Written by By Staff Writer
(CNN) — Speaking to Australian magazine TV Week, Redmayne said some viewers were left feeling uncomfortable during the film’s premiere in Australia in February, when the British actor went on stage and called his co-star “a dear friend.”
The admission came in response to an earlier interview in which Redmayne said he “never said trans” but instead used the more neutral “transgender.”
“I’ve worked on many films and press stuff that has been fairly relaxed, where I’ve kind of let my guard down and tried to make jokes at the time,” Redmayne said.
“One journalist at one premiere actually started a more substantial article about how trans people are privileged and that being a trans actor is a life-changer — those kind of things. And I was fairly annoyed with her at the time because it’s just not the case at all.
“I’m not saying that, for example, a straight woman shouldn’t play the part, but everyone who has ever been in a relationship with a woman knows it’s work.
“There’s a distinction to be made. And the person I thought of as a close friend is a great ally and was immensely supportive through the process of making the film, and the film itself has been an extraordinarily difficult period in her life, and to get a negative review, I found very difficult to take.”
Addressing the inclusion of the pronoun “they” in “The Danish Girl,” Redmayne said it had come “very recently” to him, but added that he had decided to be accurate with what was already on the page rather than open to interpretation from viewers.
Favoring ‘impressionism’ over films
Redmayne told TV Week the Oscar-winning actor Christopher Plummer is his favorite actor to work with and said it “would be pretty cool” to receive another Academy Award nomination.
But when asked about his upcoming role in the “Potter” sequel “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Redmayne was less enthusiastic.
“I just do an impression of (the character),” Redmayne said. “There’s no in-depth research.
“There’s clearly enough time to go and play with all the wizardry. So if they want a new broom, if they want me to play a wizard, then I will.”
Earlier this year, Redmayne revealed his adopted son, March, was born via a surrogate and was the first child he and his wife, Hannah Bagshawe, decided not to have biological children.
The couple, who live in north London, already have two children: Iris, 8, and Vincent, 4.