Eddie Redmayne is a big star, known for his work in the Fantastic Beasts films and his Oscar-winning performance in The Theory of Everything. However, there was once a time in his early acting days where he was living with Jamie Dornan and Andrew Garfield and going to acting auditions when he could. The pals still keep in touch, and Dornan even has stories to share of weird occurrences from right after they all got famous. He recently told one about the time Redmayne’s email got hacked and, as a result, he got a strange message from his buddy, which included a request for money. And, apparently, legendary actor Warren Beatty even volunteered to send cash.
The Fifty Shades of Grey alum recently sat down with Josh Horowitz of the Happy, Sad Confused podcast (as shared on YouTube), where he chatted about some of his most notable roles, and the new season of his BBC series, The Tourist. The host also asked Jamie Dornan which of his famous pals would be most reliable in an emergency situation. While he noted that Eddie Redmayne would be good, the question did remind him of the aforementioned incident that saw the Les Miserables actor's email get hijacked. That's wild enough, but the thought of Warren Beatty responding to the offer is even kookier. Dornan said:
Eddie got scammed on his email. We all got emails saying, like, ‘Guys, I’m up against it here. I need some cash.' … Warren Beatty was like, ‘What can I do?' I think I’m OK to tell this.
Even though it was a scam, it’s sweet to know that the Heaven Can Wait star was quick and ready to help if Eddie Redmayne was ever in actual trouble. Thankfully, the iconic actor and director wasn’t taken for a ride, and it seems like money was never actually sent to the hacker. Interestingly enough, according to Jamie Dornan, this all happened shortly before Beatty was caught up in another awkward situation -- the moment he read of wrong Best Picture winner at the Oscars. The Belfast actor explained:
[The email] was sent to all of [Eddie’s] contacts. I don’t think we were all on there together. I wasn’t like, ‘Yeah, Warren, you go first, I’ll follow.’ We all just got individual emails saying, ‘Guys, I really need you to wire me some cash.’ [Laughs] Fair credit, Warren Beatty was like, ‘Whatever you need.’ … What a legend. [This is] just before he read the wrong name at the [Oscars].
There's an infinite amount of possible follow-up questions to this story. Personally, I’m curious as to how Warren Beatty was in the Danish Girl star's contact list to begin with. The two have never done a film together, so their connection just seems to be this email scam. With Beatty so willing to send him money, maybe the Bonnie and Clyde star is just an incredibly nice guy. Just hopefully, not too nice where he puts himself at risk again.
This is such an insane story, and it's almost unbelievable that the Reds helmer was the first to respond, especially considering how many lifelong friends of Eddie Redmayne likely received the same email. Considering how much time the Good Nurse actor spent with actors like Robert Pattinson back in the day, lots of big Hollywood names could’ve almost fallen victim to the scam. It's good that everything seems to have turned out fine and that this is now just a wild anecdote that Dornan can tell at parties or on a podcast.
I'd like to think that Eddie Redmayne now has measures in place to prevent himself from getting hacked and is hopefully able to focus on giving his next great performance. He's currently set to star in a series titled The Day of the Jackal, which is set to premiere for Peacock subscribers later this year. You can also check out his old friend Jamie Dornan in The Tourist, which is now streaming with a Netflix subscription.
