Hopkins will play the WWII hero who saved 669 children – BBC News BBC Homepage

For the millions of viewers at home, it was an unforgettable moment in British television history.

In February 1988 on BBC’s That’s Life! a man named Nicholas Winton came face to face with some of the 669 Jewish children he had saved from the Nazis before World War II.

A surprise reunion, she brought to light a remarkable story – which has now been made into a Hollywood movie.

And it is set to star Sir Anthony Hopkins of Port Talbot as the Holocaust hero nicknamed Britain’s Schindler.

Titled One Life, the film will tell how Sir Nicholas, a London stockbroker who was knighted for his humanitarian achievements in 2003, helped smuggle young Jewish refugees out of occupied Czechoslovakia in 1938.

Kindertransport was a program to rescue children from Nazi-controlled territory.

Around 10,000 children, the majority of whom were Jewish, were sent to Britain between November 1938 and September 1939.

Sir Nicholas convinced the British government to allow Czech children, as well as Germans and Austrians, into the UK.

Parents were not allowed to accompany the children on what was supposed to be a temporary move until it was safe to return home.

Along with a few volunteers – including his mother – Sir Nicholas organized everything the children needed, including finding foster families and raising money to cover travel costs.

The last train was to leave on September 1, 1939 but was canceled when war broke out.

Sir Nicholas believed none of the 250 children on board had yet been heard from.

He was always haunted by the thought of all those he was unable to help and never really talked about his efforts. As a result, his story of heroism would become largely unknown.

That was until around 50 years later, when Sir Nicholas’ wife discovered a scrapbook in their attic detailing everything her husband had done, including the names of all the children he had helped raise. escape.

News of his story spread and Sir Nicholas was later called on to appear on an episode of the popular Sunday night show That’s Life!

There, as the cameras rolled, host Esther Rantzen asked the studio audience, “Does anyone here tonight owe their life to Nicholas Winton?”

It was then that dozens of people sitting around the 77-year-old stood up, revealing themselves to be adult versions of those little ones he had saved, even if it was only a small percentage.

Immortalized in recent years on YouTube, the moving clip has since been viewed tens of millions of times, reintroducing Sir Nicholas to a whole new generation.

And now, moviegoers will soon be able to see his exploits unfold on the big screen, with One Life having its world premiere next month at the Toronto International Film Festival.

It was filmed last year in Prague, from where children were transported by train and a statue of Sir Nicholas was unveiled in 2009.

Margam-born Sir Anthony will play his elderly incarnation while actor and musician Johnny Flynn will play him as a young man.

Helena Bonham Carter will also star as Sir Nicholas’ mother, alongside Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce.

The film was adapted from a 2014 book written by Sir Nicholas’ daughter, Barbara, titled If It’s Not Impossible… The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton.

One Life’s Oscar-winning production company See-Saw described the drama as “an inspiring true story” and “a race against time”.

He added that by appearing on television, Sir Nicholas was finally able to make peace with his demons.

“It wasn’t until he was surprised by survivors on live television that he realized that in the face of devastating atrocities, saving a single life is a victory,” he said.

“And the British public learned the truth about the hidden hero in their midst.”

Sir Nicholas died in July 2015 aged 106.

Additional reporting by Oscar Edwards