I haven’t paid much attention to Eddie Redmayne’s promotional hustle for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I even ignored these London premiere photos! I don’t dislike Eddie at all, I just find him sort of boring and noncontroversial. But there was a brief moment where he could have been controversial. There was a brief moment, back in early 2012, when Eddie could have been Taylor Swift’s boyfriend. She was reportedly really into him and… I believe he was quietly dating Hannah Bagshawe, who is currently his wife. Eddie and Taylor met while auditioning for Les Miserables. Eddie got the role of Marcus, and Taylor was briefly cast as Epinone. Only Les Mis producers dumped Taylor rather suddenly and then hired Samantha Barks for the role. There’s still a lot of mystery around that moment in Tay-Tay’s life – no one knows if she was really trying to make Eddie her boyfriend, and no one knows how and why she got kicked off of Les Mis. Well, thankfully, Andy Cohen asked Eddie all about that on Watch What Happens Live last night.
Did he or didn’t he? Eddie Redmayne has addressed the rumors he once dated Taylor Swift, and he’s denied them! But that’s not to say the British Fantastic Beasts star didn’t make sweet music with the country music pop princess. Chatting to Andy Cohen on ‘Watch What Happens Live’ on Wednesday, November 16, Redmayne was asked by a viewer about his alleged 2012 romance with Swift.
“I absolutely can put the rumors to rest,” he said, when questioned over the reports he romanced the star. “I never went out on a date with Taylor Swift. Although I met Taylor Swift…She auditioned for Les Miserables and she was amazing in the audition. We got to sing together, which was a big moment for me. But no we never went out. She was extraordinary.”
Redmayne played the dashing hero, Marius, in the film, and Swift was hoping to snag the role of his lover Epinone, a part Hayden Panettiere, Scarlett Johansson, Lea Michele and Lucy Hale, were all reportedly up for, but eventually went to Samantha Barks.
I’m including the video below. While I like that Andy Cohen was bitchy enough to press Eddie about it, Eddie’s comments were in desperate need of some follow-up questions. Questions like, “So, why didn’t Taylor get the part?” and “Did she really try to date you?” While Eddie is always super-professional and never one to publicly gossip about other people, you can see that he’s radiating discomfort over the Swift questions. There’s absolutely more to the story.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Coincidentally I was just today watching some theater performances of Les Mis and in one of the productions Samantha Barks was Epinone and she was just amazing. Like her singing voice is something angels would be jealous of. I dont know what Taylor Swift would have done with the role but i doubt it would ever surpass Samantha Barks.
I feel Taylor Swift in 2012 had more attention on her relationships and I doubt Eddie is about that life. He saves his hustle for actual awards.
Samantha Barks singing ability is miles ahead of Taylor’s. That’s why Taylor didn’t get the part. With Russell Crowe “singing”, they had to shore up the rest of the cast with strong voices.
She was a fantastic choice. Best singer in Les Mis overall. I always had goose bumps when she was singing her part!
I thought Andy Cohen was radiating discomfort more than Eddie. His face seemed kind of….odd.
I guess every male that Taylor has ever been in contact with, she’s dated. Clearly it was a blimp on Taylor’s radar because we didn’t get a full length album out of it.
I’m gonna quote Taylor on this and say “Honestly this is exhausting.”
Maybe they dated. Maybe they had a fling. Maybe nothing happened. It’s 2016. This supposedly happened or didn’t happen in 2012. Why does it matter? More importantly, who cares? I know she brings a lot of this on herself with her songs and what not but you would think the media would at least for the time being let crap like this go.
I don’t feel bad for Taylor but I do for someone like Eddie who is probably asked about this every time he gives an interview.
I’m confused by people who still think there’s a single authentic bone in Taylor Swift’s calculating celebot body. I think people get uncomfortable talking about her because there’s nothing good that can come from it. If they tell the truth, the gossip press goes apesh*t, TayTay’s fans go for the jugular and Taylor Inc plots revenge. If they play along, it only feeds the insatiable beast that is Taylor Inc. So you get uncomfortable middle-of-the-road nothing to see here celebrity diplomacy.
I definitely think there’s more to the story. More like she offered him a contract to “date” her and he declined. Smart man.
I’m sorry but only has herself to blame for that, with the way she publicises her own relationships.
I always wondered if Taylor’s team jumped the shark and put it out to the press that she auditioned and “got the part”, hoping that would make it true. I find it hard to believe she was cast and then dropped. Not only is her singing not great, her acting is even worse.
IKR? I just can’t fathom Taylor even making the shortlist for Eponine – she just doesn’t have the skillset to pull off that kind of role. Samantha Barks killed it – I thought she had one of the best performances in the film.
I did discuss the lawsuit earlier this week, where I explained that I was trying to respect her privacy. She absolutely does not want the lawsuit to be a big, public spectacle. So please respect her privacy.
http://www.celebitchy.com/512104/taylor_swifts_new_album_will_be_full_of_hip-hop_songs_about_her_exes_apparently/
Eddie talked to the Telegraph about this in 2013:
“It was absolute nonsense,” the Old Etonian says of the alleged romance, which was said to take place last year after they met auditioning for the Les Misérables film. He says she then invited herself to a play he was in. “We had a chat behind the stage for seven minutes,” he tells Glamour magazine. “Even by my standards, that’s a pretty brief relationship!”
I got a kick out of the Telegraph’s use of the expression “invited herself”. Like yeah, she was pursuing him and he gave her the bum rush when she showed up backstage.
He didn’t start dating his wife until a little while later, so I don’t think that was the issue. He was just smart enough not to get involved with Taylor and her nonsense (unlike his pal Hiddleston).
Yup. This.
He’s too sensible.
I’m not convinced she got the part, audition yes but actually got one of the most coveted roles at the time – no way. She’s not the first to announce she got a part then didn’t.
Cameron MacIntosh, the exec producer of the movie, has always been a massive fan of Samantha Barks so part of me thinks that he had always wanted her for the role as she played it on the West End.
I can’t get on the Redmayne train…saw Jupiter Rising and while that was an awful movie the terrible raspy accent/voice thing he did is forever burned into my brain.