Extra, Extra!: Our First Look at Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl

In which I report on the latest in entertainment news.

Who would have thought after seeing the man win an Oscar for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything that the next time we would see Eddie Redmayne in anything, it would be drag.  Eddie Redmayne's next role is as real-life Danish model Einar Wegener, the first man to ever have sexual-reassignment surgery.  And now we have our first look at him in the role:

The illusion really is quite complete.  Looking at him in this production still, it's actually really hard to see him as anything other than a woman.  It's only in the face that you really see it, and only if you really force yourself to see it.  All props, at least at this stage of the game, have to go to the makeup and hairstyling artists who worked with him to create this look.

I would be utterly shocked if the film doesn't end up earning an Oscar nomination in that category less than a year from now, never mind whatever else it will earn for its Oscar-friendly performance in what is shaping up to be an Oscar-friendly film.

It's pretty safe to say that Redmayne has a rich career ahead of him.  He's already gone above and beyond in showing that he has talent to spare, and even his laughable turn as Balem Abrasax in Jupiter Ascending didn't succeed at tarnishing his accomplishments of the previous year.  He furthermore seems to have a taste for physically challenging, transformative roles that will inevitably earn him Oscar attention at the end of the year.

In this regard, I can't be more excited.  The film industry needs young men and women of his caliber who are willing to take risks the way that he does.  Depending on how The Danish Girl turns out, we may have another Channing Tatum on our hands: an indelibly talented and shockingly versatile talent of growing mainstream appeal.

So what is your opinion of Eddie Redmayne's new look in The Danish Girl.  Share your thoughts about it in the comments section below.

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