People became aware of who he was starting with his stirring performance as Marius in Les Miserables. But now, Eddie Redmayne might not only become a household name, he might soon be attaching Oscar winner to his title. This is because his latest movie has plenty of critics and moviegoers alike buzzing about his performance. In The Theory of Everything, Eddie Redmayne plays Stephen Hawking, and it is a performance for the ages.

In fact, the celebrated scientist himself commended his performance. According to Redmayne's recent interview with Variety, Hawking was so moved that after the screening of The Theory of Everything and the lights went on, "a nurse wiped a tear from Hawking's eye."

Indeed, Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking was such an incredibly real performance that the movie's director, James Marsh, received an email from Hawking himself, praising the film's authenticity. "He emailed us," Marsh shares. "and said there were certain points when he thought he was watching himself."

The movie based on the memoir written by Stephen Hawking's ex wife Jane Hawking, entitled "Travelling to Infinity: My Life With Stephen." The movie follows Jane's remarkable relationship with Stephen, which started when they met in Cambridge University some time in the 1960s. Jane was Stephen's younger sister's friend, and they fell in love just before the scientist was diagnosed with the disease that has confined him to his wheelchair.

But before Eddie Redmayne played Stephen Hawking, did you know that the actor was auditioning for a decidedly different role? The 32 year old actor admitted that he had wanted to play Christian Grey, the titular character in the book Fifty Shades of Grey. But according to Redmayne, author E.L. James would have none of it. According to the Variety interview, Redmayne relates, "[E.L. James] took to her Twitter feed to go, 'Under no circumstances!' I was like, all right, all right! Am I that bad?" Redmayne shares. "I can put a whip in my hand. I can get all kinky, can't I? Apparently not."