A Beautiful Mind is a 2001 American
biographical drama film based on the life of
John Nash, a
Nobel Laureate in Economics. The film was directed by
Ron Howard, from a screenplay written by
Akiva Goldsman. It was inspired by a bestselling,
Pulitzer Prize-nominated 1998
book of the same name by
Sylvia Nasar. The film stars
Russell Crowe, along with
Ed Harris,
Jennifer Connelly,
Paul Bettany,
Adam Goldberg,
Judd Hirsch,
Josh Lucas,
Anthony Rapp, and
Christopher Plummer in supporting roles. The story begins in Nash's days as a graduate student at
Princeton University. Early in the film, Nash begins to develop
paranoid schizophrenia and endures
delusional episodes while painfully watching the loss and burden his condition brings on wife
Alicia and friends.