ALL eyes were on British actor Eddie Redmayne yesterday as he won Best Actor in a Drama at the Golden Globes for his performance as Professor Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.
But now two budding young actors from Christchurch have been propelled into the spotlight after also starring in the film that now seems destined for Oscar-winning glory.
Oliver Payne, 10, and Finlay Wright-Stephens, nine, play the parts of Stephen Hawking’s children, Robert and Timothy.
Both youngsters, who attend Bournemouth and Christchurchbased Swish of the Curtain theatre school, auditioned for director James Marsh.
Although they play brothers in the film, Oliver and Finlay portray their characters at different points in Hawking’s life, meaning they were not in a scene together.
The film follows the story of the renowned astrophysicist and is based on the memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by his former wife, Jane Hawking.
Initially both boys were pitched against each other for the same part of Robert but while Oliver was given this role, Finlay was then handed the task of playing Robert’s brother Timothy, aged eight.
Both boys attended the star-studded premiere in London, taking the momentous occasion in their stride.
Oliver’s father Jeremy Payne said: “When we went to the premiere it was huge; but Oliver was concerned about whether we got free popcorn.”
Oliver and Finlay described meeting Stephen Hawking as “cool” and say Eddie Redmayne, who played the astrophysicist was “good fun”.
Eddie Redmayne starring in the Theory of Everything
The boys will star in Swish of the Curtain’s Wizard of Oz at Bournemouth Pavilion from February 19 to February 21.
The odds-on favourite for Oscar honours this year, The Theory of Everything tells the story of the deeply moving love affair and romance between the internationally renowned scientist, Stephen Hawking and his first wife Jane, which began when they were students at Cambridge University in the 1960s. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones give career-defining performances as the young couple.
Oliver has appeared in the last three highly successful Christmas Spectaculars at the Regent and as a member of the Swish of the Curtain Theatre School of Tuckton, he also appeared on the Bournemouth Pavilion stage in their last two performances of Oliver and Beauty and the Beast. He also appeared as Benji in the National Tour of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at the Mayflower Theatre, and was on Channel 5 over Christmas advertising The World’s Strongest Man. He also has a minor role in another film in post-production, Pan, with Hugh Jackman, Amanda Seyfried and super model Cara Delevingne, which is due for release this year.
Oliver got the request to read for the part as he and his family were driving through France on their annual family summer holiday in 2013. On arriving at the campsite in the south of France, his parents filmed a short sequence with Oliver on his phone from the campsite pitch. They emailed this off and when they returned Oliver was invited to a casting session in London after which he was offered the role.
Oliver said: “I’m very excited to have been a part of this film.
“Working with Eddie and Felicity was so much fun – we just messed around all the time.
“They were very kind to me and it’s hard to believe that they’re also world famous megastars.”
A special party will be held for the boys at the Regent Centre in Christchurch to celebrate their success.
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