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“Be BRAVE Enough to SCREW UP!” | Eddie Redmayne | Top 10 Rules


being an artist is not about talent and
all that it’s about the aspiration for
perfection with the acknowledgement that
you’ll never attain it
never I’d rather get fired than do
something really boring and beige and
and sort of really limited again I’m a
pretty indecisive person by nature and
I’ve learnt over the years to try and
need motivation watch a top ten with
believe nation what’s up at seven my one
word is believe and I believe in you I
believe you have Michael Jordan level
talent add something and I want you to
find it embrace it and use it to make a
difference so let’s get your motivation
to attend and get you believing in you
grab a snack and chew in today’s lessons
from a man who went from finding his
love of acting at age 10 to briefly
becoming a model to then becoming an
Academy award-winning actor he’s Eddie
Redmayne and here’s my take on his top
okay let’s kick it off with rule number
one have tenacity
I suffer from like severe nerves if I’m
being honest I’m not in like a stage
fright way but like anxiety is something
that I think it fuels us and I think
it’s good and but I was never very good
at auditioning until one great moment I
remember talking to the director Joe
Wright and he had he was making Pride
and Prejudice and he had come over here
to audition girls for the to play the
daughters and he said Eddie is so
interesting the difference in the
audition room between the UK and here
and I was at Howell and he goes well in
the UK actors come in and they nervously
wait to be told what to do and then they
do it and they do their thing and then
you can see that they’re said upset by
it and then they said tail between their
legs might have walked out whereas he
said there was a and it wasn’t obvious
Lee everyone but there was a difference
in vibe in the states that some would
walk in and go they’ll come kind of
nervous can I just run my lines and he’d
be like okay yeah go ahead and then they
would go okay I’m ready to wait to read
try it and halfway through go so I’ve
messed that up can I so again you know
and this idea of like controlling the
room and he said it was interesting
because he was used to being on the
front foot as a director and here he you
know felt slightly more on the back foot
although he would then but but what what
it meant was is he felt he’s more people
left with him having seen at least a
sense of what they could do because they
refused to leave without having given it
something and I went of course like
that’s that’s what it takes is and no
one the point of auditions are useless
if if we leave going I gave nothing of
what I can give and so from then on I’ve
always tried to not leave an audition
without having at least on let me try it
one more time well let me have it let me
give it a sense of involves occasionally
being pushed out of a room go we’re
you just so the advices don’t leave
exactly exactly if a doubt tenacity be
stubborn
rule number two aspire for perfection
you always disappoint yourself as an
actor one’s notion of it of what a
character is versus what ends up being
on screen is is never it never makes you
content because you ought only see your
flaws but with that there is a did a
play about Mark Rothko and and his
assistant at that time wrote this this
little thing which it was about being a
pictorial artist but he said being an
artist is not about talent and all that
it’s about the aspiration for perfection
with the acknowledgement that you’ll
never attain it so like it’s kind of
learning to enjoy the process of
aspiring for a perfection that you won’t
ever get and so with theater for example
people often going me how can you do it
like the nine months how can you do the
same thing and you go because you never
get one line right let alone a whole
wave rule number three take on every
opportunity well the thing that I’ve
learned I think subsequently is that
everything’s there for a reason and for
example there’s a film called the Yellow
Handkerchief which was with William Hurt
and Kristen Stewart was the scene in the
film there and I was playing an adopted
Native American from northern Oklahoma
and I I remember actually gene parsegian
my manager who’s here this evening
I remember I was in town and he’s like
there’s this it’s a wonderful script and
I read in I was like it is beautiful is
like you should go for an audition I was
like I’m never gonna get cast as an
adopted Native American from northern
Oklahoma and he went he went go to the
audition that he died you know and I
went to the audition and because I was
so convinced I didn’t have a hope I just
sort of threw I described it’s like
throwing mud at a wall I was like there
you go you know and walked out and then
and then I got offered the part and I
think I’ve had to go and speak to the
director to sort of tell him that that
what I’ve done in that audition was
complete like you know it was that I
couldn’t do an actual part from that
that was just like I said oh is this
like a sort of moment of absurdity
anyway we went through the making of
that film it’s a little film it didn’t
have a huge audience when I was speaking
to James Marsh
again um for the theory of everything
the director the theory of everything he
had only seen English period dramas and
those sort of ones that I’d done and and
he asked me on the phone he said have
you done anything that’s physically sort
of outside of you I said why did this in
a film called Yellow Handkerchief and
and that film which really didn’t make
much money didn’t have a sort of broad I
don’t wasn’t broadly released ended up
being the reason that I got cast in in
the theory of everything because he saw
that the the the mud on the wall element
or like the jumping off a cliff element
he was like oh this guy can he’s happy
to jump off a cliff anyway he died here
and and so but that you know there was a
sense that in some ways these things are
maybe I’m not a fatalistic dude that was
there for a reason
rule number four be a sponge I’ve heard
that you say you feel that you didn’t
have formal proper training but I mean
just working with Mark Rylance sounds
exactly a master I mean so I didn’t go
to drama school but but as I those
things were my training and I think that
the slight I don’t know how many of you
guys trained but the slight sort of
paranoia with acting that you never
quite know how you do always basically
feel like you’re kidding the world and
you’re waiting to be found out and but
what it did make that paranoia maybe try
and be like sponge-like and and try and
really try and observe the other actors
I work with and one of the things I was
formidable lucky wid was from the word
go I worked with some amazing actors and
and try and by osmosis to pick up but
but not just how how they work but also
how you behave on sets how you how you
negotiate your life work balance how you
know really trying to learn from them
rule number five try to surprise
yourself
as actors just starting out in your
careers how did you find the fine line
of making choices in your roles that
were authentic enough yet also bold
enough to set you apart and that’s got
to be hard especially when you’re just
beginning what I would say so that is
it’s for me it was through making
mistakes and I remember I did a film
early on and
playing American and I was so excited to
have got this job and terrified we were
shooting on big sets in New York there
were amazing actors involved and you
could see sort of money everywhere and
that sort of pressure of that and
suddenly there was a camera about three
inches away from me
and I was so terrified and so convinced
that I was gonna get fired for having a
bad accent that basically I played an
accent now my performance in that film
is so awful because you just see me
trying not to get fired like you know
and I and I ever since then when I saw
that back I was like never
I’d rather get fired than do something
really boring and beige and and sort of
really limited again so I suppose I
always just try and surprise yourself a
wee bit rule number six trust your
instincts
I seem willing to really take on
characters that demand the audience
engage in a physical reaction themselves
whether it’s emotional in that I guess
in a classic Hollywood way you’d say in
a tearjerker or in a horror scenario or
a kind of you know some sort of real
tragedy that’s a risk as an actor to
take with an audience that you’re asking
them actually to be with you rather than
to want to be you there are various
things the first thing for me is the
idea of choice the idea that you have
choice so I want to make it absolutely
clear from the get-go that I I get to do
something I’m absolutely passionate
about something I love since I was a kid
but but there’s no question that this
idea that one strategizes or makes
really specific career decisions I mean
there is one dreams of that but very few
people in this industry have that choice
and so whilst there have been moments
when I’ve been lucky to be able to say
yes or no to something there’s also been
a lot of auditioning for things that
whatever it is try and try to retain
employment but that being said I think
what you’re referring to is an emotional
or a visceral reaction to something and
I am someone that I’m a pretty
indecisive person by Nature and I’ve
learnt over the years to try and train
myself to live by instincts and and when
I first read a script I’m a really bad
reader very slow reader it takes me
forever and I’ll do anything to distract
myself but if I’m kept engaged by
something and if I feel an emotional
reaction like I did when when I read
Lemmy’s and also I had seen the stage
show but but certainly with the theory
of everything and My Week With Marilyn
there were absolutely visceral moments
or with savage grace one of the films
that you saw there which I’m not not a
huge amount of people have seen but it
was a film with Julianne Moore and that
wasn’t that was again a very visceral
reaction I had to it so I try and trust
those instincts rule number seven find
your passion so I wanna go back to the
beginning I know you were born and I
believe raised in London Australia but
your family was not in the business when
did you become interested in acting I
not um so my family aren’t in the
business at all but it was one of those
things when I was a kid I just I did it
at school and I loved it and then when I
was about I think about ten or eleven I
they were doing Sam Mendes was directing
Oliver in London at the London Palladium
and I auditioned for that cuz I said to
mom and dad I was quite so keen and I
got cast as as workhouse boy number sort
of 46 forward slash book boy I had one
line it was books you order from the
bookseller so anyway that’s why I did
that it was at the London Palladium
which is just the most breathtaking West
End theatre and just going through those
corridors at night and being had a leave
school to go and do it was it really it
was properly magical and as I said it’s
directed by some members and even though
I was blinking you’re miss I don’t think
I even ever met some endures it remained
and still remains on my CV for many
years they like until I actually had to
go and meet some and there’s one day and
I was like I should probably take his
name off my CV give and he’ll be like
really we’ve worked together so that’s
that’s kind of where I got the bug
I suppose rule number eight have a
strong why was there something in
particular about the role of playing
Stephen Hawking that made you really
want the role yes a really good question
I well when I read it I thought it was
gonna be a biopic I thought it was gonna
be a biography as his life and and then
it completely subverted that after I’d
read it it was it really is the study of
these two extraordinary people and how
their lives how they overcome the
limitations that were put on them and
what I found amazing about it although
it’s very specific to their story I do
feel that there’s a sort of universal
quality that without something to serve
as the universal thing in our lives we
all have people say no to us and put
things in our way about how one chooses
to either break through those boundaries
is pretty it’s pretty important it’s
what and it is what defines us so I
found there’s something really Universal
in it as well and then I just saw this
Stephen Hawking he’s like a legend thank
you why not try it was only them when I
got the job that I wanted to cry rule
number nine work in a great environment
the only thing that I’ve just sort of
realized having that worked for a few
years now is just what what scenario
makes you work best and and for me it’s
being given the environment to be brave
enough to screw up basically and because
I think often the most interesting work
happens when when someone goes like I’ve
got a third idea it’s probably absurd
can I try it
and those directors that go for sure do
you know do it and it normally fails and
then that those directors are going to
try again rather than going it’s costing
money all of this other stuff is that
that’s when I tend to do most
interesting work now part of that is
trusting the people around you and so
maybe what you’re referring to as far as
the more intimate element of working in
two handers is that of course when
you’re working with someone that
intensely you you develop that
relationship and you do trust each other
and you have the ability to to be braver
and again
sort of make mistakes and rule number 10
the last home before a very special
bonus clip is have fun alright so we’re
gonna play a game and it’s it’s
different animals so you’re gonna have
to make noises or act it out if there’s
no noise and I’m gonna have to guess
which animal you are okay trying to get
me to guess monkey yes yes oh I just did
that noise horse unicorn hi Mouse to ITC
oh yes nice one
meow yeah a second one
[Applause]
how waiter gasps Oh seal that was a sale
yeah
I’ve got a really special bonus clip I
think you’re gonna enjoy from Eddie on
how to find control but before that I
want to know what did you learn from
this video what lesson are you going to
apply somehow to your life or your
business leave in the comments below
when you write it down you’re much more
likely to actually do the thing that you
say you’re gonna do so leave it in the
comments thank you guys so much for
watching I believe in you I hope we
continue to believe in yourself and
whatever your one word is much love I’ll
I would say do it I would say it’s an
extraordinary thing it’s it’s a but
there are caveats it comes with even
when as it’s going as it’s going well
and you’re as lucky as I have been it’s
still nomadic life so it’s one of both
sort of incredibly intense experiences
followed by weird lulls and and finding
a sort of constancy to try and find
things to find outside of the work world
to find a constancy of a rhythm of your
own in which you can it’s a world in
which you retain very little control as
an actor everyone else is in charge and
so you need to kind of grip your own or
take your own sense of control find your
own sense of control the most important
work ever if you had to think of one
word that’s most important to you or
that sums you Apple
that would be collect a little beacon
pay believe nation if you want to know
what the most important one word is for
Tony Robbins
Gary Vaynerchuk Oprah Winfrey will.i.am
and Howard Schultz I have a very special
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