Eddie Redmayne Brings ‘The Danish Girl’ to Life
Eddie Redmayne looks to continue his critically-acclaimed, socially-conscious career with The Danish Girl, a big screen adaptation of the book of the same name by David Ebershoff. The story follows a person who was born as Einar Magnus Andreas Wegener, and who became the first documented person in history to undergo sexual reassignment surgery in early 20th century Denmark. She transitioned from a man to a woman and took the name Lili Elbe.
Redmayne will play Lili opposite Alicia Vikander, who will play Lili/Einar’s wife Gerda Gottlieb. The two each have a prominent career in the arts. After Gerda asks her husband to pose in women’s clothes and makeup for artistic pursuits, Lili rapidly comes to the realization that she does not feel at home in her birth-body.
Eddie Redmayne won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything last year. He’ll go from acting disabilities to acting transgender. It’s a difficult question modern Hollywood is grappling with. Should characters with significant personal struggles or inherent identities be played by actors who share those traits? Is it worth casting a high-profile heteronormative actor for the sake of getting exposure for the issue? This is a discussion we’ll be having for a while.
At any rate, check out the touching trailer for yourself below. Director Tom Hooper and cinematographer Danny Cohen of Les Misérables fame are also leading the project.
We’ll see The Danish Girl transform in theaters November 27th.
