‘Genius’ Trailer: Geoffrey Rush Is Albert Einstein In The Ron Howard-Produced Series
If you’re going to cast someone as brilliant as Albert Einstein,Geoffrey Rush, an actor who exudes intelligence and wisdom, isn’t a bad choice. Rush stars in National Geographic’s first scripted series,Genius. The anthology drama will depict world’s greatest innovators, and season one starts with the legendary Noble Prize-winning physicist.
Below, watch theGeniustrailer.
The first season ofGeniusis an adaptation ofWalter Isaacson’s biography,Einstein: His Life and Universe, based on some of Einstein’s personal letters. DirectorRon Howard(Rush) and producerBrian Grazerare behind the series, and the former directed the pilot. Season one ofGeniusco-starsJohnny Flynn(Clouds of Sils Maria) as a young Albert Einstein, the greatEmily Watson(Punch-Drunk Love) as his second wife, Elsa,Nicholas Rowe(Mr. Holmes) as Jost Winteler, andSamantha Colley(Victoria) as physicist Mileva Maric.
Here’s theGeniuspromo (Source:Entertainment Weekly):
It’s probably easy to dress an actor up as Albert Einstein and make them look ridiculous, but that’s not the case withGenius, or at least doesn’t appear to be the case based on the one close-up we see of Rush. The makeup, costume, and hair department has done an exceptional job helping to turn Rush into Einstein. He looks convincing.
What’s slightly less compelling in the promo is the overused song choice, “Where Is My Mind?” When the song doesn’t fit a movie or scene, all it does is make your mind immediately jump toFight Cluband think about how wonderfully it works in that film. In this instance, it’s not the most subtle choice, either.
Maxence Cyrin’s cover of The Pixies' song is lovely, and it helped to stir up some emotion in the second season ofThe Leftovers, but there’s only so many times you can hear a song in a movie or show without wondering if the world has run out of music. The song does help grab your attention, so it’s understandable why it’s used so frequently, but sometimes, like in this instance, it’s the easy and obvious choice…but it does flow with some of the shots and the effective repetition of Albert’s name.
Also, this is a tangent completely unrelated toGenius, but I must say,Gods of Egyptis worth watching for Geoffrey Rush’s performance alone. You get to see Geoffrey Rush grow into a giant, turn into a blaze of fire, and wield an enormous sphere as he shouts fantastical exposition; he holds nothing back in that movie. See it for him if you haven’t yet and then stick around for some bonkers storytelling.
Geniuspremieres this spring on the National Geographic. A premiere date isn’t set yet.
