Eddie Redmayne refusing to change his name

Eddie Redmayne is refusing to use his full name professionally even after acclaimed playwright Edward Albee urged him to make the change.

The Oscar-winning actor was born Edward Redmayne, but uses 'Eddie' for all his acting credits, and he has revealed Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? writer Albee previously told him to ditch his youthful-sounding nickname.

However, Eddie is adamant he has no plans to become Edward.

"Edward Albee said I should become Edward. I'm Eddie to my friends... I'll probably stay Eddie," he tells the New York Post.

During the interview, Eddie goes on to reveal he has a special place at home for the Best Actor Oscar he won earlier this year (15) for his role as physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

"(It is) on a little side table in my London home," he reveals. "That whole experience was such a frenzy. I keep staring to make sure it's real. I actually shine it."

Eddie also talks about his new movie The Danish Girl, in which he plays one of the earliest recipients of gender reassignment surgery, as he is hotly-tipped to bag another Oscar nomination for the part.

The 33 year old explains how talking to members of the transgender community helped him prepare for the drama.

"To prepare for this part, I read people's stories, studied their art, collected their thoughts, met transgender communities in L.A.," he declares. "I immersed myself in their lives and knew every transgender woman I could. I met their partners.

"Everyone's generosity in educating me was enormous. Very giving... They'd say, '(There is) no question I won't answer in order to explain to you.'"

The Danish Girl, which also stars Alicia Vikander, Ben Whishaw and Amber Heard, is due for release later this month (Nov15).