The surprisingly human side of Einstein
By MIKE HUGHES
Gannett News Service
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A century ago, a revolution occurred inside one man's brain.
This was, of course, a remarkable brain. "Einstein's Big Idea" airs tomorrow, as part of a big week for PBS.
The film bounces between countries and centuries as scientists learn the basics of energy and mass. It centers on 1905, when those concepts were merged into a theory of relativity by Albert Einstein, a 26-year-old patent clerk with an intriguing soul.
"I was quite surprised at how mischievous he was, as a person," says Aidan McArdle, who portrays him. "I didn't know that he had such a brilliant musical side."
He also had a romantic side. He had married another scholar, Mileva Maric, after an affair and some intense love letters.
"She was always going on about ... how she'd like to be his little wife and couldn't wait to hold him and be cuddled by him," says Shirley Henderson, who plays her. "So he was very passionate, I think."
That would fade. They divorced and Einstein's second marriage was tepid.
"A few months before he died, he said his one great regret was that twice he had failed to love," says author David Bodanis.
Earlier, however, Einstein was young, passionate and brilliant. He had a made-for-TV life.
Bodanis included that in his book "E Equals MC Squared" (Walker & Co., 2000), a portrait of Einstein and the people who preceded him.
"It's about heartache, betrayal, jealousy," says Gary Johnstone, who wrote and directed this PBS adaptation for "Nova."
He linked with British, German and French companies to film re-enactments. The film includes:
For the actors, this involved lush period settings and rich mental exercise.
"There was something about playing a woman who is entirely involved in her own thought processes," says Emily Woof, who portrays Meitner.
The roles also required lots of make-believe.
"I had to act like I was one of the foremost geniuses of the 20th century," McArdle says, "and unfortunately, I'm not. But Gary (Johnstone) simplified everything to our tiny little minds."
The rest involved acting craft, Woof says. "There were moments that were just pure 'Star Trek' ... when you're saying stuff (and) hope it sounds like you know what you're talking about."
Credit for Meitner's ideas was often incorrectly given to a male colleague. There was also a theory, later discarded, that Einstein had used Maric's ideas.
"Most people get famous and get comfortable," says physicist Sylvester James Gates Jr. "Einstein got famous and tried to do good."
By his death at 76, he was a world hero. That was a half-century after his big idea.
Learn more:
PBS' "Nova" site: www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ein stein
