When you think of charming British gentlemen, two names may come to mind: Hugh Grant and Colin Firth.
We’ve already covered things you didn’t know about Hugh , so naturally, it’s Colin’s turn.
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For instance, did you know that there is a 12-foot statue of him out there or that he regrets playing Mr. Darcy?
Curious to learn more? keep reading for these 10+ facts.
Colin Firth is one of the most famous actors in the world.
He is a brilliant actor who outshines all others when he is performing.
While many know him for his period pieces, Bridget Jones’s Diary , or Love Actually , his filmography is extensive and impressive.
However, just because we all adore him and love watching him, that doesn’t mean we know much about him!
Luckily, we are here to help with that!
Below are some interesting facts about the brilliant actor! Keep reading to find the facts you didn’t know about him!
1. His family moved around a lot when he was a kid.
Since his dad was a teacher overseas, the family was often uprooted . For a while, they lived in Nigeria where Colin’s sister was eventually born.
Even though they moved around a lot and this made it difficult for him to adjust, he credits them for how he has turned out.
2. His parents were disappointed that he chose acting over going to university.
“They were disappointed and alarmed. I kept hanging in by the skin of my teeth,” he told The Arts Desk .
But Colin chose acting since it helped him with some of his shyness.
3. He originally turned down the role in *Bridget Jones’s Diary*.
It was one of his most memorable roles, but he wanted no part of it at first, he told Cinema Blend .
“I started off thinking there was no way in with that character. I originally turned it down, because I didn’t think.”
He thought, “How do you play this guy who doesn’t do anything really?”
“He just sort of stands around and scowls and looks imperious. And I thought, ‘Well, sure, I can do that, but will anyone give a damn? It’s not appealing!'”
4. He regrets his role in *Pride and Prejudice*.
According to the actor, playing the leading man stunted his career.
“[…] because it tended to create this image that can restrict what kind of roles you are going to be able to find,” he told Good Housekeeping .
5. That lake scene in *Pride and Predjuce* wasn’t supposed to be sexy.
To refresh your memory, this scene was when he got wet, making it so viewers could see his six-pack through his white shirt.
As hot as it was, that wasn’t the intention.
The writer of the mini-series, Andrew Davies, told the *New York Times*:
“It was simply meant to be an amusing moment in which Darcy tries to maintain his dignity while improperly dressed and sopping wet.”
That iconic scene has even led to a 12-foot statue of Firth in Serpentine Lake at Hyde Park in London.
The statue, which took three sculptors to make, was created after the lake scene was voted one of the most memorable (read: steamy) scenes in British TV.
6. He refuses to work with Woody Allen ever again.
And he is definitely not the only one. This stems from the sexual assault allegations made against Allen by his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow.
Allen and Firth worked together on 2013’s Magic in the Moonlight .
7. He’s a family man.
Firth doesn’t just play a romantic on-screen; he is a romantic, as he’s been with his wife, Livia Giuggioli, for over 20 years.
They have two children together: Luca and Matteo.
8. He enjoyed working with Amanda Bynes.
They played father and daughter in What a Girl Wants . “I was incredibly impressed with her,” he told UK Cinemas .
Since she was so talented for her young age at the time, he added that this made him feel old.
9. That lake scene in *Love, Actually* was not that deep.
What’s with Colin and lake scenes??
When he and actress Sienna Lúcia Moniz splashed around in the lake after his manuscript flew, they were secretly kneeling.
The lake was actually very shallow at only 11 inches deep!
“No one inspected the depth of the lake, so you see them sort of lying around pretending to be swimming,” the director shared at the Montclair Film Festival.
10. He thought that *Love, Actually* would bomb.
While he loved the script, he was worried that it would be too much for writer/director Richard Curtis to pull off.
Thankfully, Firth was proved wrong as it pulled in over $250 million worldwide.
11. He is fluent in Italian.
The language is something he has picked up from being married to an Italian woman.
In this clip, he got to show off his skills in a speech at the Venice Film Festival!
12. He enjoys taking roles that explore real feelings people deal with every day that society doesn’t want them to talk about.
“Violence, hysteria, fear, paranoia, weakness, cowardice, which I think everybody lives with but they tend to be shameful emotions. I think it’s important to reflect them. I think also that the story about the bloke who’s absolutely fine isn’t really a story,” he said to The Arts Desk.
“And so the further you can go with the problems the more the story is there. It’s not really a question of how [expletive] up can I make this person? It’s more to do with how high can I make the stakes, how big can I make the obstacles?”
“I do believe the drama is more interesting if the obstacles are bigger. I think the actor can make a choice there quite a lot.”
13. He grew up feeling like an outsider.
Since he moved around a lot, he never had a chance to really lay down his roots anywhere for a long time.
Because of that, he has admitted that it left him feeling a little bit alienated from the people around him.
14. He felt pressure for his role in *The King’s Speech*.
While he had played characters with similar issues in the past, because of the seriousness of the role and how the movie surrounded the stammering, he knew how important it was to get the role just right.
15. It is important to him to tell stories that are not labeled.
“People are people. We cannot live in a world where minorities of any kind aren’t given the same rights. I would love to be in a world where ethnicity and sexual orientation and choice of religion are not primary to how we judge them.”
“To say this [A Single Man] is a gay film is to say a film featuring an Asian person is an Asian film, or a film featuring a Jewish person is a Jewish film. A lonely man lost his lover, and that’s what we’re invited to respond to.”
“I don’t think anyone would call it a gay film after they finish watching it,” he told Fade In.
16. He thinks people should remake “second-rate” movies instead of redoing cult classics.
He believes it’s a good way to get b-list films a second chance at making it big .
But he doesn’t rule out sequels! Those are welcomed so long as they tell the story well.
17. While he doesn’t turn away from sequels, he doesn’t really enjoy taking them, according to Fade In.
“I remember Hugh Grant saying, ‘Doing Bridget Jones 2 was like putting on a pair of wet swimming trunks.’ I know exactly what he meant. You have to take things on their own merits. I wouldn’t turn my nose up at something just because it’s a sequel.”
“If they somehow struck new ground with a number three, it might be worth looking at. But the idea, in principle, doesn’t interest me. I’ve long said that the only way it would be appealing is to see us advanced in years and having deteriorated quite heavily.”
“A paunchy, balding Mark Darcy [Firth’s character], and I can see [Grant’s character] Daniel Cleaver as a loose, silver-haired Lothario trying to live out his youth. It might be quite fun to see the characters in that light, but it does seem like going back, to me. I’d be much more tempted, really, by the idea of fresh pastures.”
18. He dabbles in script writing.
While he hasn’t yet given anything to Hollywood, he has a ton of unfinished scripts lying around in his home.
He believes he hasn’t finished one due to a lack of discipline.
Do you know any other facts about Colin Firth?
Or were you pleasantly surprised by all the facts that we presented you with in the article?
Either way, let us know down below in the comments! We would love to hear from you!
