While critics at the time weren’t the film’s biggest fans, the cheesy space opera has grown into a sort-of cult classic online, specifically for the level of camp provided by Redmayne’s caped villain (i.e. every time he seemingly screeches out-of-nowhere). In a recent interview with IndieWire, the Fantastic Beasts star reflected on his croaky tyrant and the performance that would make him a Razzie Award winner.
“It lives on in meme history,” joked the Oscar winner. “That world was so beyond my level of imagination. I just wanted to go and swim in [the Wachowskis’] imaginations. I had sort of no idea what I was doing, I didn’t know anything about the budget, but I had a really enjoyable time making it.”
He added: “But I also wasn’t in it that much, and I just remember that the character I was playing was incredibly vain and was squishing up humans in order to make them into serum to live longer, so the thing what was most important was that I had a six-pack and a spray tan. So there was a lot of sit-ups involved and me clenching my attempt at abs whilst speaking in a strange voice.”
Though the hammy role might not be everyone’s favorite, Redmayne revealed in a 2018 GQ interview that it had become some people’s preferred acting endeavor of his. “People seem to enjoy what I do, or loathe what I do…and [for] those people that loathe what I do, Jupiter Ascending tends to be their favorite of my performances,” said the actor through a fit of laughter.
