"Chernobyl": the mini-series on the nuclear disaster has become a televised event

A production that highlights the dangers of "mistrust of science and rumors of trust" / HBO

With "Game of Thrones" out of the game, HBO has managed to win in seriefilas productions with "Chernobyl", the television success of the moment, and will end this Friday from the 21st with the release of its fifth chapter.

With Stellan Skarsgard ("River"), Jared Harris ("The Crown") and Emily Watson ("Breaking the waves"), the production returns to the nuclear disaster more than thirty years later, an inexhaustible source for many productions, documentaries even works of fiction.

Skarsgard plays Boris Shcherbina, leader of the USSR government commission in charge of the disaster. "It's your way through the beliefs in the Soviet system, he's living his life believing in the idea of ​​a perfect state and collapsing in him," said the actor about his character in an interview. granted to Europa Press during the presentation of the series in London. The actor argued that, far from a sentimental portrait of the effects of the accident, "Chernobyl" highlights the dangers of a "mistrust of science and trust in rumors ".

"The emotion is very dangerous – leaders like Trump, Erdogan, his power is based on emotions and nothing else," said Skarsgard, who brought Detective River River Disturbed into the series bearing his name and visible on Netflix. An idea that strengthened Jared Harris, responsible for the interpretation of Valeri Legasov, the Soviet scientist chosen by the Kremlin to investigate the incident. "In reality, he had a wife and children, but we had to suppress the emotions," said Harris, who reads the most pessimistic text, which still persists today. "It does not make sense to wait for the truth about your government," he said.

Beside Legasov, Ulana Khomyak, scientist played by Emily Watson, played a key role in the investigation of the accident. For the actress, the series indicates that "the control of the data is very dangerous", since everything has for origin the misinformation of the workers due to the control of the State. "We did not know how terrible it could have been, much, much worse."

Watson's character comes into play with the solution, facing a commission made up exclusively of men. "It's she who discovers what's really going on," said the actress, adding that it was "terrific" to give life to a successful woman by taking it away with his knowledge.

An equality that, according to the actress, goes beyond fiction, more and more with more "diverse" productions. "Before, we were paying attention to who was the first of a weekend.If a movie came out, that a lot of people saw it and made money, the protagonist was profitable.Many of them. Men have done it and very few women, but this is changing, "acknowledged Watson.

But in "Chernobyl", the question is not so much gender as the invisibility of science in the political sphere. "Scientists are not well placed to share their knowledge," criticized Harris, who gave the example of the environmental crisis. "The political sphere does not seem to have shown that it was taken seriously, and the young people who demonstrate every Friday show how serious it is because they are the ones who will suffer the consequences."

For Skarsgard, "Chernobyl" does not offer answers about the feasibility or otherwise of nuclear energy, but raises them and invites reflection on the current situation. "In 1981, we held a referendum and I voted against nuclear energy, but the situation was not as serious as today.Now I do not know. I think we can not solve the problem by simply shutting down nuclear power plants and using fossil fuels, "he said.

After decades and countless productions on the subject, "Chernobyl" leaves a timeless lesson: science and knowledge as engines of development. "Any ideology or religion that claims to have the truth can really end it," Skarsgard summed up.