“Yet another case study is Eddie Redmayne's full-scale offensive leading up to last year's Best Actor win for Universal/Focus Features' The Theory of Everything, in which he portrayed physicist Stephen Hawking. ‘He had the best ground game—he was pumping every hand, kissing every baby,’ says O'Neil. ‘He was the happy warrior.’ Redmayne's buzzy performance and Oscar win are also credited with helping push the movie, which had a modest $15 million budget, past $122 million worldwide. Redmayne is nominated again this year, for Universal/Focus Features' The Danish Girl.
“The legwork required to win an Oscar has become so accepted that there's almost nothing—not even a current gig—that will keep a contender from doing it. This year, Ronan, despite appearing in The Crucible on Broadway, has been a tireless campaigner. Redmayne, while busy filming a Harry Potter spinoff, has still made the rounds.”