Best Movies Based on Real-Life Scientists
Your changes have been saved
Email is sent
Email has already been sent
Please verify your email address.
You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.
9 Mystery Thrillers and Crime Movies With Holiday Themes
Every live-action lex luthor, ranked, the most annoying characters in otherwise perfect movies.
We are undeniably living in an era where some stories for cinema are often based on — whether directly adapted or subtly inspired by — real-life monumental events that have shaped history. Movies like Zero Dark Thirty , Hidden Figures , and The King's Speech are just a few critically and commercially acclaimed stories that brought to life significant periods of human history. Of course, there are films on the other end of the quality spectrum that, though based on real life, are devoid of authenticity, or fail in terms of accuracy. One genre that has been a staple in cinema history — and one that we are currently witnessing a boom of sorts — is the biopic, or biographical movie .
Taking real historical figures, their stories, and major accomplishments, biopics help audiences dive into the lives of people who changed the world as we know it. One major subgenre is the biopic. This year a huge biopic called Oppenheimer directed by Christopher Nolan featured a number of real-life scientists, though it wasn't the first to explore the concept.
Updated on August 11th, 2023, by Federico Furzan : This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.
11 The Theory of Everything (2014)
Led by Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything is a balanced renaissance of romance, drama, and honesty on its own merit. The movie, based on the life of renowned English astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, delves deeper into the timeline of Hawkins’ life when he is diagnosed with ALS, which slowly begins affecting his brain and nerves’ basic functions.
Despite that, Hawking harbors an ambition to revolutionize the uncharted theories of physics with his intelligence and simultaneously hopes to cherish the finite days with his love and fellow collegian Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones). Interestingly, in an interview with Variety, the real-life Hawking cited that the film was “broadly true,” and was for him largely synonymous with watching himself play the character.
10 Temple Grandin (2010)
In one of the best performances of her career, Claire Danes played real-life American scholar Temple Grandin. Temple Grandin is a great depiction of the ordeal Grandin had to go through in order to be taken seriously as a specialist in the basics of cattle management.
Autism was the condition through which people belittled her. Besides having Danes as a fantastic lead, Temple Grandin is also a great portrayal of female resilience and a heartwarming film that never disappoints.
9 The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015)
The Man Who Knew Infinity is a treasure trove of the last decade, serving as an epic biographical drama that leaves the theatergoers gut-wrenched as the film inches close to its conclusion. The film tells the tale of brilliant Indian mathematician Srinivasan Ramanujan.
It spotlights Ramanujan’s grit at making a mark through his groundbreaking mathematic discoveries after gaining admittance to Cambridge University during World War Ⅰ. The Man Who Knew Infinity , starring Dev Patel as the titular character, remodels impoverished, yet brainy Srinivasan’s life into an exceptional genius under the unerring guidance of his mentor G.H. Hardy, played exceptionally by Jeremy Irons.
8 Tesla (2020)
In 2020's biopic Tesla , we explore the life of the real-life enigma of Nikola Tesla. All through the performance of an impeccable Ethan Hawke who goes skin-deep when trying to embody such a twisted frame of mind.
The life of the genius who practically invented electrical power is depicted through the relationships Tesla suffered through, which ultimately turned him into a mysterious scientist who still doesn't get the recognition he deserves.
7 The Imitation Game (2014)
The historical drama The Imitation Game , adapted from the novel Alan Turing: The Enigma, is based on the life of British prodigal mathematician Alan Turning, an alumnus of Cambridge University. The movie serves as a nail-biting plot of a team decrypting near-impossible Nazi codes that harbor sensitive information about impending German attacks during World War Ⅱ.
Indeed, The Imitation Game sets the narrative against time and sees Benedict Cumberbatch triumphantly portraying Turing. Turing is also accompanied by the brains of Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley), Hugh Alexander (Matthew Goode), and John Cairncross (Allen Leech) in this quest to decode the unbreakable Enigma, as he's also going through an emotional ordeal regarding a hidden secret.
Related: 8 Biopics That Were Criticized by the Real-Life Figures They Were About
6 Creation (2009)
British romance-drama biopic Creation stars Paul Bettany as Charles Darwin, the famous naturalist. The film dives broadly into the lives of Emma (Jennifer Connelly) and Darwin, who are leading an unstable life after the untimely demise of their eldest daughter Annie.
Creation traces the events leading up to the publication of the book titled On The Origin of Species, a scientific journal logging ground-breaking evolutionary discoveries and theories of the planetary species, written by Charles. Jon Amiel directed Creation , offering moviegoers the chance to conclusively ponder over precisely two conflicting thoughts: whether species are a creation of God or descendants of evolution. The movie, however, contrary to its title, leans towards evolution.
5 October Sky (1999)
An inspiring story of emotional power that tells a real-life story that not many people know about. October Sky is based on the memoir of real-life NASA specialist Homer Hickam, and it tells the story of Hickam's prominence in going against the will of the town and his family to become fascinated with rocket science.
Of course, in 1957 only the Soviet's first iteration of Sputnik had gone to outer space and this couldn't be considered inspiring. Hickam, with the help of his friends and the support of his science teacher, thrives and becomes the town's most interesting teenager when he starts building a rocket of his own. The masterful direction by genre icon Joe Johnston is one of his best. This was one of Jake Gyllenhaal's first noteworthy performances.
4 Hidden Figures (2016)
Hidden Figures , inspired by Margot Lee Shetterly’s novel of the same name, re-narrates the story of NASA’s Black women employees: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. As portrayed, the characters were the catalyst in the successful accomplishment of Project Mercury, which involved the orbital launch of astronaut John Glenn.
The biopic starring stellar actors Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe, also brings forward the history of racial and gender discrimination faced by the team at their work. Indeed, the movie is a must-watch as it reinvigorates the message that women are cerebrally equal to men in every aspect.
3 Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
In Michael Apted's Gorillas in the Mist , the scientist whose life we discover through a truly endearing film, is Dian Fossey, the environmentalist who until she was brutally murdered, fought for the conservation of mountain gorilla habitats in the Congo.
Played by Sigourney Weaver in an award-winning performance, Fossey was a fierce lady who faced dangers from two sides: the one with the wild animals who she trusted more than anything, and the one with the humans who cowardly ended her life too soon. The scenes involving Fossey interacting with gorillas are impressive.
2 A Beautiful Mind (2001)
A Beautiful Mind is an American drama loosely based on the life of mathematician Josh Forbes Nash, a Nobel Laureate in Economics, played by Russell Crowe. The film sees Nash accepting the decrypting assignment from a mysterious man named William Parcher, working with the United States Department of Defense.
As such, assignments handed to Nash are largely focused on identifying patterns in magazines and clippings to thwart the Soviets' schemes. It is eventually revealed that Nash is experiencing episodes of delusion and suffering from schizophrenia, hinting that every montage is his figment of imagination. While A Beautiful Mind never intended to exhibit the exact life of the mathematician, it boded fairly well at depicting the agonies one goes through at the hands of a mental disorder.
1 Oppenheimer (2023)
In Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer , we explore the life of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer during the peak of his life when he participated in The Manhattan Project and eventually masterminded the plan for creating an atomic bomb. The film heavily focuses on Oppenheimer's intimate life as he always fought misconceptions and ideological obstacles.
Ultimately, the film shows his success in creating the most lethal object of the 20th century, but it also shows how his image was darkened by the security hearings in which he was formally accused of being a closeted communist. This is Nolan's most dramatic film to date, so fans of his spectacle-based films will surely be confused at how Oppenheimer plays out. But in the end, it's a masterful adaptation of events that actually took place.
- Movie Lists
The 10 Best Movies About Famous Scientists, According to IMDb
Your changes have been saved
Email is sent
Email has already been sent
Please verify your email address.
You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.
The 10 Worst Horror Movies of the 2000s, Ranked
10 '80s teen romance movies that aged remarkably well, is 'a real pain' streaming where to watch jesse eisenberg and kieran culkin's awards contender.
Christopher Nolan's dazzling Oppenheimer has opened in theaters to glowing reviews. The sprawling, 3-hour epic tells the scientist's story in non-linear fashion from his early years as a graduate physics student in 1920s Europe, through the Manhattan Project, his subsequent celebrity, controversy, and regret.
In a way, it's a sort of throwback to the kind of sweeping melodramas big-time Hollywood directors used to make, complete with a huge supporting cast of stars including Kenneth Branagh , Robert Downey, Jr. , and Rami Malek . Coming in currently with a 9.0/10 IMDb rating, how does it measure with these other highly-rated scientist biopics on IMDb?
10 Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
IMDb rating: 6.5/10
Back in the '80's director Roland Joffe gave us this first historical epic film about Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project. The film re-enacts the Manhattan Project with an emphasis on the relationship between project leader Colonel Leslie Groves ( Paul Newman ) and Oppenheimer ( Dwight Schultz ).
RELATED: Paul Newman's Performance is the Standout in This Other Movie About Oppenheimer
Newman's Colonel Groves is clearly the film's star here as he clashes with Schultz's Oppenheimer in their personal and professional lives. Oppenheimer also clashes with team members Kathleen Robinson ( Laura Dern ) and Michael Merriman ( John Cusak ) , who question what they are doing and why.
9 Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
IMDb rating: 7.0/10
Sigourney Weaver gives an outstanding performance as naturalist Dian Fossey, a scientist who travels to Africa to devote her life to the study of mountain gorillas and becomes an advocate for their protection. The sweeping real-life adventure tale covers not only intriguing discoveries about the intelligence and communicative abilities of gorillas, but African politics, poaching, and corruption which ultimately ends in tragedy.
Fossey is inspired to walk away from her life as an occupational therapist when she meets her idol anthropologist Louis Leaky, who convinces her to travel to the Congo with him to study gorillas. He and his foundation equip her to make contact with and study the gorillas, and this sets her on a path of amazing discoveries, romance, intrigue, and international acclaim.
8 Kinsey (2004)
IMDb rating: 7.1/10
Director/writer Bill Condon ' s film examines the unconventional life of controversial professor of entomology and sexologist Alfred Kinsey ( Liam Neeson ). His 1948 book Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, became a huge bestseller sparking open and frank conversations about such heretofore taboo subjects as orgasms, masturbation, and homosexuality and opening the door to the establishment of sex education in schools.
Kinsey's story is told in flashbacks in an interview as he muses about his repressive childhood, how he met his wife Clara McMillan (brilliantly played by Laura Linney ), and his breakthrough research which not only changed the lives of his subjects and readers but gave him a new understanding of his own sexuality. Nominated for everything from the Independent Spirit Awards to an Oscar, the film offers an insightful look at one of the most misunderstood figures in science history.
7 Madam Curie (1943)
IMDb rating: 7.2/10
Mervyn Leroy' s classic film tells the story of Maria Sklowdowska Curie, the Polish-French chemist and physicist who along with her husband Pierre conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. Curie was the first woman ever to win a Nobel Prize, which she actually won twice -- once with her husband and a second time on her own.
RELATED: From Religious Epics to Killer Sharks: What Was Hollywood's First Blockbuster
The film presents a romanticized version of their lives, with Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon playing the couple, and follows Marie from her days as a student in Paris to her work with and subsequent marriage to Pierre Curie and beyond. Although highly fictionalized, it does manage to adhere to actual facts more than most biopics of the period and was nominated for numerous awards, including Best Actress and Actor nods for Garson and Pidgeon.
6 The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015)
Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons star in this film about the life and career of pioneering Indian mathematician Srinivasan Ramanujan and his friendship with mentor Professor G. H. Hardy in pre-World War 1 Britain. As a young man living in Madras, India his stellar mathematical ability helps him rise above the poverty of his home and catches the attention of Cambridge University's Professor Hardy who invites him to Britain to study.
A stranger in a strange land facing tough academic standards as well as racial prejudice he nevertheless manages to get his work published in major journals of the time and achieves international recognition as an exceptional mathematician. Lack of contact with his family and the wife he left back in India plus a diagnosis of TB take their toll, however, and he eventually returns to his wife before his untimely death at age 32. Although a bit short on accuracy, the performances of Patel and Irons make this film well worth the watch.
5 The Theory of Everything (2014)
IMDb rating: 7.7/10
Based on the book written by his ex-wife Jane, the film explores the life and work of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. Eddie Redmayne's moving portrayal of Hawking as he finds love, battles illness, and achieves enormous success in the field of physics earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor.
At the University of Cambridge, young Hawking studies astrophysics, writes his thesis on the creation of the universe, and begins a relationship with literature student Jane Wilde. But he is soon diagnosed with an incurable motor neuron disease which will continue to worsen throughout his life. While mostly focused on the relationship between Stephen and Jane, the film also offers a fairly accurate look at Hawking's science and theories.
4 Awakenings (1990)
IMDb rating: 7.8/10
Based on the true story of neurologist Oliver Sacks, Penny Marshal l' s Awakenings features riveting performances by Robin Williams and Robert De Niro as well as a star-studded supporting cast including John Heard and Max Von Sydow.
Williams plays the neurologist who after working extensively with catatonic patients at a Brooklyn hospital learns about a Parkinsons' drug L-DOPA which he thinks may help his patients achieve a breakthrough. He chooses patient Leonard Lowe (De Niro) to test the drug and finds that it seems to have completely awakened Lowe from his catatonia. Unfortunately, the results do not last long, but they do give Leonard a brief chance to appreciate and fully live life.
3 Hidden Figures (2016)
This homage to the three Black female mathematicians who became unsung heroes of the 1960s NASA space race was not only a huge commercial success ($236 million worldwide according to Deadline Hollywood, with a $25 million budget) but a critical one, garnering a Best Picture Oscar nomination and winning the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast.
RELATED: 20 Best Movies About the Space Race, According to IMDb
Katherine Gobel Johnson ( Taraji P. Henson ), Dorothy Vaughn ( Octavia Spence r ), and Mary Jackson ( Janelle Monae ) cross gender, race, and professional barriers in using their genius to help rescue a struggling space program. Strong performances by three of the most talented Black actresses around make this a heartwarming and inspiring treat.
2 The Imitation Game (2014)
IMDb rating: 8.0/10
Benedict Cumberbatch delivers a brilliantly nuanced performance as mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing (known as the father of modern computing and AI) in this nail-biting thriller. It tells the story of Turing's code-breaking work in World War 2 as well as the troubles in his private life that eventually led to tragedy.
Britain's MI6 bring Turing in to help crack Enigma, the Nazi's seemingly unbreakable code machine. Turing designs a machine that can decipher Enigma messages which he eventually convinces Winston Churchill to fund. In a race against time with the Nazis, the machine is created and successfully decodes all Enigma messages, helping to shorten the war and save thousands of lives. This leads to a stellar career after the war designing some of the world's first computers. Sadly, Turing's homosexuality runs afoul of 1950s British law, resulting in his suicide; but his groundbreaking work lives on and forms the basis of modern AI.
1 A Beautiful Mind (2001)
IMDb rating: 8.2/10
Ron Howard 's biopic on the life of mathematician John Nash is both a touching love story and an exposé on mental illness. Nash's harrowing journey is shown through his eyes, bringing the audience along with him.
Winner of four Academy Awards (including Best Director for Howard), with powerful performances by Russell Crowe , Jennifer Connelly , and Ed Harris , it's earned the top spot on this list.
NEXT: Every Christopher Nolan Movie, Ranked by Rotten Tomatoes
IMAGES
VIDEO