Eddie Redmayne will play Lili Elbe, the first woman to have genital reconstruction surgery, in the film The Danish Girl.

It was previously announced that Eddie Redmayne would star as Lili Elbe, the first patient of genital reconstruction surgery, after coming out as transgender. On Tuesday, the first pictures of the 33 year-old were released as he filmed on-set in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Elbe, previous name Einar Wegener, was persuaded by her wife Gerda Wegener, a Danish illustrator, to pose for her in women’s clothes after one of her models failed to show.

Her wife Gerda was gay and initially accepted her then-husband’s desire to live as a woman. Einar soon became Lili and underwent her first gender reassignment surgery in 1930, causing a sensation and leading to the end of her marriage. Elbe died at the age of 50, after a failed uterus transplant.

On-set earlier this week, Redmayne was pictured dressed as Einar Wegener, filming a scene in which he was the subject of harsh violence.

Earlier this year, Redmayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.