Academy Award-winning actor Eddie Redmayne is set to play transgender artist Lili Elbe in the 2016 film, "The Danish Girl."

Elbe, born Einar Wegener, was a 20th-century painter who underwent one of the world's first gender reassignment surgeries. 

The film is based on David Ebershoff's eponymous novel, and will be directed by Tom Hooper, whom Redmayne worked with on the 2012 release "Les Misérables."

Alicia Vikander will play Elbe's wife, Gerda Gottlieb, who remained with her for decades. 

Some in the LGBT community lamented that the lead role did not go to a transgender actress - an issue that Redmayne addressed earlier this year. 

"There is an incredibly valid discussion for why a trans actress isn't playing the part, because there are so many brilliant trans actresses, and I'm sure there are many who could play this part sensationally," he told The Telegraph. 

The physical appearance of the character was one issue, Redmayne said, because hormone therapy was not available during Elbe's time. 

"One of the complications is that nowadays you have hormones, and many trans women have taken hormones," he explained. "But to start this part playing male you'd have to come off the hormones, so that has been a discussion as well."

A recently released photo of Redmayne as Elbe features the actor wearing a red, curly-haired wig, eyeliner, mascara, and red lipstick. 

The 33-year-old recently won an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything," and took home Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Awards. 

Redmayne also received a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for his role in the Broadway production of "Red."

On December 14, 2014, the actor married public relations executive Hannah Bagshawe, a longtime friend.