Eddie Redmayne says he wanted to talk to different generations of the transgender community as he prepared for his role in The Danish Girl.
Eddie Redmayne
The Danish Girl sees Redmayne take on the role of Lili Elbe, who was a transgender pioneer back in the early 1930s. The movie sees Redmayne reunite with director Tom Hooper as it already being tipped as an Oscar contender.
Redmayne wanted a wide perspective of the transgender community and spoke to different generations as he was preparing for the role.
Speaking to The Guardian, the actor said: "I met many people from the trans community, both men and women; I particularly wanted to meet people from different generations, as the film was set at a time when there was no precursor."
The actor went on to talk to couple Cadence Valentine and Trista Hidalgo and admits that their openness and willingness to talk about anything 'galvanised' him.
He continued: "The way in which they allowed me to ask them anything, galvanised me. There were two things that stayed with me: Cadence said she would give anything and everything to live a life authentic; and the other was that, while she was transitioning, the question was: how deep was her partner's pool of empathy."
The Danish Girl is the first film for Hooper since the success of musical Les Miserables, which saw him work with Redmayne for the first time. A terrific cast has been assembled for the film, as Redmayne is joined by Alicia Vikander, Amber Heard, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Ben Whishaw.
Earlier this year Redmayne scooped his first Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything... he could well be in the running once again.
The British actor is expected to pick up his second Best Actor nomination for his performance in The Danish Girl. Could he become the first man since Tom Hanks to win back to back Best Actor Oscars?
The Danish Girl is released New Year's Day 2016.
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