Lucasfilm / Walt Disney Studios, David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty ImagesIn an alternate reality, Eddie Redmayne could have been the face behind Kylo Ren's mask in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them star opened up to Uproxx and recalled when he auditioned for the villainous role that ultimately went to Adam Driver.
"So, I was going for, I think, for Adam Driver. They gave me like a Star Trek scene, or like something from Pride and Prejudice. It was one of those films," he recalled. "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."
Unfortunately, that "ridiculous voice" didn't work out for Redmayne. "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," he continued. "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. And after like 10 shots she's like, 'You got anything else?' I was like, 'No.'"
In hindsight, Redmayne probably isn't too upset about it because he secured the starring role in J.K. Rowling's latest creative project. Playing magizoologist Newt Scamander, Redmayne is more than ready to enchant No-Maj and Muggle fans alike.
"I'm useless at keeping secrets, so it's been a really stressful few months," Redmayne told Ellen DeGeneres. "But there are some great surprises—wonderful surprises that I'm very excited about."
Fantastic Beasts was originally intended to be a trilogy, but Warner Bros. recently upped it to a five-film franchise. Rowling's announcement came as a "complete shock" to the cast. "She always had a specific story she wanted to tell, which goes much further beyond just Newt and his case, but we didn't realize it was going to be five films."