Watch: Geoffrey Rush Is Albert Einstein in New ‘Genius’ TV Series
National Geographic’s first scripted series is about the Nobel Prize-winning physicist
January 06, 2017
For its first scripted television series, the National Geographic Channel is producing a “Genius” anthology that will focus on a different really, really smart person (Nat Geo calls them “innovators”) in each run. First up: Albert Einstein. And who else to portray Einstein than the man who has played both the Marquis de Sade and Captain Hector Barbora? That’s right, it’s Geoffrey Rush.
The series will play out over 10 episodes, according to Entertainment Weekly, and will focus on “Einstein and his rise from a rebellious but imaginative patent clerk, to a key figure in the study of atoms…and through the ups and downs of his life, from failing to get his doctorate to developing the general theory of relativity.” It’s based on Walter Isaacson’s book, Einstein: His Life and Universe, which, believe it or not, is on Bibi’s bookshelf (or was, as of a couple years ago). That’s a lot of ground to cover.
The preview below shows the rise of Nazism in Germany (from which Einstein fled to America), with images of Mein Kampf, and him failing his college entrance exams. Rush looks the part quite well.
Previous: The Jewish Fight Over Einstein
What’s on Bibi’s Bookshelf?
Related: Time Warp: On the Right-Wing Rejections of Science
Relatively Speaking, a Zionist
Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.
