“With films that top secret, they don’t give you the actual lines. So they give you a scene from Pride and Prejudice, but then they tell you you’re auditioning for the baddie.” – Eddie Redmayne
Eddie Redmayne is noted for his Oscar winning turn as Professor Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, as well as his breakout role in Les Miserables, and another Oscar nominated performance in The Danish Girl. Very soon, Redmayne will also star in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, as Magizoologist Newt Scamander; the film is written by J.K. Rowling and directed by David Yates, taking Harry Potter fans back in time to the Wizarding World of 1926 New York.
There’s no doubting Redmayne’s talents, and he plays very varied roles, too, which is great, but did you know he was almost in Star Wars? Well, actually, it probably wasn’t a very close call, since the actor recalls his audition didn’t exactly go as planned, but Redmayne did audition for a villainous role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If you had to guess the role, one would probably assume General Hux, since Domnhall Gleeson plays that part and it’s well known that he’s been up for the same roles as Redmayne in the past. The pair are similar in size and stature, too, but Hux wasn’t the role Redmayne was up for. Talking to UpRoxx, Redmayne revealed it was actually Kylo Ren he went for; the big, bad villain that was eventually played by Adam Driver:
“So, I was going for, I think, for Adam Driver. They gave me like a Star Trek scene – or like something from Pride and Prejudice. It was one of those films. With films that top secret, they don’t give you the actual lines. So they give you a scene from Pride and Prejudice, but then they tell you you’re auditioning for the baddie. If you’re me, you then put some ridiculous voice on.
That was really a hilarious moment. Because it was Nina Gold, who I have to thank a lot because she’s cast me in several films. And she was just sitting there and I was trying again and again with different versions of my kind of “koohh paaaah” [Darth Vader breathing sound] voice. And after like ten shots she’s like, “You got anything else?” I was like, “No.””
Well, we can’t all get it right all of the time, can we? It is surprising though, that Redmayne was being seen for a role that eventually went to Driver, who is tall, with a deep voice. Would Redmayne have been able to pull off the same angst ridden character that Driver gave us? Probably not, but his Darth Vader impression would be fabulous to see!
