Eddie Redmayne Admits Starring As a Trans Woman in ‘The Danish Girl’ Was “A Mistake”

Five years after he earned an Oscar nomination for his turn in The Danish Girl, Eddie Redmayne has spoken out about accepting a role as a trans woman in the film. In the Tom Hooper-directed film, Redmayne starred as one of the first people in the world to undergo gender reassignment surgery. At the time, his performance received backlash from folks who demanded that the character be played by a trans actor instead.

In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, however, Redmayne clarified that taking the role was ultimately a “mistake” and that he wouldn’t sign onto the movie today.

“No, I wouldn’t take it on now. I made that film with the best intentions, but I think it was a mistake,” Redmayne said.

Later in the interview, Redmayne also acknowledged that The Danish Girl was brought into being due to the fact that he — a major celebrity, who had even just won Best Actor for his role in The Theory of Everything — had signed on. Jumping off of this, Redmayne stressed that more must be done to take away from such strong power disparities in casting that lead to less trans actors being considered for such roles.

“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.”

Redmayne’s interview with The Sunday Times was to promote his new production of Cabaret at London’s Playhouse Theatre, starring alongside Jessie Buckley. He’ll be starring as The Emcee, or the Master of Ceremonies, a role that has been played a handful of times by LGBTQ+ actors since its debut in 1966.

“Of all the characters I’ve ever read, this one defies pigeonholing. I would ask people to come and see it before casting judgment,” Redmayne said.

Where to watch The Danish Girl