Actor Eddie Redmayne has come to regret his decision to portray a trans woman, because he's not actually a trans woman

Eddie Redmayne was trending for a while earlier today on Twitter. You may remember him for his Oscar-nominated performance as a trans woman in “The Danish Girl.”

Which, as it happens, is why Redmayne has been trending.

Redmayne, you see, has recently decided that it was wrong of him — an actor — to portray a man who decided to undergo surgery and transition to female. Because that’s not what acting is all about.

Eddie Redmayne says it was a “mistake” to play a trans character in “The Danish Girl” https://t.co/eAYhAjYGE7

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 22, 2021

“No, I wouldn’t take it on now,” he told a reporter from the U.K.’s Sunday Times. “I made that film with the best intentions, but I think it was a mistake.”

And, as the Washington Post notes, Redmayne has been highly critical of author J.K. Rowling, who has decried radical trans activism as bad for women and toxic for society as a whole:

Last year, the actor spoke out after author J.K. Rowling doubled down on her anti-trans views, suggesting on Twitter that evolving discussions of gender identity deny the notion of biological sex. Redmayne, who stars in the film franchise adaptation of Rowling’s “Fantastic Beasts,” said he disagreed with her. He wrote in a statement that “respect for transgender people remains a cultural imperative, and over the years I have been trying to constantly educate myself.”

“Trans women are women, trans men are men and non-binary identities are valid,” he continued. “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.”

The 'mistake' is capitulating to the falsehood that only those of a certain cohort are capable of acting in an artistic role about a member of that cohort. Doing so is, after all, the essence of "acting".
The problem here is the criticism itself, not that he took in the role.

— The Digital Gazette (@TweetTDG) November 22, 2021

If you are playing a sailor, soldier, fireman, or doctor, you should be one first.

— whosyourmedic (@mileslaw2) November 22, 2021

I agree. They should also have found a real wizard to play his character in Fantastic Beasts.

— Boodrow (@StinkyBoodrow) November 22, 2021

It’s only fair, right?

Mistake or not, it was a brilliant performance. Was there an out trans woman actor available at that time to portray that role? I don't know. https://t.co/3XwLLzMY7D

— Proud GayBoy Dragon🏳️‍🌈🌈👨🐉 (@PriceRip) November 22, 2021

He was brilliant.

— Florencia Ugolini (@florcitaugo) November 22, 2021

And he’s apologizing for it. As if he did something wrong. It really sounds like he’s fully aware that he was just doing his job but feels like he should be ashamed for it:

“I hope there’s a day when there are more trans actors and trans actresses playing trans parts, but also cisgender parts,” he said. “And I hope — as an actor one hopes — that one should be able to play any sort of part if one plays it with a sense of integrity and responsibility.”

In other words, acting is acting.

Is Eddie Redmayne just trying not to get canceled? Maybe. We don’t really care, though. Rowling has demonstrated repeatedly that it’s possible to stand up to cancel culture. He should try taking a page out of her book.