The transition into vulnerability

Most of the world’s great actors are master impersonators in one form or another, and Eddie Redmayne has the chameleonic capacity to shape-shift at will. Earlier this year, he won an Oscar for his brilliant performance as the severely incapacitated physicist Stephen Hawking. Now, in The Danish Girl, he’s taken the process of transformation further still with his portrayal of Lili Elbe, the Danish painter who was the first person to undergo gender-confirmation surgery, transitioning from male to female. Following the film’s premiere at the Venice and Toronto film festivals, critics raved about Redmayne’s astonishing performance and he’s an odds-on favorite to earn yet another Oscar nomination. How does the affable British actor put all this in perspective?

“It’s impossible to imagine getting these kinds of opportunities and I know these kinds of roles will not come along again, at least not anytime soon,” Redmayne says. “I feel very privileged to play these two extraordinary people and it’s beyond anything I expected. I was thrilled to have the chance to work on films like Savage Grace and now I’m almost resigned to the fact that I may have reached my quota.”

Directed by Tom Hooper, The Danish Girl traces the evolution of artist Einar Wegener into Lili and the steadfast support given by Einar’s wife Gerda, played movingly by rising Swedish actress Alicia Vikander.

As an indication of how complete and convincing Redmayne’s transformation into Lili actually becomes, his co-star Vikander recalled how she was fooled the first day Eddie walked onto the set as Lili Elbe: “This red-headed woman came around the corner and it took me a full five minutes — for real — before I knew it was Eddie.”

Should Remayne go on to win a rare Oscar double, he’d become the first actor since Tom Hanks in 1994 and 1995 (with Philadelphia and Forrest Gump) to earn consecutive awards.

What was the most interesting thing you learned about Einar’s transformation into Lili?
Having spoken to many trans women while preparing to play the part, I discovered they all knew from a very early age — 4 or 5 — that they were a different gender. Their greatest challenge was having to adapt themselves to how society viewed them, even though on the inside they knew they were very different from the identity or role that society expected of them. There’s a scene where Lili puts on a dress for the first time that suggests an awakening to her true self but she had already known that about herself since she was very young.

Eddie, aside from the remarkable gender transformation of Einar into Lili, The Danish Girl is also the story of the close relationship with his wife, Gerda.
I was struck by how these two formidable people went on a journey together that was driven by love and not defined by gender. They loved each other’s souls and shared something very beautiful together that made it much easier for Lili go through this process.

So the actual transformation becomes a great relief to Lili as it does for other trans women?
It’s still a difficult transition because you’re dealing with how society will look at you even though you may feel you’re finally able to present your authentic self. Another interesting thing I discovered was that trans women find the term “gender reassignment” mislabeling of what is taking place. They have always felt that they were women and the procedure is really “gender-confirmation” surgery.

Many people who watch the film will be stunned by the transformation that you as an actor make in portraying Einar and then Lili. How did you approach the challenge of playing both those selves of the same individual?
It was more difficult to discover and understand Lili when she was living as Einar. It was much more obvious to me to play Lili once she begins to discover herself and so I needed to work my way backwards to how she was as Einar and dealing with the anxiety and inner turbulence that came with that.

One of the keys to my preparation were the drawings of Lili when she was living as a man that showed her in tight, tailored suits with these very high, starched collars. She had been born into a society that had led her to encase herself in a masculine exoskeleton and my challenge was to be able to show this process of unraveling. For me, that was the core of the film’s narrative and I had to be careful not to present it as an epiphany, but more as Lili’s determination to become the person she wanted to be and not hide behind this masculine scaffolding and self that society required her to wear.

Was it awkward being on the set day in and day out in the guise of a woman?
It leaves you feeling very exposed and vulnerable. The set itself felt very safe when I [walked] around as Lili, but there was still this sense of people watching you and feeling judged. Imagine what it must be like for trans women who are constantly facing such judgement, as well as discrimination and violence in many cases.

That experience helped me understand and appreciate — in a limited way — the terrific anxiety that Lili must have experienced in a time where society was very intolerant and had little capacity to understand trans people. Even 100 years later, we have a lot of progress left to make when it comes to the discrimination and stigma that society still attaches to the trans community. I hope that our film will create more awareness and help bring more understanding and acceptance.

In the course of your performance, there’s a moment in the film where you strip naked and your character is staring at himself in the mirror. Were you apprehensive about that scene?
Of course! Very few actors are comfortable appearing naked whether it’s a scene like that or where you’re naked in bed for a sex scene with someone you may only have met a few days earlier. You need to overcome your own fear or sense of embarrassment and accept that this is part of your job. It’s the nature of acting to be willing to expose yourself emotionally and physically.

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Eddie lives in London with his wife, Hannah Bagshawe. Next year, he’ll be seen as Newt Scamander in J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.