How Colin Firth Befriended the Real WWII Vet He Plays in 'The Railway Man'
There are few people left who can give a first-hand account of life as a soldier in World War II, and their ranks are shrinking with each passing year. According to the U.S. Veterans Administration, approximately 550 men and women who were part of the war effort pass away each day in this country. So it is increasingly important to record their stories, especially when trying to retell them on the big screen.
Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth did get such an opportunity to meet and spend time with the WWII veteran he portrays in the upcoming drama “The Railway Man.” The film is an adaptation of Eric Lomax’s memoir of his time as a Japanese prisoner of war forced to work on the “Death Railway” through the Burma jungle, and his life after the war trying to piece himself back together with the help of his wife Patti (played by Nicole Kidman). To prepare for the role, Firth was able to meet with Lomax, then 93, at his home in Scotland to discuss his desire for vengeance against his Japanese captor, Takashi Nagase.
Firth quickly bonded with Lomax on a personal level. “I liked him enormously,” said Firth, “and I think that took things up a few notches in terms of my emotional investment.”
The time they spent together brought added depth to his interpretation of the screenplay. “It became not just a very interesting story about a character for whom I felt affection on the page,” the actor explained, “it became more personal.” Kidman was also able to spend time with Mr. and Mrs. Lomax, and she noted that Firth “has taken on so many of the traits of Eric that it was, like, eerie.”
Eric Lomax was able to visit the set during filming and see moments of his life recreated in front of the camera. But sadly, he died while the film was in post-production and never saw the final product.
Screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce concluded that perhaps it was best that Lomax did not have to revisit his trauma on the big screen. “Eric Lomax’s great achievement was to have survived the darkest place and to have left it behind,” said Boyce. “Why would he want to revisit that in Dolby Stereo and Technicolor? His greatest victory was that he was able to shake off the dark shadows that had hunted him and to die with heart full on friendship and cake, love and steam trains.”
“The Railway Man" opens in select cities on Friday and expands nationwide on April 18.
