Eddie Redmayne Talks Stephen Hawking's Reaction to Biopic THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

During an interview with Variety, THEORY OF EVERYTHING star Eddie Redmayne shared his throughts on what it was like to meet renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, whose life served as a basis for the film. Though Hawking's ALS limits him to communicating with an eye tracker, Hawking's meeting with Redmayne altered the film's final product.

"Really what I gained from that experience with him was more what he emanates: It was this extraordinary, incisive weight, a formidable sense of humor and most of all, a sense of mischief," Redmayne told the audience at the Variety screening of the film. "I described it as a Lord of Misrule quality. Even though it's difficult for him to communicate, he completely runs the room and you can really feel his power."

Hawking was diagnosed with ALS when he was 21-years-old, and doctors believed he had 2 years to live. Now 72 years old, Hawking continues to live with his disease, and his astounding accomplishments in physics are revered across the globe. Redmayne, who portrays Hawking in THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, needed to represent the trials of his life, from his physical detoriation to his remarkable scientific achievements.

During his meeting with Hawking, Redmayne expressed his nerves toward Hawking seeing the film for the first time.

"I said, 'Stephen, I'm really nervous, but I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think,'" Redmayne told the audience. "And he took a while to write his response and he said, 'I will let you know what I think - good or otherwise.'"

But the film moved Hawking to tears- a big moment for the cast and crew, considering Hawking is not known as a sentimental person. When asked what his opinion on the film, Hawking replied that it was "Broadly true'.

His strong reaction to the film prompted Hawking to offer his voice to the film, which he has copyrighted.

"We spent a lot of time and money trying to reproduce the voice, but we never got it," writer Anthony McCarten told Variety. Hawking's approval made Redmayne and company feel they did his story justice.

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING is currently in theaters nationwide.

To read the interview in full visit: Variety

Photo credit: Official site

To post a comment, you must register and login.