A Life in Pictures: Colin Firth

07 December 10

• Find out how his Mr Darcy image influenced his casting in later films
• Hear how designer Tom Ford convinced him to accept his role in A Single Man
• Learn more about his complicated relationship with the English class system

As a self-admittedly 'hugely pretentious' student of theatre, the young Colin Firth believed he would never work in film. Yet in 1989 Hollywood called, and he was cast by Milos Forman as the eponymous lead in Valmont. A diverse and hugely successful film career has followed, with six BAFTA nominations and two wins to date.

It was BBC television's 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice that made Firth a household name. As the iconic Austenian hero Mr Darcy, Firth became associated with a decidedly English brand of sex-appeal and inspired an unlikely cult of attraction around the character. In 2001 he returned for a tongue-in-cheek reprisal of the performance, playing Hugh Grant's love-rival Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones's Diary.

Recent years have seen his film choices diversify and his performances increase in critical recognition. BAFTA success came in 2010 when he won Best Actor for his powerfully restrained performance in Tom Ford's A Single Man. Again, in 2011, Firth took home the Leading Actor Award for the multi-BAFTA winning film, the King's Speech.

I did not grow up speaking like this and yet I've made a career out of it: that's quite bizarre

In this Life in Pictures interview, Firth tells Francine Stock about his good fortune in finding material that 'feeds into completely different sensibilities'.

He describes the 'completely uncomplicated satisfaction' involved in making films such as Mamma Mia!, as well as the awe with which he perceives his films' writers. He also discusses the 'baggage' of being associated with Darcy, and considers the irony of having forged a career playing middle and upper class characters after his Secondary Modern schooling. The audio from this event is available to download as a podcast: click here for details.

Colin Firth at the British Academy Film Awards:

• Watch Colin Firth's backstage winners interview in 2011
• Read Colin Firth's 2011 Leading Actor Acceptance Speech (28 KB)
• Watch Colin Firth on the red carpet at the 2010 Film Awards
• Read Colin Firth's 2010 Leading Actor Acceptance Speech (26 KB)

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