Sir Anthony Hopkins is set to play the Holocaust hero dubbed the 'British Schindler' in an upcoming film.
In 1939, a young English stockbroker named Nicholas Winton helped save 669 Jewish children from occupied Czechoslovakia on the eve on World War II.
Winton had heard about Kindertransport, which was rescuing German and Austrian Jewish children and bringing them to safety in Great Britain and decided to organise a similar rescue operation for the children of Czechoslovakia before the outbreak of World War II.
On March 14, 1939, the first transport of children organised by Winton left Prague by plane for London.
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He had raised money to fund the trip and also found British foster families for the refugee children.
Winton then organised seven more rescue missions that departed by rail out of Prague and across Germany to the Atlantic Coast, then by ship across the English Channel to Britain.
On August 2, 1939, the last trainload of children left Prague.
After the war, Winton's rescue efforts remained largely unknown. He was haunted by those he couldn't save and rarely talked about it.
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Then, in 1989, millions watched as Winton was reunited with some of the 669 children he helped rescue during an episode of That's Life!
During the live BBC programme, presenter Esther Rantzen asked the studio audience if 'anyone here tonight owes their life to Nicholas Winton?'
He was shocked when the adults seated around him stood up. They were the children he had rescued 50 years earlier.
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Now, Winton's remarkable story has been given the big screen treatment.
The film, One Life, has been adapted from the 2014 book If It's Not Impossible… The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton, which was written by his daughter Barbara.
Sir Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn both play Nicholas Winton at different stages of his life, while Helena Bonham-Carter plays Winton’s mother, Babi.
The cast also includes Jonathan Pryce, Lena Olin, Romola Garai and Alex Sharp.
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In a description of the film, Oscar-winning production company See-Saw calls it 'an inspiring true story' and 'a race against time'.
Adding that by appearing on television, Sir Nicholas was finally able make peace with his demons.
"And so it’s not until he’s surprised by the survivors on live television that he can accept that when facing devastating atrocities, saving even one life is a victory, and the British public learn the truth about the hero hidden in their midst," it reads.
Sir Nicholas Winton died in July 2015. He was 106 years old.
Featured Image Credit: Credit: Rich Polk/Getty Images for Netflix. BBC.Topics: News, TV and Film