Birthday's to share this week : 3rd - 9th January 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Eddie Redmayne does on 6th January - check out my tribute to this Birthday Boy, turning 34, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 3rd January

• Verne Troyer - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor
• Frank Langella - Born 1938, turns 78 - Actor

Monday 4th January

• Julia Ormond - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actress

Tuesday 5th January

• Diane Keaton - Born 1946, turns 70 - Actress | Producer | Director
• Hayao Miyazaki - Born 1941, turns 75 - Director | Writer | Animator | Editor
• Roger Spottiswoode - Born 1945, turns 71 - Director | Writer | Producer | Editor
• Bradley Cooper - Born 1975, turns 41 - Actor | Producer
• Robert Duvall - Born 1931, turns 85 - Actor | Producer
• Vinnie Jones - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actor
• Clancy Brown - Born 1959, turns 57 - Actor

Wednesday 6th January 

• Eddie Redmayne - Born 1982, turns 34 - Actor
• Norman Reedus - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor | Writer | Director
• Rowan Atkinson - Born 1955, turns 61 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Sylvia Syms - Born 1934, turns 82 - Actress

Thursday 7th January

• Linda Kozlowski - Born 1958, turns 58 - Actress
• Nicolas Cage - Born 1964, turns 62 - Actor | Producer
• Jeremy Renner - Born 1971, turns 45 - Actor | Producer
• David Caruso - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actor | Producer

Friday 8th January

• David Bowie - Born 1947, turns 69 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor | Producer
• John McTiernan - Born 1951, turns 65 - Director | Producer | Writer

Saturday 9th January 

• J.K.Simmons - Born 1955, turns 61 - Actor | Producer
• Imelda Staunton - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actress
• Joely Richardson - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actress

Edward John David Redmayne was born in Westminster, London, England to mother Patricia Burke who managed a relocation business and father Richard Redmayne, a senior banking businessman. He has an older brother James, a younger brother Thomas, and two half brothers, Eugene and Charles. He attended the independent prep, school for boys - Colet Court in Barnes, London, and then Eton College and did so in the same year as Prince William. Leaving there he went onto Trinity College, Cambridge studying the history of art from where he graduated in 2003. He took drama lessons from an early age having been encouraged to do so by his parents, which he continued throughout school and university, including with the National Youth Music Theatre. His first stage gig was in the Sam Mendes production of 'Oliver' playing a workhouse boy.

Before turning to professional acting Redmayne modelled for Burberry with Alex Pettyfer and Cara Delevingne. He made his professional stage debut in Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' in 2002 for which he won the award for Most Outstanding Newcomer at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, and then Best Newcomer at the Critics Circle Theatre Awards for 'The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?' in 2005. In 2009 he appeared in 'Red' for which he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and he then took the play to Broadway for a fifteen week run for which he won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. He subsequently played Richard II in 'Richard II' in London's Donmar Warehouse.

Redmayne graduated from some minor television roles with his debut feature film in 2006 with 'Like Minds' starring alongside Toni Collette and Richard Roxburgh, with 'The Good Shepherd' coming next that same year as Directed by Robert De Niro with a huge cast including the great man himself with Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin and William Hurt. The following year saw 'Savage Grace' with Julianne Moore and that same year 'Elizabeth : The Golden Age' with Cate Blanchett in the title role and Geoffrey Rush and Clive Owen. Redmayne had starred in 2005 in a television mini-series 'Elizabeth I' playing the Earl of Southampton -  a role that doubtless prepared him well for this one!

2008 brought 'The Yellow Handkerchief' with William Hurt again, and 'The Other Boleyn Girl' with Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana and Benedict Cumberbatch. 2009 saw 'Powder Blue' with Forest Whittaker, Ray Liotta and Patrick Swayze, and 'Glorious 39' that same year with Christopher Lee, Bill Nighy and Juno Temple, and 'Black Death' a year later with Sean Bean. As the decade drew to a close there had also been television mini-series 'The Pillars of the Earth' and 'Tess of the D'Urbevilles'.


'Hick' kicked of 2011 with Chloe Grace Moretz and Juliette Lewis, with 'My Week with Marilyn' starring Michelle Williams, Julia Ormond and Kenneth Branagh, and then Kathryn Bigelow's 'The Miraculous Year' with Susan Sarandon and Frank Langella. 2012 saw 'Les Miserables' with Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter.

2014 hailed Redmayne's Oscar winning turn as Stephen Hawking in 'The Theory of Everything', before The Wachowski's 'Jupiter Ascending' a year later with Sean Bean again, Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis. 'The Danish Girl' is up next early this year with Alicia Vikander and Ben Whishaw with 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' currently in post-production and based on the book of the same name by one J.K.Rowling who also penned that lesser known series of books about one certain young magician whizz kid Harry Potter.

All up Redmayne has 24 acting credits to his name so far. He won the Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA for his lead role in 'The Theory of Everything' and has a pending nomination for this years Golden Globes for his role in the upcoming 'The Danish Girl' as well as sixteen other award wins and a further 54 nominations. When he picked up his Oscar statue in 2015 he was the first actor to do so born in the 1980's, and, he picked up his award alongside Best Actress Julianne Moore for 'Still Alice' - his co-star from 'Savage Grace' some years earlier. He is also strongly touted for further critical acclaim and recognition with Tom Hooper's 'The Danish Girl' due in Australian Cinema's on 28th January.

In December 2014 he married Hannah Bagshaw, and in the Queen's Birthday Honours List was awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) for services to drama.

Eddie Redmayne - rising star of stage, television, film and already much lauded and highly acclaimed; deeply grounded, diverse acting range and keeps it real whether playing bio-pics, period pieces, Sci-Fi or present day drama and infinitely watchable as a result. Happy Birthday to you Eddie - from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-