Jeremy Irvine On ‘The Railway Man,’ Colin Firth [VIDEO EXCLUSIVE]

Jeremy Irvine plays a complex role in Jonathan Teplitzky’s film The Railway Man, the younger version of Colin Firth’s Eric Lomax. The film tells the true story of Lomax who was captured and tortured by the Japanese during World War II, and over the years following, suffering from PTSD and with the help of his wife Patti (Nicole Kidman) and lifelong friend Finlay (Sam Reid, Stellan Skarsgård) goes on a journey to find and confront his former torturer. “It’s a story of, I suppose, about the effects of post-traumatic stress and forgiveness, and it’s a story I think that is very relevant today,” Irvine told uInterview in an exclusive video interview. “We still have a lot of people coming back from fighting in foreign lands, suffering from the same problems, and I think this is a story about that before post-traumatic stress was really realized.”

Irvine’s role is particularly brutal — as young Lomax he endures the tortures of his captors, specifically being waterboarded. “You know, it was described to me before I did it as being like drowning on dry land. I think the reality of that is one hundred times worse,” Irvine told uInterview. “I think it’s the most disgusting things you could do to a person.”

Irvine is the son of Bridget, a politician, and Chris Smith, an engineer. Though fairly new to Hollywood, Irvine is an accomplished actor who has made a name for himself quickly in his theatre work where he’s shared the stage with the likes of Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter and appeared in plays based on the work of Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare. He became known to American audiences in his star-making role as the lead in 2011’s War Horse which was directed by director Steven Spielberg.

Irvine is currently filming Fallen based on the highly popular young adult series, due out next year.