“Congratulations to Eddie Redmayne for winning an ‪Oscar‬ for playing me in ‘The Theory of Everything’ movie. Well done Eddie, I’m very proud of you.” Astrophysicist Stephen Hawkings thus congratulated Eddie Redmayne recently. The thirtysomething British actor plays Hawking on-screen in “The theory of everything.” And on Sunday, Redmayne earned the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for this performance. Not too shabby? Agreed.

Back in November, when the film was released, Hawkings had already had some nice things to say about Redmayne’s portrayal. He commented that, “sometimes I thought it was me on screen.”

On Sunday Redmayne, 33, dedicated his Oscar to people who, like Stephen Hawkings, suffer from Lou Gehrig’s disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that can have devastating consequences. He also paid tribute to the Hawking family, calling them “extraordinary.”