One Life film: cinema release date in UK, cast with Anthony Hopkins as Nicholas Winton, and trailer of biopic

Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins stars as Nicholas Winton in historical biopic One Life, coming to UK cinemas on New Year’s Day.

The film is set across two time periods - following a young Winton during his work to save hundreds of lives ahead of the outbreak of the Second World War, and in the 1980s as he receives public recognition for his humanitarian work.

The incredible true story of Nicholas Winton was unknown for decades, and now, 85 years on, the first mainstream feature film is being made about the man who became known as the British Schindler. 

Is there a trailer for One Life:

Yes there is, and you can watch it right here:

Who is in the cast of One Life?

• Anthony Hopkins as Nicholas Winton
• Romola Garai as Doreen Warriner
• Helena Bonham Carter as Babette Winton
• Jonathan Pryce as Martin Blake
• Johnny Flynn as young Nicholas Winton
• Lena Olin as Grete Winton
• Adrian Rawlins as Geoff
• Samantha Spiro as Esther Rantzen
• Marthe Keller as Betty Maxwell
• Alex Sharp as Trevor
• Ziggy Heath as young Martin Blake
• Tom Glenister as William
• Ffion Jolly as Barbara Winton

Who was Nicholas Winton?

Nicholas Winton was a British humanitarian who, on the eve of the Second World War, helped to rescue hundreds of Czech Jewish children from the Holocaust. He was himself a Jew of German descent, but his parents emigrated to Britain before he was born.

On a visit to Czechoslovakia, modern day Czechia and Slovakia, Winton made a list of mostly Jewish children who were vulnerable to persecution under Nazi Germany and were in need of rescue. When back in Britain, he worked to ensure that the children could legally be brought to Britain, and helped to find sponsors for them so that they would be looked after once they arrived in what became known as the Czech Kindertransport.

Winton is believed to have saved the lives of 669 mostly Jewish Czech children, but remarkably his achievements remained largely unknown for 50 years. In 1988 a BBC programme, That’s Life! focused on Winton’s lifesaving mission and reunited him with the children he had saved and their own children and grandchildren - the video has since been widely shared on social media.

In the years following the TV programme, Winton became known as the British Schindler, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and awarded the Order of the White Lion by the president of the Czech Republic - it is the nation’s highest honour. Winton died in 2015, aged 106.

Where was One Life filmed?

The biopic was filmed on location in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, as well as in London from September 2022.

When is the release date of One Life?

One Life will be released in UK cinemas on Monday January 1. The film is not currently set to be released on any streaming platforms.