“The most curious thing about the script for The Good Nurse was that empathy felt at the forefront of who Charles Cullen was. There was a dissociative personality that then weaponized that empathy. Part of the appeal of this character and the film was that load of conflicting things.”
-Eddie Redmayne, episode 296 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
Today we’re joined by Oscar-winning actor, Eddie Redmayne! We discuss how he embodied serial killer Charles Cullen in The Good Nurse (8:12), playing opposite Jessica Chastain (9:35), and the research that shaped his commanding performance (15:11). Then, to understand his present as a performer, we return to the past: an early theatre production with director Sam Mendes (19:12), his big break starring in Twelfth Night at the Globe (22:59), and learning Shakespeare on the job with actor Mark Rylance (25:26).
On the back-half, we walk through Redmayne’s transition from stage to screen (28:41), a formative memory on set with Scarlett Johansson (31:22), how The Theory of Everything changed his course (33:45), returning to the theatre as the Emcee in Cabaret (41:44), rediscovering a sense of play in a physical theatre class (47:04), and the kind of work he hopes to make in the years to come (49:13).
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Show-notes:
- Purchase tickets to see The Good Nurse in theaters, and watch it on Netflix October 26th.
- See Eddie’s past performances in My Week with Marilyn, Les Misérables, The Theory of Everything, and more.
- For more conversations, hear our talks with Ethan Hawke, Cate Blanchett, Pedro Pascal, Amanda Seyfried, Tessa Thompson, and Matthew McConaughey.
- Order your Talk Easy mug in cream and navy or our vinyl record with Fran Lebowitz.
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Original illustration by Krishna Shenoi.
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