Not content with an Oscar for his portrayal of a stuttering King, Colin Firth is once again turning to a period drama which as awards-bait written all over it. Based on a true story Firth will star in The Railway Man as Eric Lomax, a former POW who searches for his captors decades after his experiences on the “death railway” between Thailand and Burma. This is likely to appeal to Academy voters – we all know there’s nothing guaranteed to stir them more than a little World War II tragedy.