Today, Eddie Redmayne is probably best known for his role as the introverted wizard Newt Scamander in the expanded Harry Potter world of the Fantastic Beasts films. The franchise may have had to deal with a lot of controversy lately (it fired but paid off Johnny Depp then fans had issues with the title of the third movie too), but there remains a lot of praise Redmayne’s performance, nonetheless. That might explain why the first Fantastic Beasts film, which centered around Newt, is the one that got the most positive response from critics and fans alike.It is worth noting that Redmayne had been a Hollywood star long before he ever stumbled into the world of wizards and spells. In fact, he’s not just any other star but an A-lister with an Oscar win to boot. He essentially is one of the most successful actors today. And though Redmayne may not be the richest celebrity around, his net worth is still quite impressive.
His First Hollywood Film Boasts Of An All-Star Cast
Prior to becoming a Hollywood star, Redmayne was making quite a name for himself in London. In fact, he even landed one of the lead roles in his first-ever film, the crime mystery Murderous Intent where he played a teenager accused of murdering his schoolmate. Soon after, he booked his first major Hollywood film, and it was directed by no less than two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro himself.
For Redmayne, being cast to play the grown-up child of Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie on The Good Shepherd was surreal, to say the least. “I remember flying business class to New York, [being] put up in an amazing hotel. And you drove in a blacked out car to set in Brooklyn,” the actor said.
“And you’d go inside the studio and there were these massive sets. You just saw money being spent everywhere. And there was Angelina Jolie and Matt Damon who couldn’t have been more kind, but I was completely star struck.”
The whole experience was a “trial by fire” for the actor. “At that point I was really like a sponge because I’d done so little film,” Redmayne explained. “I was trying by osmosis to pick up as much as I could from brilliant actors around me.” It seems he learned a lot from the experience because more Oscar-worthy films soon came his way.
Soon After, Eddie Redmayne Went On To Do More Critically Acclaimed Films And Won An Oscar
It seems that casting directors like what they saw in Redmayne on The Good Shepherd that they kept him in mind for some of Hollywood’s most interesting film projects. For instance, there is the Oscar-winning biopic Elizabeth: The Golden Age where the actor played Thomas Babington.
Several years later, Redmayne joined the cast of the biopic My Week with Marilyn. This time, he played Sir Laurence Olivier’s assistant Colin Clark. Not long after, the actor went on to star in the big screen adaptation of Les Misérables where he played Cosette’s (Amanda Seyfried) suitor Marius. And for Redmayne, the Oscar-winning film was instrumental into making front-runner for the lead role in The Theory of Everything.
“It was at a time when I’d done Les Misérables and that film had been successful,” the actor explained. “And I think in some ways I had got a little bit more bankable, whatever that means, which was ephemeral.”
It seems the film’s director, James Marsh, also confirmed as much. “They (the British production outfit Working Title) worked with Eddie on Les Miserables,” Marsh revealed. “So that helped me sell, if you like, Eddie when I was absolutely convinced he was the one.” Redmayne won his first Oscar for his performance as Stephen Hawking.
Later on, Redmayne went on to star in the Oscar-winning film The Danish Girl. Although the actor’s casting was met with controversy, his performance in the film earned him an Oscar nod. Not long after, Redmayne found himself venturing into the world of wizards after getting cast in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
This Is Where Eddie Redmayne’s Net Worth Stands Today
Estimates indicate that Redmayne is currently worth as much as $15 million. Although his salary from the Fantastic Beasts movies was never disclosed, it is believed that the actor is one of the highest paid in the cast considering that he plays a lead role, and he is an Oscar winner. Moreover, it is likely that his salary for the third film is at par with the $16 million that Warner Bros reportedly paid Depp even if he was replaced in the movie.
Outside of films, Redmayne has been busy with a couple of major brand partnerships. For starters, the actor was named Omega’s newest brand ambassador in 2016, joining the likes of George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, and Cindy Crawford. “He’s a great actor, very forward-looking, and the films he makes are quite modern and bold,” Omega president and CEO Stephen Urquhart said of Redmayne in a statement. “At Omega, that’s what we’re trying to achieve — modern and bold.”
More recently, Redmayne became a global brand ambassador for the smart device company OPPO. So far, one of the products that the actor has helped promote for the brand is its Find X2 smartphone.
Meanwhile, Redmayne will next star in the upcoming crime biopic The Good Nurse. The film is based on the true story of nurse-turned-serial-killer Charlie Cullen who the actor is portraying. Aside from Redmayne, the cast also includes fellow Oscar winner Jessica Chastain. The Good Nurse is set for streaming release on Netflix, although no actual release date has been announced yet.