Eddie Redmayne Says ‘It Was a Mistake’ to Play Trans Woman in ‘The Danish Girl’ – NBC 7 San Diego

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Eddie Redmayne says he regrets portraying a transgender woman in the 2015 movie “The Danish Girl” and says he would not accept the role if offered today.

“No, I wouldn’t take it now,” he said in a recent interview with the Sunday Times. “I made this film with the best of intentions, but I think it was a mistake.”

“The bigger discussion about the frustrations with casting is that a lot of people don’t have a chair at the table,” he added. “There has to be a leveling, otherwise we will continue these debates.”

Redmayne, 39, received an Oscar nomination for best actor for his portrayal of the Danish painter Lili Elbe, one of the earliest recipients of sex reassignment surgery.

Steve Granitz / WireImage / Getty Images

Eddie Redmayne arrives for the Oscars at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 28, 2016

The casting of Redmayne, a cisgender actor, drew criticism from some who believed a trans actor should have played the role of Elbe.

Redmayne admitted the controversy at the time the film was released and described how he prepared for the role by consulting with members of the trans community.

“As I was preparing to play Lili, I met a lot of women from the trans community who were sensationally generous and kind,” he told TODAY in 2015. “The transparency and the need to educate me by being opening their hearts was amazing. “

Redmayne has been speaking out in public for trans rights over the past few years. In 2020, he joined the controversy over a series of tweets posted by JK Rowling. The Harry Potter author’s tweets have been labeled transphobic by many inside and outside the LGBTQ community.

“As someone who’s worked with both JK Rowling and members of the trans community, I absolutely wanted to be clear about where I stood,” Redmayne, who starred in Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts series, said in a statement to Variety last year .

“I disagree with Jo’s comments. Trans women are women, trans men are men, and non-binary identities are valid. I would never want to speak on behalf of the community, but I know that my dear transgender friends and colleagues are fed up with the constant questioning of their identities, which all too often leads to violence and abuse. They just want to live their lives peacefully, and it is time to let that happen. “

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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