Stephen Hawking took to Facebook Sunday to congratulate Eddie Redmayne on his Oscar win for best actor for his portrayal of the ALS-afflicted physicist in The Theory Of Everything.

Stephen Hawking was unable to attend the awards ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday, but sent a message of congratulations via his Facebook page, saying he was “proud” of the actor.

Meanwhile Eddie Redmayne, 33, said backstage at the ceremony that he can’t wait to take his Oscar statuette to Cambridge to show Stephen Hawking in person.

Eddie Redmayne‘s moment was made even more special when he accepted his Oscar from actress Cate Blanchett, with whom he worked on Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

“I was recovering from that excitement of seeing her, and then just trying to bury all this frenzy of nerves and white noise and trying to speak articulately and, of course, you then forget everything but it just felt like a euphoria really, an extraordinary euphoria. It’s something I will not forget in a hurry,” he said.

"Well done Eddie, I'm very proud of you" – Stephen Hawking on #EddieRedmayne's #Oscar2015 win http://t.co/JuMbp7O3WV pic.twitter.com/8Mf8WAiGop

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 23, 2015

Needless to say, Eddie Redmayne was beyond excited to win his very first for playing Stephen Hawking, but likely not the last, Oscar recognition. In his acceptance speech, he said the award is for ALS sufferers worldwide and said he would keep good care of the statuette on their behalf.

“I will be its custodian,” said Redmayne.

This is Eddie Redmayne's "I just won an Oscar" pose, congrats Eddie! (Photo via @GettyImages) pic.twitter.com/DvSmlwr94r

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 23, 2015