Watch: Oscar Contender Felicity Jones in Pivotal ‘Theory of Everything’ Clip

Jones plays a young university student so in love with blossoming brainy scientist Stephen Hawking that she insists on marrying him and seeing him through a devastating and potentially lethal illness. Except that he lives. And despite the paralyzing ravages of ALS, Hawking becomes a hugely successful physicist, perhaps the most famous in the world, thanks to this extraordinary woman who uses her wits and agility to become an extension of her husband. She literally saves his life.

Read: Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones Reveal Terrors Filming “The Theory of Everything”

But she also takes on more than she bargained for. Director James Marsh wanted to do this slice of the Hawkings’ life because of the complexity of balancing the dynamics in this marriage. Stephen Hawking is not the center of this film, he argues: “Jane is an equally fascinating character. We met Jane. She is a strong resourceful woman with a sense of how to get things done practically. Why wouldn’t she be? She enables so much of his scientific career with her emotional support and practical help. I was intrigued by this female character behind the public figure we all know, who is pretty much unacknowledged in terms of her contribution to his public life.”

Read: Inside the Making of “The Theory of Everything”

Marsh worked closely with Eddie Redmayne and Jones “to make this work,” he explains. “If one overshadowed the other, Felicity fought for her character as all good actors do on set, wanting to express the research she brought back. I was dealing with two equally great actors who pay attention to both their work. It was also a given that the movie was allowed to be as strongly about Jane as Stephen.”

“Women of 50s and 60s, their main goal in life is to be a good wife and mother,” says Jones. “Jane struggled to have a career, which was not necessarily expected of her. Women weren’t respected as an academic’s wife in that period. She had to get through her desire to be taken seriously in her own right. Jane and Stephen both had academic careers and intellectual curiosity, it was hard for Jane seeing how much Stephen was loved by the world for his mind. There was that tension in the relationship, a competition between them, that we tapped into. That’s one reason their relationship broke down.”

Read: Stephen Hawking Applauds Eddie Redmayne’s Performance in “The Theory of Everything.”

The exclusive clip below shows Jane Hawking at a pivotal moment in their relationship when it’s beginning to shift gears near the end of their 25 years together. “It’s fascinating all the way through, how they are constantly adapting, the conditions would change,” Jones says. “The weight on these people’s shoulders! It was a huge responsibility. Stephen loses his speech, he becomes less audible and people have to lip read. Jane and he are responding to that. After his tracheotomy he has no speech. It’s a testament to them that they are always finding new ways to keep the relationship going, despite the hurdles. He needed 24-hour care after the tracheotomy at great cost, financial and physical. You have people living in the home with you all the time. Jane made the decision, he didn’t know until later that she was the one who said, ‘don’t turn off life support.’ She saved his life.”

Read: Eight Reasons Why “The Theory of Everything” and “The Imitation Game” are Oscar Rivals.