Eddie Redmayne admitted that playing a transgender in 2015 biographical romantic drama ‘Danish Girl’ was a mistake. The ‘Fantastic Beasts’ actor featured in the Tom Hooper-directed film as one of the first people in the world who underwent gender reassignment surgery. 

Talking to the Sunday Times, the 39-year-old said that he would not take the role now. 

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“No, I wouldn’t take it on now. I made that film with the best intentions, but I think it was a mistake,” Redmayne said. 

“The bigger discussion about the frustrations around casting is because many people don’t have a chair at the table. There must be a leveling, otherwise we are going to carry on having these debates,” he added.

‘The Danish Girl’, based on true events, starred Redmayne as Lili Ilse Elvenes (AKA Lili Elbe), a painter and one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery. Elbe went through four operations and died in 1931. 

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The film was described as “regressive, reductive, and contributing to harmful stereotypes” by trans writer Carol Grant. 

This statement from Redmayne comes a year after he disagreed with ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Fantastic Beasts’ author JK Rowling who had made anti-trans comments. 

“I disagree with Jo’s comments. Trans women are women, trans men are men and non-binary identities are valid,” he had tole Variety.

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“I would never want to speak on behalf of the community but I do know that my dear transgender friends and colleagues are tired of this constant questioning of their identities, which all too often results in violence and abuse. They simply want to live their lives peacefully, and it’s time to let them do so.”

Redmayne won a best actor Oscar in 2015 for playing scientist Stephen Hawking in ‘The Theory of Everything’. He earned an Oscar nomination in the same category a year later for ‘The Danish Girl’.