Johnny Flynn has a difficult job in new movie ONE LIFE, not only is he portraying the real life character Nicholas Winton, but he also shares acting duties with veteran Anthony Hopkins, who plays an older version of Nicholas. One of the challenges Johnny had for this role was embracing Anthony to make sure the audience understood this was the same character at two different stages of their life.
One Life is set in the months leading up to World War II, when an ordinary English man, Nicholas Winton, travelled to the former Czechoslovakia to help support those who were forced to become refugees by the encroaching Nazi regime. Horrified by what he saw, Winton was determined to do something to help, ultimately saving 669 Jewish children by securing passage for them by train to England. Winton’s story was almost forgotten until 1988 when a surprise reunion was organised live on the Esther Rantzen BBC show, ‘That’s Life’. The film tells the story of the daring rescue that changed their lives.
We spoke with Johnny about taking on this important role, and chatted about how he prepared to act alongside Anthony Hopkins, despite them not sharing any scenes together.