Jeremy Irons is to play Cambridge academic GH Hardy in a movie biopic about a celebrated Indian maths genius.
The 65-year-old will star in The Man Who Knew Infinity, which will be filmed in the UK and India next year, looking at the life of the gifted mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.
Ramanujan — to be played by Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel — formulated a number of theorems having had little in the way of specialist training, and went on to be invited by Hardy to develop his ideas at Cambridge University.
Jeremy has recently been seen in historical TV drama The Borgias and in BBC Two’s Hollow Crown, and landed an Oscar for his portrayal of Claus Von Bulow in Reversal Of Fortune which was produced by Edward R Pressman who is also behind the new film.
Ramanujan was born in south east India in 1887 and showed an early flair for numbers, developing his abilities with a textbook he was loaned in his early teens.
The theories he developed were sent on spec to Hardy who helped him to come to the UK when he was in his mid-20s, where he continued his bright but brief career. He died back in India at the age of just 32.
He is held in such high esteem in India that his birthday, December 22, is celebrated as the country’s National Mathematics Day. His work is even celebrated in sci-fi cartoon Futurama which contains regular oblique references.
Announcing the casting of Irons, co-producer Pressman said: “I am delighted to be working with Jeremy again. Our last collaboration on Reversal Of Fortune earned an Oscar for Jeremy, and I could not overstate his amazing talent.
“We are very fortunate to be able to add an actor of such stature to our production.”
