National Geographic Channel delves into scripted TV with Genius, starring Geoffrey Rush as Albert Einstein.
National Geographic Channel’s days of idly watching its cable peers proliferate acclaimed prestige television are finished, since they are finally taking the plunge into the scripted medium. The channel will be diverting some funds from its array of scientific shows and honey badger showcases to break out some big guns for its dramatic debut, nabbing the great Geoffrey Rush to play Albert Einstein!
According to TVLine, Nat Geo will move forward with a 10-episode television anthology series, appropriately titled Genius, in which the celebrated veteran Aussie actor Geoffrey Rush tackles a most relative of roles, playing the central figure of modern physics himself, Albert Einstein. On the creative front, the series will be produced by none other than Ron Howard under his Imagine TV banner. Additionally, the legendary actor-turned-bringer-of-blockbusters Howard will actually direct the debut episode. As Nat Geo explains, the intriguingly unlikely story of Genius looks to:
“Chart how an imaginative, rebellious patent clerk, who couldn’t get a teaching job or a doctorate, unlocked the mysteries of the atom and the universe. Each episode will explore Einstein’s extraordinary scientific achievements, along with his volatile, passionate and complex personal relationships.”
Rush, the scurvy, formerly undead Captain Barbosa of the ultra-lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise, has explored a diverse share of roles over his prolific career, notably with his Oscar-winning performance as the mentally-tortured piano genius David Helfgott in 1996’s Shine. Likewise, Genius will see Rush channeling similar idiosyncrasies as the great physicist.
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Interestingly enough, Rush won’t be fielding the Einstein role alone, since Genius will apparently delve into flashbacks set during the younger days of the vital, E = mc2-evoking scientific figure. Thus, the role of Young Einstein will go to the multifaceted South African musician/actor Johnny Flynn – sorry, Yahoo Serious. Flynn has been seen in the recent U.K. romance drama Love is Thicker Than Water, 2014’s Clouds of Sils Maria and also fielded television runs on Brotherhood in 2015 and on Lovesick in 2014. The auspicious small screen possibilities for Genius have certainly evoked promising enthusiasm out of the veteran helmer Howard, who states:
“National Geographic’s unwavering commitment to excellence and their support and passion for this project has helped us attract talent such as Geoffrey and Johnny. My excitement for this project grows every day, and I cannot wait to get started.”
Genius certainly sounds like a television project that carries the proper profundity when it comes to the story of Albert Einstein; a story that, in many ways, might have changed the entire course of civilization itself the very moment that the German atomic-inspired (Jewish) scientist decided to make his visit to the United States a permanent one after the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism in his homeland.
As of now, Genius is slated to begin filming in Prague next month, with a premiere on National Geographic Channel penciled in for an unspecified date in 2017.
