The actor Eddie Redmayne has revealed his efforts in trying to exist without a smartphone and live “in the moment” with only an analogue handset.
The Academy Award winner said that he ditched his smartphone early last year because he felt it had become too great a distraction.
“I tried switching back to a simple, old-fashioned handset in place of a smartphone,” he said. “It was a reaction against being glued permanently to my iPhone during waking hours. The deluge of emails was constant and I found myself trying to keep up in real time, at the expense of living in the moment.”
For a while the experiment worked. “I love the idea of a more analogue phone in theory,” said the actor. “During the day, I felt far more alive.”
But he discovered that instead of being glued to his smartphone he was spending more time on his computer. “I was tied to my laptop answering emails for two hours first thing every morning and last thing at night instead, which was a different kind of intrusion. I wasn’t very popular with [his wife] Hannah, so today I’m back on my iPhone and trying to master a healthier relationship with it.”
The actor was a judge at the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2016 and made his comments on a smaprtphone-free life when discussing the merits of the Punkt MP01 stripped-down handset created by British designer Jasper Morrison. The handset won an award as “Life Enhancer of the Year”.
Redmayne, who won the Oscar for Best Actor last year for his portrayal of a young Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, and has been named by GQ magazine as the “best dressed man in the world”, expressed the hope that technology designers would focus on making more user-friendly products.
“We could all do with a lot more simplicity in our lives,” he said. “If good design is about making life easier, than the simpler it is the better. I wonder if in 50 years’ time we’ll have come full circle and I’ll be sitting at home with nothing but a pad of paper and my Muji stationery.”
He expressed admiration for Ron Johnson, whose Enjoy gadget delivery start-up – in which an expert comes to your door and sets up your new product - was nominated for an award for helping consumers make the most of their tech goods. “I need this in my life desperately,” he said. “I’m also sure I’m not alone in feeling defeated by the knowledge that I use about one per cent of the capability of every gadget I own.”
Redmayne also praised the Samsung Serif television designed by the Bouroullec Brothers (Ronan and Erwan from Brittany), winner of the Best Domestic Design category at the awards. “It’s a strange hangover of the digital age that so much technology still looks techie,” he said. “As much as I love television, I’ve always hated how ugly TVs are. You spend much time and effort making your living room beautiful only to throw a great black box in the corner.”
The actor is nominated for a BAFTA for his performance as a transgender woman in The Danish Girl and he explained why the Wallpaper* awards judges chose Copenhagen as winner of the “Best City” category. “It’s a city that feels good, and that’s not something you can say about many cities today. The Danes get it right on so many levels. Copenhagen has a vibrancy to it. The food culture is extraordinary and life seems easy, uncomplicated and fun. Who wouldn’t want to live in a city where you can swim in the harbour?”
