Eddie Redmayne: Starring in ‘The Danish Girl’ was a mistake

Eddie Redmayne he regrets some things in his acting life. In an interview with The Sunday Times, the actor just referred to the backlash surrounding his decision to play Lili Elbe, one of the first people to undergo gender confirmation surgery, in the 2015 film. The Danish Girl.

“I made that movie with best intentions, but I think it was a mistake”He told The Times. Although she earned an Oscar nomination for playing Elbe, Redmayne said she “wouldn’t take it now” in hindsight. At the time, Redmayne faced a series of criticisms for taking on the role of a trans woman, despite personally identifying as a cisgender man (when a person’s gender identity matches the assigned sex).

Alicia Vikander, who won the Oscar for best supporting actress for playing Elbe’s wife, Gerda Wegener, recently spoke about the controversy surrounding The Danish Girl in an interview with Insider. While noting that Redmayne’s performance was “wonderful,” Vikander said he understands the backlash the film received.

“I totally understand the critics they’ve been out there, “he said,” because we need to make changes and we need to make sure that trans men and women really come in and work. “

In recent years there has been more widespread scrutiny of cisgender actors playing transgender characters and Hollywood’s depiction of trans identity in general, with documentaries such as Disclosure from Netflix that shed light on Hollywood’s impact on the trans community.

Other performances that were once praised, such as the Oscar-winning performance of Jared Leto What Rayon, an HIV positive trans woman addicted to drugs in the Dallas Buyers Club (2013) have been reevaluated and criticized in recent years.

Redmayne goes on to point out the importance of a broader conversation about casting in Hollywood. “The biggest discussion about frustrations around casting is because many people do not have a chair at the table”He added. “There has to be a leveling, otherwise we will continue to have these debates.”

Redmayne is currently in teasers for the musical’s revival Cabaret, in London, in which she plays Emcee. While Redmayne’s selection has raised some eyebrows given the encoded nature queer of the role and its history of being played by LGBTQ + actors, Redmayne is hopeful that the public will reserve judgment until they see her performance. “Of all the characters I’ve read, this one defies typecasting,” he said. “I would ask people to come see him before passing judgment.”