A national daily has launched an online poll asking who should play Lech Walesa in the biopic of the Solidarity freedom fighter, to be directed by veteran moviemaker Andrzej Wajda.

Wajda has yet cast the lead role in the movie - so who should play Lech?

Of the four actors suggested by the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, including Piotr Adamczyk, who once played Pope John Paul II, Robert Wieckiewicz was leading the pack in the online poll at the time of writing.

Mr Wieckiewicz has been a prolific figure in recent years, having played such vivid roles as a modern-day vampire in Juliusz Machulski's Lullaby (2010), and a brutish secret policeman in the award-winning Little Rose (2010).

However, most readers seem to be taking a sober approach to the query, as by far the most clicked-upon choice thus far has been for “an unknown actor.”

The working title of Wajda's film is We, the Polish People, echoing the Solidarity leader's first words to the American Congress in November 1989.

Walesa himself once remarked that his ideal choice for the role would be Goodfellas legend Robert de Niro.

However, Wajda has offered no clues about his preferences for the part. (nh/pg)