Watch: Stephen Hawking Praises Eddie Redmayne’s Portrayal in ‘The Theory of Everything’

Everyone is raving about Eddie Redmayne’s take on physicist Stephen Hawking in James Marsh’s “The Theory of Everything” — including Hawking himself, in a Yahoo exclusive video that goes behind the scenes of the making of the film.

Redmayne’s biggest challenge in portraying Hawking, he says, came from the fact that at any time he had to be prepared to switch between the four central stages of the illness that ultimately left Hawking wheelchair-bound and voiceless.

Redmayne readied himself to take on that challenge by meeting with specialists, analyzing Hawking’s body language through photographs of him and then working with a choreographer to help channel his knowledge into his performance. 

“The Theory of Everything,” also starring Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, Emily Watson, Simon McBurney and David Thewlis, was released by Focus Features in L.A. and New York on November 7. 

Check out the video below: 

READ MORE: Watch: New ‘The Theory of Everything’ Trailer Might Make You Burst Into Tears