trying to immerse myself in the whole world of it, and then from that create a performance.”
In Theory, Redmayne actually delivers two distinct performances, the physical shape-shifting required by the real circumstances, and then, once he was contorted and essentially unable to move, an internal communication that brings the life drama, and Hawking’s humanity, front and center. His response was that it was Hawking’s approach to life that was the key. “When I met Stephen, it was absolutely clear that for him the disease is secondary. He has no interest in the disease. He has never looked back—he’s always been someone who looks forward. I wanted to really take from that. I spent four or five months working on the physical elements in order that they were so embedded that I could then really play with the other actors. I really tried to make the disease secondary. I went through all the documentaries, and listened to other people’s opinions of him, to find the intimacy, the human story.”
What is it like to be, well, friends with Stephen Hawking? How was he affected by meeting the great man? Redmayne’s eyes brightened with the memory. “I can’t get over how privileged our lives as actors can be, and the people you get to meet. It was one of the great meetings of my life. I was horrifically embarrassed when I met him—I spent the first 20 minutes telling him about himself because I was so nervous. But just spending that time and hearing all the stories and his classic one-liners…I’ll never forget that day.”
I doubt anyone will ever forget Redmayne’s indelible performance in The Theory of Everything either. This is an actor I suspect we will be marveling at for years to come.
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