Stephen Hawking's ex-wife Jane: 'I thought Felicity Jones was me' in Oscar-nominated The Theory of Everything

Jane Hawking praised the Oscar-nominated actress for her performance

Felicity Jones plays Stephen Hawking's wife Jane Wilde (Universal)

Jane Hawking, Stephen Hawking's ex-wife, has praised Felicity Jones' portrayal of her in The Theory of Everything.

Describing Jones' work as "astounding", Hawking said: "I thought, 'How can I be on the screen and in a cinema seat at the same time?'"

After giving such a polished performance playing the physicist's wife opposite Eddie Redmayne, Jones was nominated for Best Actress at Sunday night's Oscars, but lost to Julianne Moore for her performance in Still Alice.

Jones also praised Hawking for giving her great insight into her life. "My instinct was when you're playing a real person you want to get that person's blessing and that's just building up trust with each other," she said.

"Jane is incredibly open, she showed me photos of her and Stephen when they first met and I really felt I was getting this glimpse into an intimate side of their lives."