Last seen giving a fantastic performance as Marius in Les Misérables, Eddie Redmayne is now set to take on another prominent role, this time in the form of Working Title’s Stephen Hawking biopic, Theory of Everything.
Deadline report that the actor has been fought over for his next leading role, and that he will in all likelihood be taking the lead for the film, which Working Title is fast-tracking.
The Oscar-winning director James Marsh (Man on Wire, Shadow Dancer) is at the helm, with Anthony McCarten penning the script.
There’s no word yet on a full synopsis, but Theory of Everything is set to focus on the relationship between Hawking, the renowned physicist, and his wife.
The project would reunite Redmayne with his Les Mis producers, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, of Working Title. They are thought to be ‘actively discussing’ the female lead, and eyeing an early autumn/fall start on production. So we’ll hopefully be hearing very soon on who will star opposite Redmayne, and who else will be joining them.
I was fortunate enough to attend a rare public lecture Hawking gave a couple of years back, which was absolutely fascinating. One of the things that struck me most was his brilliant sense of humour, and I’m hoping that that’s something that will come across in the biopic.
Before filming Theory of Everything, Redmayne is currently shooting the Wachowski siblings’ Cloud Atlas follow-up, Jupiter Ascending. The immensely anticipated blockbuster will see him alongside the likes of Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Sean Bean, and more, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out next year.
It may well be early days yet, but given the talents on all sides for Theory of Everything, it’s not at all unreasonable to suggest that the Oscars could be calling in early 2015, if the film is ready for release towards the end of next year.
Redmayne has had a very much well-deserve rise to recognition in recent years, with Les Misérables giving his career that much more of a boost. And with as fascinating a role as that of Stephen Hawking, who has achieved wonders with his work in spite of suffering for decades with ALS, there is clearly still so much more to look forward to from him in the years to come.
