The Real Story Behind “A Beautiful Mind”

First Steps to Disaster

Friends first noticed his deteriorating state when he appeared at a New Year’s Eve party dressed solely in a nappy and a sash. He spent the rest of the evening curled up on his wife’s lap. However, his mental illness didn’t begin to affect his work until the late ’50s, when he gave a lecture at Colombia University that made little sense. While director Ron Howard took this as an opportunity to depict John being forcefully sedated by doctors, the reality was different – and much more complex.