The film "The Universe of Stephen Hawking": actors and roles, photo

There are ordinary, ordinary or outstanding scientists, but there is another category - Stephen Hawking. A legendary man, who possesses not only a brilliant mind, but also a great strength of spirit. His books - bestsellers, his lectures - are unique, his theories are as fantastic as they are real.

In 2015, the big screen was released the film of the Englishman James Marsh (director) "The Universe of Stephen Hawking" (actors and roles - hereinafter in the text), based on the book of memoirs of Jane Hawking - the former wife of the scientist. A touching story tells of a couple's youth when he is a high-profile student, and she is a future art critic. The original name of the picture is "Theory of Everything".

Stephen Hawking

Discarding all the exaggerations and praises, otherwise as the genius of Stephen Hawking can not be named. He was born in Oxford, was born on January 8, 1942. At the age of 20 he graduated from Oxford University, and three years later received his doctorate in Cambridge. For more than half a century of scientific activity, he became one of the most influential theoretical physicists in the world. The main area of his research is quantum gravity and cosmology.

A sharp mind and incredible strength of spirit - it is these two qualities that allow the whole world to admire him. At the age of twenty-one, Hawking was given a nearly fatal diagnosis with a complex name: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, according to the doctors' forecast he had to live 2.5 years. The disease developed much more slowly than expected, the scientist remained alive, but paralyzed, and after the operation conducted in connection with pneumonia, he also lost the ability to speak. Meanwhile, at present he leads a rather active lifestyle: he writes books, lectures and meets students, even made a flight in weightlessness in 2007.

In addition, he participated in the filming of the film "The Universe of Stephen Hawking." Actors Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne remember with admiration his appearance on the court with his family (ex-wife, son and daughter). In addition to his voice, which has copyright, Stephen Hawking, while filming, provided the creators of the picture with his thesis and the Freedom Medal.

The idea of creating a movie

It all started back in 1988, when screenwriter E. McCarten, after reading Stephen Hawking's popular science book The Brief History of Time, became interested in the personality of the scientist himself. Sixteen years later, in 2004, he read Jane Hawking's memoirs and began working on the material without any promises and guarantees. Several times the writer met with the author of the memoirs, and in 2009 met with Lisa Bruce - the producer of the future film. Thus, the film "The Universe of Stephen Hawking," whose actors were approved gradually from 2013, has a very long back story.

To ensure that what is happening on the screen was as reliable as possible, James Marsh studied archive chronicles and photographs that were directly related to the script for a long time. This helped to achieve maximum identity.

The film "The Universe of Stephen Hawking." Actors and roles: Eddie Redmayne

British actor Eddie Redmayne was approved for the role of the brilliant English scientist, theoretical physicist and active popularizer of science of Stephen Hawking. Participation in the project brought him world fame and high appreciation of acting and talent from critics.

Before the shooting, the actor met with a scientist. The conversation lasted about three hours, but, by his own admission, it was impossible to ask questions about his personal. After that, he decided to prepare for the role in other ways: he lost 7 kg, took dance lessons in order to learn how to manage his body, and had meetings with 40 people diagnosed with amyotrophic sclerosis.

After the film was released, the scientist sent an e-mail to the director, in which he positively noted Eddie Redmain and admitted that at some point he seemed to see himself. Perhaps, this is the highest praise to the creators of the picture "The Universe of Stephen Hawking." Actors (their photos you see in the article), the cameramen, the director, scriptwriters and the entire film crew as a whole brought the project to an incredibly high level of professional skill. However, numerous nominations and prestigious cinema awards also did not take long.

Actors of the film "The Universe of Stephen Hawking": Felicity Jones

The role of the former wife of the scientist Jane Hawking went to the English actress Felicity Jones and became, perhaps, her star hour. Her career began with filming in the series "The worst witch", she is familiar to the viewer on the films "Storm", "Without hysteria", "The new man is a spider. High voltage".

The film itself, in fact, is a screen version of D. Hawking's memoirs entitled "Journey to Infinity: My Life with Stephen." They met a few years before he was diagnosed with a terrible diagnosis. The girl did not frighten the girl in love and did not push it away; in marriage they lived for 30 years, they have three children. In the picture above you see an archive photo from a family album and a frame from the movie.

Charlie Cox

The English actor of theater and cinema on the screen embodied the image of Jonathan Jones. Charlie Cox is known to the general public for the film "Star Dust." The widowed choirmaster appeared in the life of a married couple at the time when the marriage broke. The feelings with Jane were mutual, but at the same time she continued to live with Stephen. At some point the scientist even invited him to visit him, an unusual but trustful and respectful relationship developed between three adults. And this on the screen brilliantly conveyed the actors. "The universe of Stephen Hawking" - this film is not so much about science as about love.

Simon McBurney and Abigail Kruttenden

English actors of theater and cinema performed the role of the scientist's parents. His father, Frank Hawking, was engaged in research, and Isabel's mother in the same medical center was a secretary. Stephen is not the only child in the family, he has two half-sisters and half-brother.

Awards and nominations

The film "The Universe of Stephen Hawking" (actors and roles described above) after the release on the screen almost immediately became one of the main contenders for the Oscar. Eddie Redmain received 8 nominations for the most prestigious film awards at once and in five of them was the winner, having received the awards of the Hollywood Film Festival, the USA Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, BAFTA and the coveted Oscar. Is not it a good set for a little-known at that time novice actor?

In addition, director James Marsh and screenwriter Anthony McCarten were also awarded BAFTA, each in his field for his work on the film "The Universe of Stephen Hawking." Actors of the project as a whole received the prestigious nomination of the American Guild for the best cast, but lost the victory of the black comedy Alejandro G. Inyarritu "Birdman".

Criticism

The bulk of feedback received from professional film critics is positive. Among them are the views "New York Post" and "Guardian". According to the popular site Rotten Tomatoes, the film has 211 reviews, the total rating for them is 80%. This is a fairly high figure. He testifies that among the best the film "The Universe of Stephen Hawking" is included. Actors and their skills were also highly appreciated. The talent of Eddie Redman was emphasized, which was initially not even considered to be the main actor.

The rating of the film among domestic film critics is slightly higher in comparison with the world one and is 82%.