Eddie Redmayne
Because the figures portrayed are actual people, whose actions and characteristics are known to the public (or at least historically documented), biopic roles are considered some of the most demanding of actors and actresses. Ben Kingsley, Johnny Depp, Jim Carrey, Robert Downey Jr, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Redmayne all gained new-found respect as dramatic actors after starring in biopics: Kingsley as Mahatma Gandhi in "Gandhi" (1982), Depp as Ed Wood in "Ed Wood" (1994), Carrey as Andy Kaufman in "Man on the Moon" (1999), Downey as Charlie Chaplin in "Chaplin" (1992), Foxx as Ray Charles in "Ray" (2004), and Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything" (2014).