Taylor Swift recalls “nightmare” screen test with Eddie Redmayne for ‘Les Misérables’

Taylor Swift has recalled a screen test she did with Eddie Redmayne for the 2012 musical film Les Misérables.

During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show with Redmayne, set to air tonight (October 28), Swift explained that she already knew she wouldn’t land a role in director Tom Hooper’s film despite having a screen test with the actor, who played Marius.

“Basically I was up for two roles – I had the look of Cosette and the range vocally of Éponine, so it was established I was there for a good time but not for a long time,” Swift said. “I wasn’t going to get the role.

“But they asked if I would like to go to London to do a screen test with Eddie, who is one of my favourite actors, and I thought, ‘This isn’t an experience I am going to get again in my life,’ so I said yes.”

She added: “When I got there they put me in full 19th century street urchin costume and told me they were going to paint my teeth brown and I was like, ‘You are going to do that after I meet Eddie Redmayne right?’

“But no, they made me look like death and it became a nightmare. When I met Eddie I didn’t open my mouth to speak.”

Redmayne had his own embarrassment during the screen test. “I thought we would just be singing off each other – I didn’t know we would be in each other’s arms,” the actor said.

“My overriding memory of it is that I had pizza and garlic dough balls beforehand and all I could think about was my garlic breath while Taylor was dying in my arms and I was trying to show emotion.”

Samantha Barks was evenutally cast to play Éponine in Les Misérables, alongside Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried. Swift was later cast as Bombalurina in Hooper’s 2019 adaptation of Cats.

Last week, Swift released her tenth studio album ‘Midnights’ featuring the singles ‘Anti-Hero’ and ‘Bejeweled’. In a four-star review, NME wrote: “After a foray into a different sonic world, on Swift’s return to pure pop she still shimmers.”