“That’s Badass!” Says Neil deGrasse Tyson of Stephen Hawking

More scientists in film? Yes, please.

Scientists as pop culture phenomenons is a popular recent trend — with both Stephen Hawking and Alan Turing having biopics in theaters within a month of one another (respectively, The Theory of Everything, out now, and The Imitation Game, out on the 25th). So what does everyone’s favorite astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, have to say about it?

I’m enchanted by the fact that, of late, science as a topic and scientists as characters have piqued the interest of storytellers. Just think about what scientists do and what kind of storytelling can derive from it. Just take it and run with it — I’ll sit back and enjoy.

Tyson also talks about Hawking’s discoveries, and though it’s a straightforward explanation in Tyson’s Cosmos style, it fills a science gap that moviegoers might be wondering about — while The Theory of Everything covers Hawking’s personal life, it says little about the discoveries that made him famous. For all the details, watch the video above.

If you want to learn more about Hawking’s life, The Theory of Everything is in theaters now. And if you want to learn more about The Theory of Everything, check out our interview with producer Lisa Bruce.