The National Geographic Channel’s upcoming global anthology series Genius on Albert Einstein will have Academy Award, Golden Globe, Emmy and Tony-winning actor Geoffrey Rush in the lead role.
Rush will star as Einstein in the first-ever scripted series for the network. The story is based on Walter Isaacson’s critically acclaimed biography of the celebrated scientist, and the first episode will be directed by Imagine’s Ron Howard, his first time directing a scripted prime-time drama. Production begins next month in Prague, and will air in 2017 on the National Geographic Channel in 171 countries and 45 languages, www.comingsoon.net reported.
Joining Rush in the cast is Johnny Flynn (Clouds of Sils Maria, Song One) who will play Einstein in the years before he rose to international attention and acclaim. Through 10 episodes, Genius will 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.
“The caliber of the ‘Genius’ cast lives up to the show’s title,” said Carolyn Bernstein, the channel's executive vice president and head of global scripted development and production. “The supremely talented Geoffrey Rush is dream casting for the role of Albert Einstein, and Johnny Flynn not only is an incredible talent but also bears more than a passing resemblance to Rush.”
After more than two decades as a stage and film actor, Australian-born Rush burst into the mainstream with the role of a lifetime as piano prodigy David Helfgott in Shine, for which he received an Academy Award, Golden Globe award, BAFTA award and Australian Film Institute Award. Since then he has become one of Hollywood’s most reliable talents, with critically acclaimed roles in Shakespeare in Love, Quills, The Kings Speech and the Pirates of Caribbean franchise.
British actor and musician Johnny Flynn was nominated as the London Newcomer of the Year at the 2012 What’s On Stage Awards for his performance in “The Heretic” (Royal Court). Each season of Genius will dramatize the fascinating stories of the world’s most brilliant innovators. The first season will be based on Isaacson’s critically acclaimed book “Einstein: His Life and Universe,” adapted by writer Noah Pink.
