Stephen Hawking turns 73 on Thursday, so that could be the official reason for the Discovery Channel’s decision to air Hawking, the 2004 BBC movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch, on Saturday. However, for movie fans, it will give us an opportunity to see how Cumberbatch compares to Eddie Redmayne.
Hawking is the subject of The Theory of Everything, which has been nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Picture Drama, and stars Redmayne as Hawking. Redmayne is also up for the Golden Globe for Best Actor Drama and is competing against Cumberbatch, the star of The Imitation Game. And of course, The Imitation Game was also nominated for Best Picture Drama.
All that drama means that it is no surprise that someone has decided to dig up Hawking. According to Deadline, Discovery will air the film on Saturday at 10 p.m., the night before the Globes air on NBC.
Hawking was one of Cumberbatch’s early efforts, coming even before Sherlock made him an international star. While the film didn’t get notice from awards in the U.S., it was nominated for two BAFTA TV Awards, including Best Actor.
Both Hawking and Theory center on Hawking’s early life.
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