British actor Eddie Redmayne may best be known recently for his role as Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beast series — the third installment of which, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, is dropping in April 2022 — but his career as an actor extends much farther back than that. Like fellow British actors Cara Delevingne and Robert Pattinson, Redmayne began his career in the entertainment world as a model for Burberry. He had been acting in theater for years, and smaller roles in British television shows, but he had not committed to becoming a full-time actor until the late 2000s.
He made his feature film debut in a 2006 Australian thriller titled Like Minds, and after that, he hit the ground running. In the span of the two years after that movie, he would appear in films like The Other Boleyn Girl, Savage Grace, and The Yellow Handkerchief with Twilight’s Kristen Stewart. Ever since then, he has racked up award-winning performances in the movie world. As we await his return to the Harry Potter franchise in The Secrets of Dumbledore, here’s a look at Eddie Redmayne’s best movies, ranked.
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7 Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Universal Pictures
Cate Blanchett made a name for herself early in her career by appearing in the 1998 film Elizabeth as the Virgin Queen. Ten years later, the sequel, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, had her reprising her role during the latter half of her reign. As the threat of the Spanish Empire approaches the United Kingdom, Elizabeth must make decisions to solidify her rule and secure a future in which she is no longer alive. At the same time, there is an entirely new world across the Atlantic to explore and claim. Redmayne portrays Anthony Babington, one of the men who helped plot to assassinate the Queen.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
6 The Yellow Handkerchief
Samuel Goldwyn Films
The Yellow Handkerchief, which stars Eddie Redmayne and Kristen Stewart as two hitchhiking teenagers, is a remake of a 1977 Japanese film. William Hurt plays an ex-convict who has just been released from prison and does not recognize the world he has left behind. And so he decides to find his ex-wife and head down to Louisiana, but along the way, he meets a 15-year-old girl (Stewart) and a 17-year-old boy (Redmayne) who are struggling in their own lives. As the three of them sit in the car during a long road trip, perhaps they will find inner peace.
5 The Trial of the Chicago 7
Netflix
Aaron Sorkin returned in 2020 with The Trial of the Chicago 7, a historical drama based on the case of seven anti-war Vietnam protestors charged with conspiracy and the intent of starting a riot. The movie begins with the seven men preparing to protest and then their consequent arrests many months later. Redmayne portrays Tom Hayden, one of the students involved in the protests. The film is a dramatization of the events that occurred, that’s for sure, but it is an energetic glimpse of American history that is forgotten. Some scenes, such as the forced silence of certain members of the group via the government, are relevant even today.
4 My Week with Marilyn
The Weinstein Company
Actress Marilyn Monroe has been mythologized in Hollywood history, representing a nostalgic era in the past that seems carefree and full of lighthearted romance films. My Week With Marilyn is about the making of her 1957 movie The Prince and the Showgirl. A journalist (Redmayne) has been assigned to helping Monroe (Michelle Williams) and her husband, playwright Arthur Miller. Monroe and Miller had a shaky marriage, so as he returns to the United States, the journalist, and she confides in each other and slowly engage in a deeper relationship.
3 The Danish Girl
Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl embraces the story of Lili Ilse Elvenes (portrayed here by Redmayne), who was one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery. A prolific painter, her relationship with fellow painter and artist Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander) is explored as it evolves. While Redmayne’s performance was quite good, he has expressed regret. With the sacrifice of choosing a big-name actor to play the role of Elvenes, a transgender individual lost the opportunity to authentically play the role.
2 Les Misérables
The 2012 adaptation of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, directed by Tom Hooper, was ambitious in its scope. The traditional form of musicals was honored, as there was very little dialogue and almost everything was sung, and the cast sung live on set—a technique first done when talkies, or the movies that had audio, came into existence. Redmayne is Marius Pontmercy, a student from a wealthy family that falls in love with the beautiful Cosette (Amanda Seyfried). Les Misérables is not a movie for everyone, but its epic storyline and revolutionary themes have persisted for centuries.
1 The Theory of Everything
Focus Features
Eddie Redmayne finally got his Oscar for his performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. The film begins with his time at the University of Cambridge as an astrophysics student. He meets a literature student named Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones), who makes him feel more alive than he has ever felt, but as Hawking begins to study black holes, he discovers that he has ALS. The movie takes creative liberty when it comes to certain events that happened, but it offers light, pockets of happiness, and progress, even when life itself seems to be a black hole.
