Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones are paying their respects to Stephen Hawking.
“The Theory of Everything” co-stars attended the legendary physicist’s funeral at Great St. Mary’s Church in Cambridge, England, on Saturday. Redmayne, who won an Academy Award for playing Hawking in the 2014 film, spoke during the service, reading from Ecclesiastes.
Hawking was mourned by the world after his death on March 13. In a heartfelt statement to ET at the time, Redmayne expressed his adoration for the legendary scientist, and offered his condolences to his family.
“We have lost a truly beautiful mind, an astonishing scientist and the funniest man I have ever had the pleasure to meet,” he said. “My love and thoughts are with his extraordinary family.”
The actor opened up more about his relationship with Hawking during a 2014 sitd-own in which ET had him and Jones — who was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Hawking’s wife, Jane — interview each other.
“I spent half an hour telling him about himself,” Redmayne remembered. “It takes him a while to speak, so there were lots of pauses and silences. It got so bad that I was filling the air reminding him that he was born on the 8th of January, which is Galileo’s birthday. And I said I was actually born on the 6th of January, so we’re both Capricorns. When the world ‘Capricorn’ came out of my mouth, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so horrific in my life.”
“He spent 10 minutes typing something out, and said, ‘I’m an astronomer not an astrologer,'” he quipped.
While Redmayne couldn’t have been a bigger fan of Hawking, the author and professor was also impressed by the actor’s talent.
“Congratulations to Eddie Redmayne for winning an #Oscar for playing me in ‘The Theory of Everything’ movie,” Hawking wrote on his Facebook page after Redmayne’s big win. “Well done Eddie, I’m very proud of you.”
See more in the video below.
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