An actor does not plant the seed for a future Academy Award by being awesome and popular in middle school. One plants it by being a total friendless dweeb who sings “Memory†from Cats at his prepubescent voice recital. Turns out James Corden and Eddie Redmayne attended the same drama school together in Britain, the only type of school where James Corden could be so cool, it’s intimidating. Looking back at your early performances should be a fascinating mental exercise, filled with compassion and the wisdom of age, but Eddie Redmayne knows that it’s actually like peering directly into the darkest recesses of your brain. And in those dark recesses? Some little wiener in a mock turtleneck, belting out the Cats soundtrack and loving it.
