Johnny Flynn: «Playing Einstein made me realize what it means to be a genius»

The first season of Genius is airing on the National Geographic channel, which tells about the life of Albert Einstein — from his youth to old age. From the very first shots, the image of the good-natured, cloud-headed thinker collapses: we see how an elderly physicist has sex with his secretary right at the chalk-stained blackboard. And then he invites her to live together with his wife, since «monogamy is outdated.»

Bringing down the gilding, breaking stereotypes and dogmas is one of the tasks that the authors set themselves. Director Ron Howard was looking for actors for the lead role, guided rather by flair. “To play such an extraordinary person as Einstein, only such a complex, multifaceted person can play,” he explains. “I needed someone who, on a deep level, could capture that spirit of free creativity.”

Young Einstein was played by 34-year-old musician and actor Johnny Flynn. Before that, he only flashed in the movies, played in the theater and recorded folk albums. Flynn is sure that Einstein was not such a «God’s dandelion» as he used to be. “He looks more like a poet and a bohemian philosopher than an armchair scientist,” he says.

We spoke with Johnny Flynn about what it’s like to immerse yourself in the world of a genius and try to understand his personality from the point of view of a modern person.

Psychologies: How would you describe Einstein’s personality?

Johnny Flynn: One of his remarkable traits is his determined unwillingness to be part of any faction, group, nationality, ideology, or set of beliefs and prejudices. The meaning of his driving life force is to reject existing dogmas. For him there was nothing simple and clear, nothing predetermined. He questioned every idea he came across. This is a good quality for studying physics, but from the point of view of personal relationships it created a number of problems.

What do you mean?

First of all, it is noticeable in his relationship with women. This is one of the main themes in the series. There are several women known to whom Einstein was fascinated, but he was a rather windy person. And in some ways — even selfish and cruel.

In his youth, he repeatedly fell in love. His first love was Maria Winteler, the daughter of a teacher with whom he lived in Switzerland. Later, when Einstein enters university, he meets his first wife, Mileva Marich, a brilliant physicist and the only girl in the group. She resisted Einstein’s advances, but eventually gave in to his charms.

Mileva not only took care of the children, but also helped Albert in his work, she was his secretary. Unfortunately, he never appreciated her contribution. We filmed a remarkably eloquent scene where Mileva reads one of her husband’s published works, in which he thanks his best friend, not her. There really was such a moment, and we can only guess how upset she was.

The series attempts to convey Einstein’s specific way of thinking.

He made many of his discoveries through thought experiments. They were very simple, but helped to capture the essence of the problem. Indeed, in his scientific work, he encountered such complex concepts as the speed of light.

One of Einstein’s most famous thought experiments came to mind while he was in an elevator. He imagined what it would be like to be in zero gravity and what consequences it could have. Or, for example, how it will not experience wind resistance and soar in space, or everything will fall at the same speed in zero gravity. Einstein went further in his imagination and imagined an elevator moving upwards in space. Through this thought experiment, he realized that gravity and acceleration have the same speed. These ideas shook the theory of space and time.

What impressed you the most about him, besides his thinking?

Probably his rebelliousness. He entered the university without even finishing school, against the will of his father. He always knew who he was and what he was capable of, and he was proud of it. I believe that Einstein was not just a scientist, but equally a philosopher and an artist. He stood up for his vision of the world and was brave enough to give up everything he was taught. He believed that science was stuck in outdated theories and forgot about the need to make huge breakthroughs.

Nonconformity is often associated with creative thinking. Do you agree with this?

Development is always a protest against something established. At school, in music classes, I had to study many works of the classics, cramming theory. My protest was expressed in the fact that I began to create my own music. Even if someone tries to suppress your free-thinking, in the end it only tempers and gives perseverance.

I think that each of us has some kind of talent hidden in it — this is how the world works. But in order for it to manifest itself, a stimulus is needed. This incentive does not always come from formal education. Many great creators, for one reason or another, could not complete a full-fledged university or school course, but this did not become an obstacle for them.

True education is what you yourself will take, what you will draw from your own discoveries, mistakes, overcoming difficulties. I went to a boarding school where they tried to give children as much freedom as possible to express themselves. But it was communication with friends that taught me to think creatively.

Did origin somehow influence Einstein’s views?

He was born into a liberal Jewish family that moved to Germany several generations ago. Jews in Europe at that time, long before Nazi Germany, were a well-defined, rather closed group of people. Einstein, knowing about his roots, was not going to position himself as a Jew, because he did not adhere to dogmatic beliefs. He didn’t want to belong to any class. But later, when the position of the Jews in Europe deteriorated greatly, he stood up for them and was with them.

Has he always been a pacifist?

As a young man, Einstein opposed Germany’s military policy. His quotes are known to confirm his pacifist views. Einstein’s basic principle is the rejection of the ideas of violence.

How do you feel about politics?

Anyway, she’s everywhere. It is impossible to close from it and be fundamentally aloof. It affects everything, including my lyrics. Dig into any beliefs and moral convictions and you will stumble upon politics… But there is an important point here: I am interested in politics, but not politicians.

How did you get this role?

You can say that I didn’t audition as such, since at that time I was filming in another series. But about the series «Genius» told a friend. She literally made me record a video and submit it for viewing. Which is what I did. Ron Howard contacted me via Skype: I was in Glasgow then, and he was in the USA. At the end of the conversation, I asked what Einstein meant to him personally. Ron had a complete idea of ​​what the story should be. First of all, I was interested in the life of a person, and not just a scientist. I realized that I would have to discard my ideas of what he was.

Einstein is a kind of revolutionary and has lived through extremely dangerous times, being at the epicenter of events. Many trials fell to his lot. All this made the character interesting for me as an artist.

Was it difficult to prepare for the role?

I was lucky in this regard: Einstein is perhaps the most famous person of the XNUMXth century. I had an incredible amount of material to read and study, even videos. Many of his photographs, including early ones, have been preserved. Part of my job was to get rid of stereotypes and replicated thoughts, to focus on facts, to understand what motivated Einstein in his youth.

Did you try to convey the features of a real person or, rather, give some kind of your own reading?

From the very beginning, Jeffrey and I saw in our version of Einstein the features of many extraordinary people, and especially Bob Dylan. Even their biography has something in common. The formation of Einstein’s personality took place in a bohemian atmosphere: he and his friends spent nights drinking, discussing famous philosophers. Same story with Bob Dylan. There are many references to poets and philosophers in his songs. Like Einstein, Dylan has a special vision of the universe and a way to translate it into «human» language. As Schopenhauer said, “talent achieves a goal that no one can achieve; genius — one that no one can see. This unique vision is what unites them.

Do you see similarities between yourself and Einstein?

I like that we have the same birthday. It gives me a little sense of belonging, as if I’m not just some blue-eyed blond who has been washed, tidied up and allowed to pose as Einstein. I fully share many of his feelings and thoughts regarding involvement or non-participation in any dogmatic sect or nationality.

Like him, I had to travel the world when I was a small child. He lived in different countries and never sought to classify himself as a member of any nation. I understand and fully share his attitude to conflicts in any of their manifestations. There is a much more elegant and enlightened way to resolve disputes — you can always just sit down and negotiate.

And Einstein, like you, had a musical gift.

Yes, I also play the violin. This skill came in handy during filming. I learned the pieces that Einstein said he especially liked. By the way, our tastes agree. I was able to improve my violin playing, and in the series I play everything myself. I read that, while working on his theory of relativity, Einstein could at some point stop and play for a couple of hours. This helped him in his work. I also once wrote a song about Einstein.

Tell me more.

This is pure coincidence. He has always been a hero to me, a kind of role model, but I never thought that I would ever play him in a movie. I wrote the song more as a joke. In it, I try to explain the theory of relativity to my son in the form of a lullaby. Then it was just a tribute to my interest in him. It’s amazing that now I have to experience all this for myself.

What is your favorite scene from the movie?

I remember the moment he coped with the loss of his father and continued to move on. We were filming a scene with Robert Lindsey playing Albert’s father. It was a touching moment, and as an actor, it was exciting and difficult for me. I really liked the scene of the funeral in the synagogue in Prague. We did about 100 takes and it was very powerful.

It was also interesting to reproduce thought experiments, those turning points in history when Einstein realized that he could change the universe. We filmed a scene where we recreated a series of four lectures in 1914 when Einstein was rushing to write equations for general relativity. Challenging himself, he gave four lectures to a full audience, and it almost drove him crazy and cost him his health. When the extras in the audience applauded me in the scene where I write the final equation, I could imagine how it could be, and it was fun!

If you could ask Einstein a question, what would you ask him?

It seems to me that there are no questions left that he would not try to answer. One of the most impressive stories happened after he moved to the USA. Einstein was concerned about the violation of civil rights and unfair treatment of African Americans and wrote an essay in which he classified them, as well as himself, as «outsiders.» He wrote, «I can’t call myself an American when these people are being treated so badly.»

Would you like to remain in history, like your hero?

I don’t think about fame. If people like my game or music, that’s nice.

Which genius would you like to play next?

The world I know and the world I come from is the world of art. My wife is an artist and I have been making music since I graduated from college. There are hundreds of musicians that I would like to play. There is a lot of talk about who could be cast for the next season of Genius and I think it would be great if it was a woman. But I’m afraid that I won’t play it anymore.

Unless one of her companions.

I think Marie Curie, who appears in our story about Einstein, is a suitable candidate. Leonardo Da Vinci would be interesting if they decided to take one of the men. And Michelangelo too.