Eddie Redmayne

His paternal great-grandfather was Sir Richard Redmayne (1865–1955), a civil and mining engineer, and a leading figure in improving mine safety in the early twentieth century.

Sir Richard also led an enquiry into an experiment by the chain Boots to reduce the working week, allowing workers to have a 48-hour weekend, which found that the workers were happier, had better health, and were less likely to be absent,  and advocated for its adoption across wider industry.

He has an elder brother, James Redmayne, a younger brother, and an elder half-brother, Charlie Redmayne, who is CEO of the UK division of publisher HarperCollins and a half-sister.

Redmayne attended Eaton House, followed by St Paul's Juniors (formerly Colet Court), on a choral scholarship, where he sang with the St Paul’s Choir, then on a music scholarship to Eton College, where he was in the same year as Prince William.

From the age of 10, Redmayne attended Jackie Palmer Stage School, where he found his love for acting and singing.

Edward John David "Eddie" Redmayne (born 6 January 1982) is an English actor.

He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Olivier Awards.

Edward John David Redmayne was born on 6 January 1982 in Westminster, London.

His mother, Patricia (née Burke), runs a relocation business, and his father, Richard Redmayne, is a businessman in corporate finance.

Redmayne began his professional acting career in West End theatre before making his screen debut in 1996 with guest television appearances.

Redmayne made his screen debut in 1998 in an episode of Animal Ark.

Redmayne made his professional stage debut as Viola in Twelfth Night, for Shakespeare's Globe at the Middle Temple Hall in 2002.

He went on to read History of Art at Trinity College, Cambridge, specialising in Venetian architecture and surrealism, and graduated with 2:1 Honours in 2003.

He received a choral scholarship to attend Cambridge.

He wrote his theses on Brâncuși and Yves Klein; although colour blind, he wrote the final thesis on International Klein Blue (IKB), which he has described as being highly emotional, and which he can always distinguish from others.

While at Cambridge, Redmayne was a member of the University Pitt Club.

He won the award for Outstanding Newcomer at the 50th Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2004, for his performance in Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, and the award for Best Newcomer at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards in 2005.

His first films were Like Minds (2006), The Good Shepherd (2006) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007).

The show ran from 3 September to 1 November 2008.

His performance received glowing reviews, with critic and playwright Nicholas de Jongh describing the performance as "riveting, suffused with the lineaments of neurosis and sadness."

On the stage, Redmayne starred in the productions of Red from 2009 to 2010 and Richard II from 2011 to 2012.

The former won him the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

In 2009, Redmayne appeared in John Logan's new play Red at the Donmar Warehouse in London, for which he won the 2010 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Reviewing the show during this London run, longstanding New York Times critic Ben Brantley described Redmayne as "a star in the making".

He reprised his role in Red at the John Golden Theatre on Broadway, in a 15-week run from 11 March to 27 June 2010, and won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play.

His film breakthrough came with the roles of Colin Clark in the biopic My Week with Marilyn (2011) and Marius Pontmercy in the musical Les Misérables (2012).

He portrayed King Richard II in Richard II directed by Michael Grandage, at the Donmar Warehouse from 6 December 2011 to 4 February 2012.

He received the Trewin Award for Best Shakespearean Performance at the Critics Circle Theatre Awards.

Matt Wolf, London theatre critic for The New York Times International Edition, described Redmayne as "tearing into the title role with an open-faced splendor that redefines the very discussion of soul that assumes such prominence in Shakespeare’s luxuriantly beautiful text: a performance for the record books"

In November 2021, he returned to the stage as Emcee in a West End revival of Cabaret at the Playhouse Theatre, remodelled as the 'Kit Kat Club'.

He previously played the role in a production at Eton when he was 17 years-old, and then again in a production at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Redmayne successfully approached Jessie Buckley to star alongside him as Sally Bowles, as well as Rebecca Frecknall about directing the production.

The revival drew rave reviews, with critic John Lahr stating that the 'scintillating show' also offered the 'rousing spectacle of the next generation’s theatrical talent on the ascendant.' Lahr described Redmayne's interpretation of the Emcee as "thrilling", "a puckish portrait of violent innocence, a cross between Peter Lorre and Peter Pan", with a "chilling metamorphosis".

John Nathan remarked, "Redmayne is a marvel. His Emcee — a slightly different species from the rest of the humans — is quite the most mercurial animal I have seen on stage".

The revival led with seven wins at the 2022 Olivier Awards, including Best Musical Revival and Redmayne's own for Best Actor in a Musical, setting a record for being the most award-winning revival in Olivier history, as well for being the first production to obtain awards in all 4 eligible acting categories.

Redmayne gained consecutive nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayals of the physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything (2014) and the transgender artist Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl (2015), winning for the former.

From 2016 to 2022, he starred as Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts film series, and from 2021 to 2022, he starred in a production of Cabaret, winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

Reviewing a revival of the play in 2017, critic Heather Neill recollected the "gut-wrenching intensity of Eddie Redmayne’s award-winning performance at the Almeida in 2004."

Redmayne starred in Now or Later by Christopher Shinn at the Royal Court Theatre.

He has also portrayed Tom Hayden in The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) and Charles Cullen in The Good Nurse (2022).