Hawking (2004 film)

Hawking
Official DVD Cover
Written by	Peter Moffat
Directed by	Philip Martin
Starring	Benedict Cumberbatch Michael Brandon Tom Hodgkins Lisa Dillon Phoebe Nicholls Adam Godley Peter Firth Tom Ward John Sessions Rohan Siva Matthew Marsh Anastasia Hille Bertie Carvel Christian Rubeck
Theme music composer	Murray Gold
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Production
Producer(s)	Jessica Pope
Running time	90 minutes
Release
Original network	BBC Two
Original release	13 April 2004

Hawking is a BBC television film about Stephen Hawking's early years as a PhD student at Cambridge University, following his search for the beginning of time, and his struggle against motor neuron disease. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Hawking and premiered in the UK in April 2004.

The film received acclaim, with critics particularly lauding Cumberbatch's performance as Hawking. It was nominated for Best Single Drama in the BAFTA TV Awards in 2005. Cumberbatch won the Golden Nymph for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Film or Miniseries, and received his first nomination for a BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor.

Cumberbatch's portrayal of Hawking was the first ever portrayal of the physicist on screen.

At Stephen Hawking's 21st birthday party he meets a new friend, Jane Wilde. There is a strong attraction between the two and Jane is intrigued by Stephen's talk of stars and the universe, but realises that there is something very wrong with Stephen when he suddenly finds that he is unable to stand up. A stay in hospital results in a horrifying diagnosis. Stephen is suffering from motor neurone disease and doctors don't expect him to survive for more than two years. Stephen returns to Cambridge where the new term has started without him. But he cannot hide from the reality of his condition through work because he can't find a subject for his PhD. While his colleagues throw themselves into academic and college life, Stephen's life seems to have been put on hold. He rejects the help of his supervisor Dennis Sciama and sinks into a depression. It is only Stephen's occasional meetings with Jane and her faith in him that seem to keep him afloat. The prevailing theory in cosmology at the time is Steady State, which argues that the universe had no beginning – it has always existed, and always will – and Steady State is dominated by Professor Fred Hoyle, a plain-speaking Yorkshireman, and one of the first science TV pundits.