Eddie Redmayne: 'Winning an Oscar doesn't help with nerves'

Eddie Redmayne still fears he will get fired from acting jobs.

The 34-year-old won the Best Actor Oscar in 2014 for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, but his awards show glory did nothing to stop his worries about his acting ability.

"Fear is always there," he told Time Out magazine. "It’s what makes you work harder. And, God, it feels lovely when someone gives you a prize, but it doesn’t blank out the things you would have done differently."

Eddie was the first and only choice to play magizoologist Newt Scamander in Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and while being number one priority gave him a boost, he admits it also instilled fear in him that he might do a bad job.

"With the thrill comes the paranoia that you’re going to get fired after day one. I was convinced I would lose the job. This is how neurotic actors work!" he joked.

He adds that sometimes nerves help fuel his performances as they can help him access emotions.

One element of Fantastic Beasts he struggled to get to grips with was the green screen work where he has to pretend to interact with his creatures, which are later added into the film using CGI.

"I’m useless with green screen. I have a really shoddy imagination. And Newt’s relationships with the creatures are the heart of the film," he added, revealing he would sometimes practise interacting with an imaginary stick insect while on the London Underground.

"I’d be on the tube in London, imagining talking to this thing, and suddenly realise I’m being stared at," he laughed.

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them hits theatres from 18 November (16).