Eddie Redmayne, currently playing brilliant physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, found out about his Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a most eye-opening way. “I’m currently staying in a hotel in Los Angeles and I was fast asleep,” said Redmayne. “There was suddenly a rap on the door, I stumbled out of bed in my towel, and opened the door, and my manager was standing there brandishing a telephone, screaming down the phone. So I was hoping that was a good thing.”

Redmayne has already been honored by the Golden Globes for his performance as Hawking, snagging the Best Actor trophy at the ceremony on January 11.

Although Redmayne has had notable roles in several smaller films, Hollywood really began to take notice of the British actor when he was cast in the musical film adaptation of Les Miserables as Marius Pontmercy. Redmayne scored an audition for Les Mis while he was shooting the film Hick in North Carolina; during a break, he filmed himself on his iPhone in full cowboy dress, singing Marius’s signature song, “Empty Chairs and Empty Tables.” He sent the video to his agent, who passed it on to the film’s producers, and the rest is Hollywood musical history.

Redmayne has some stiff competition in the category; other honorees include his friend Benedict Cumberbatch, who received a nomination for his portrayal of mathematician Alan Turing in The Imitation Game.

“We haven’t spoken, but we have texted,” says Redmayne. “There was many an exclamation mark being used. We’ve come up together and Ben is a good friend, and such an amazing actor. Benedict is so extraordinary in Imitation Game. It is a genuine honor to be amongst that group of actors.”

The Oscars air at 7 p.m. on ABC Sunday, February 22.