Just about everyone knows the name Albert Einstein. The 1921 Nobel Prize winner in physics is famous for his many contributions to science, including his theory of relativity, his mass-energy equivalence formula - otherwise known as E = mc2 - and his work on quantum theory. Despite his massive contributions to science and his fame, there have been few attempts to make a film or show about his life.
Of the few times Einstein has been a character, it has nearly always been for comic effect, rather than historical accuracy. Well, the National Geographic channel is going to finally tell his story, in the first season of Genius, in which he will be portrayed by Geoffrey Rush, Best Actor Oscar winner for the movie Shine.
EW released the trailer for Genius, featuring Rush as the titular scientist. The show is based on the biography Einstein: His Life and Universe, by Walter Isaacson, which itself is based upon actual letters written by Einstein.
Watch the Trailer for Genius
In terms of past portrayals of Einstein, he was most famously played by Yahoo Serious in the very intentionally inaccurate comedy Young Einstein. Among the many facts the film got wrong on purpose was Einstein’s country of origin, the film showed him having been born and raised Australian, when he was German in reality and became an American citizen after Hitler took power. He was also portrayed by Walter Matthau in the romantic comedy I.Q. as little more than an intelligent matchmaker, helping his brilliant niece and the blue collar guy who loves her figure things out.
A couple of times he appeared on the holodeck in Star Trek: the Next Generation, again typically for laughs. The only film which told any element of his story with any accuracy thus far is Einstein and Eddington, in which he was played by Andy Serkis. The movie focused on the time when Einstein was developing all his theories and how scientist Arthur Eddington attempted to prove Einstein right.
Genius is produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, the latter of whom also directed the pilot. It is an anthology series which will cover a different world renowned genius every season. Also starring in season one is Emily Watson (The Theory of Everything), Nicholas Rowe (The Crown), Samantha Colley (Victoria), and Johnny Flynn (The Clouds of Sils Maria) as Young Albert Einstein.
There is no premiere date set at this time, so keep checking in with Screen Rant and we will keep you posted on when Genius will debut on National Geographic.
Source: EW
