See Antonio Banderas Transform into Pablo Picasso in Nat Geo’s Genius
[contfnewc] After taking viewers inside the life of Albert Einstein, Nat Geo is ready for another jo..
After taking viewers inside the life of Albert Einstein, Nat Geo is ready for another journey—this time into the story of Spanish painter Pablo Picasso. Even better news? Antonio Banderas stars as the Guernica painter himself.
In the first trailer for the second season of Nat Geo’s biographical anthology series, Genius—premiering exclusively on VF.com—Banderas portrays a tortured, womanizing prodigy. Picasso always wanted to be a painter, but his path to fame is far from clear in the trailer as he’s scolded for his technique and told, “You have talent, but no discipline.”
“I need to see things in a new way,” Banderas says in his instantly recognizable rasp. “Smash the rules!”
When Banderas was first announced for the role, executive producer Ron Howardsaid that Banderas was “the natural choice” to play the iconic painter. “He, like Picasso, has a no-holds-barred approach to life that will add to the genuineness that we’re looking for,” Howard said. “He has such tremendous range as an actor, who I know will bring this brilliant and unconventional artist to life.” Plus, like Picasso, Banderas hails from Málaga, Spain.
Yes, from the trailer, it seems that some moments and dialogue promise to be a little over the top—but then again, some might say the same about Picasso himself. For those who are familiar with the painter’s work but want to know more about, say, the life he was living when he painted El viejo guitarrista ciego (The Old Guitarist) versus when he painted Guernica,Genius promises to illuminate all of it and then some. If you loved Geoffrey Rush as Albert Einstein, are really into cubism, or just want to know more about Pablo Picasso’s sex life, this one’s probably right up your alley.
Get Vanity Fair’s HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Laura BradleyLaura Bradley is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com. She was formerly an editorial assistant at Slate and lives in Brooklyn.
