Eddie Redmayne Auditioned to Play Kylo Ren in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’
Eddie Redmayne was so close — yet so far — to a galaxy far, far away.
The Oscar-winning actor revealed, in an interview with Uproxx, that he auditioned for the role of Kylo Ren in “Stars Wars: The Force Awakens” two years ago. In fact, Redmayne had a “catastrophically bad” reading for the “Star Wars” villain.
“They gave me like a ‘Star Trek’ scene — or like something from ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ It was one of those films,” Redmayne said. “With films that top secret, they don’t give you the actual lines. So they give you a scene from ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ but then they tell you you’re auditioning for the baddie. If you’re me, you then put some ridiculous voice on.”
The “Theory of Everything” star went on to reveal the hilarious outcome of attempting to adopt a darker demeanor for the role. The part eventually went to Adam Driver.
“That was really a hilarious moment. Because it was Nina Gold — who I have to thank a lot because she’s cast me in several films — and she was just sitting there and I was trying again and again with different versions of my kind of ‘koohh paaaah’ [Darth Vader breathing sound] voice,” Redmayne continued. “And after like 10 shots she’s like, ‘You got anything else?’ I was like, ‘No.'”
Although Redmayne didn’t land the role, he can be seen as another powerful figure, Newt Scamander, in “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” slated for release on Nov. 18.
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