Eddie Redmayne has revealed that he thinks playing a trans character for “The Danish Girl” movie which saw him nominated for an Academy Award was a ‘mistake’ after critics argued the role should’ve gone to a LGBT actor, reports Daily Mail.
The British actor, 39, played transgender artist Lili Elbe, who is thought to be one of the first people to have sex reassignment surgery, alongside Alicia Vikander in the 2015 movie The Danish Girl.
His performance saw him nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars – just a year after taking home the award for his performance as Stephen Hawkins in The Theory of Everything.
But speaking to The Times ahead of the Cabaret show where he plays Emcee, a gender fluid character, Redmayne said he now thinks playing Elbe was a ‘mistake.’
At the time, critics said the role should have been played by a trans actress, and Redmayne now says he wouldn’t take on the role if it was offered to him now.
‘No, I wouldn’t take it on now. I made that film with the best intentions, but I think it was a mistake,’ said the Fantastic Beasts actor.
‘The bigger discussion about the frustrations around casting is because many people don’t have a chair at the table. There must be a levelling, otherwise we are going to carry on having these debates.
At the time of Redmayne’s casting for The Danish Girl, there was an argument, which still persists today, that LGBT+ roles should be played by LGBT+ actors.
