The Important Lesson Toni Collette Taught Eddie Redmayne About Acting

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It’s hard to imagine Eddie Redmayne ever having difficulties as an actor. But in a delightfully candid conversation with Emma Stone, the Oscar-nominated actor reveals that he still had a lot to learn when it came to emoting on film rather than on stage.

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While shooting his first film, the 2006 Australian thriller, Like Minds, it became evidently clear that Redmayne was very much projecting like he was on stage rather than appreciating the nuances afforded to him by film.

“I was playing this psychopath opposite Toni Collette, and we were doing this Silence of the Lambs scene,” Redmayne tells Stone in a conversation for The New York Times. “After an hour, she said, ‘Come and watch the playback.’ And thank God she did! My eyebrows were up to here, and I was projecting to the back of the room. Suddenly I realized why I’d never gotten a film job before.”

That kind of realization would be enough to scare some, but for Redmayne it gave him the confidence to keep perfecting his skills.

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“It’s helped my stage acting, too. People can see closer than you think,” the 33-year-old actor adds.

Reacting to Redmayne’s story, Stone reveals a crucial lesson she also received early in her acting career. “When I first started trying for roles in L.A., this acting coach told me, ‘Teaspoons, not buckets,’” Stone admits.

The two stars are both at the height of their careers thanks to their Oscar-nominated roles. Both Stone and Redmayne open up to the NYT about first getting that spark, the challenges of spotlight, and life outside of acting.

For Redmayne, life off-screen has been just as rewarding as all the awards season recognition for his role in The Theory of Everything. Watch has he opens up about his new wife, Hannah Bagshawe, and their big day.