10 Things You Didn't Know About Eddie Redmayne
9. His Screen Debut Was On The Television Show Animal Ark
All actors have to start somewhere, even if that means playing the stroppy, angst-ridden teen.
Animal Ark is a TV show based on the children's book series of the same name, written by a collection of authors under the pseudonym Lucy Daniels. The series began in 1994, and went on to publish over sixty books.
It's here that Eddie Redmayne got his first on-screen role, at the young age of sixteen. In it, he plays John, a teenager who, after coming home for summer, is distressed to learn his dad is engaged to another woman a mere three years after the death of his mother.
The role showcased Redmayne's ability to get emotional and to evoke sympathy from the viewer, talents that would be particularly important when it came to playing Marius in Les Miserables (no word on whether the director of Animal Ark also forced him to sit sing on set).