Last year, Cosmo Jarvis stunned as the lead of Shogun and most recently thrilled audiences in Warfare.

Now the Tom Hardy lookalike is set to star as a ruthless World War 2 dictator in an upcoming new thriller.

The 35-year-old, who has had next James Bond buzz at the bookies over the last year, is set to play Joseph Stalin.

However, the movie Young Stalin is, as the title implies, about the future Soviet leader’s early life.

Based on Simon Sebag Montefiore’s bestselling history book of the same name, the historical film will chart the monstrous communist leader’s early life as a bank-robber in the final years of Tsarist Russia.

According to Variety: “Set against the backdrop of Imperial Russia’s criminal underworld and revolutionary ferment, the film explores the making of the bloody dictator who would reshape the 20th century through terror, war and ideology — and the largest bank heist in Russian history, according to the logline.” Young Stalin is being financed by Access Entertainment which was behind Oscar-winners The Zone of Interest and Conclave.

Director Géla Babluani added: “I’ve always been drawn to stories that live in the shadows, and there’s no shadow longer than Stalin’s. This isn’t a portrait of power — it’s a descent into the fire that forged it. With Cosmo, we have a lead actor who understands danger, charm and the fractures of identity.”