Weisz set to join Firth for POW drama.
Rachel Weisz has closed a deal to star opposite Colin Firth in ‘The Railway Man,’ reports Variety.
The prisoner of war drama is based on the bestselling autobiography of Eric Lomax, a British army officer who was captured and tortured by the Japanese in World War II. Lomax was forced to work on the notorious “death railway” in Burma. Years later, still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, he seeks out one of the Japanese tormentors to exact some revenge.
Firth will be playing Lomax, with ‘War Horse’ star Jeremy Irvine set to play the younger Lomax during the World War II scenes. Weisz will portray his wife Patricia ‘Patti’ Wallace.
‘Burning Man’ helmer Jonathan Teplitzky is attached to direct, helming from a screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson. The drama is slated to begin shooting in February in Australia, Thailand and the UK.