When it comes to period drama, Colin Firth is a solid ten out of ten. He was also born to play stiff upper-lipped Brits which has easily allowed him to switch to straight man comedic roles when the opportunity arises. For a man who holds an Italian passport, Firth couldn’t be more of a British institution, even if he tried. Like Ben Affleck, Firth is an activist and advocate of fair trade with indigenous peoples, and when he is not doing his bit to make life easier for the impoverished, he follows in Leonardo DiCaprio’s footsteps and tries to bring awareness to the carbon footprint problem. Soon, he will be back in cinemas starring in Empire of Light alongside fellow Oscar winner Olivia Coleman. Until then, here’s eleven of his essential performances.
Jamie in Love Actually (2003)
Jamie (Colin Firth), a writer, is forced by his girlfriend, (Sienna Guillory) to attend Juliet (Keira Knightley) and Peter's (Chiwetel Ejiofor) church wedding by himself because she is ill. After the ceremony, a concerned Jamie decides to check on his girlfriend, but he catches his brother already ‘checking on her’. Fleeing to his French retreat to clear his head, Jamie catches the eye of his Portuguese housekeeper, Aurélia (Lúcia Moniz). He cannot speak a word of her language, and she cannot understand him either. Can true love prevail?
Richard Curtis’ brilliant Christmas time romance consisting of ten, intertwining, short stories exploring the different aspects of love is always a favourite Yuletide watch for many festive movie buffs. Colin Firth is comically repressed as ever. His heart-warming tale of love is full of true, British, affection anxiety, and Firth grabs our attention, and our smiles, for one of his most brilliantly awkward performances.
Bill Haydon in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
At the height of the Cold War British intelligence believes there is a mole at its very top. George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is asked to investigate the claims that a Russian spy has managed to infiltrate and remain hidden in one of the most secretive agencies in the world. A world of double agents, a world in fear of World War 3, and a world who simply cannot even trust their own government.
One of the best British spy movies ever made. It has espionage and double-dealing in its very DNA. Atmospherically, it has all the ingredients that the James Bond franchise lacks. If Bond is upfront, edge-of-the-seat action then Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is behind-the-scenes, edge-of-the-seat drama. It’s a classic cat and mouse mystery, and showcases huge performances that do John le Carré's original novel a vast amount of justice.
Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice (1995)
In Regency England, Elizabeth Bennet (Jennifer Ehle) meets the stern and overproud Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy (Colin Firth). Although Miss Bennet loathes Mr. Darcy’s pompous arrogance, she finds herself drawn to him, and upon receiving the knowledge that her father’s estate is to be passed down to her cousin, the sycophantic Mr Collins (David Bamber), she is pressured by society, and her interfering mother, Mrs. Bennet (Alison Steadman) to marry. Can Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam find common ground? More to the point, can Elizabeth conquer her prejudice while Fitzwilliam swallows his pride?
This BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s eponymous classic novel catapulted Colin Firth into stardom. It is one of the most loyal adaptations ever made, but it did reinvent one particular scene, involving Firth and a wet shirt, which has become one of the most memorable scenes on British television. As period dramas go, this has helped set the standard.
Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
Thirty-something Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) is a lovable klutz. She works at a publishing company where most of her time is spent fantasizing over her boss, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant). At a party she meets the insufferable Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) who she overhears berating her dress sense and smoking habit. Bridget then decides to turn her life around. She begins to keep a diary in the attempt to find her perfect man.
Helen Fielding wrote the novel Bridget Jones’s Diary, and two sequels, while basing it on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Therefore, Colin Firth is one of the few actors that has played an original and then a version of the same character. Both portrayals, although quite different and this version being rather uncool, have placed Firth as the one and only Mr Darcy.
John Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)
Flamboyant bachelors and full time ladies’ men, John Worthing (Colin Firth) and Algernon Moncrieff (Rupert Everett), hide behind their false personas to court two unsuspecting ladies, Gwendolen Fairfax (Frances O'Connor) and Cecily Cardew (Reese Witherspoon). However, bumbling their way with haphazard deceit while trying their best at romanticizing two clueless ladies within their privileged and gentlemanly world, will not last forever.
This is Oscar Wilde’s brilliant play, The Importance of Being Earnest adapted for the big screen with an aptly strong cast and a spectacularly bright and colourful representation of Victorian England. With mind-bending wit and constant humour throughout, the movie’s strengths are how comfortable the four main actors look in their roles, and how easy it is for us to laugh at them.
Sam in Supernova (2020)
From their campervan and with only a dog for company, partners, pianist, Sam (Colin Firth) and writer, Tusker Mulliner (Stanley Tucci), travel the width of England to the Lake District. The beautiful setting presents a temporary distraction for a couple under the strain of Tusker’s dementia diagnosis. Things only get worse when at a family reunion, along the way, Sam finds out Tusker is hiding two secrets. The first, is that he has lost the ability to write, and the second, is that he is planning to take his own life. Sam is now on the brink of losing everything he has ever loved.
One of the most moving movies that both Firth and Tucci have ever made, fortunately for us. Supernova is a heart-wrenching, matter-of-fact, no-frills story of the harsh reality of life and how dementia destroys it. Firth slowly builds on his grief to the climactic and emotional showdown, and Tucci holds it back until the floodgates burst and his acting prevails. Powerfully realistic, Firth and Tucci are at the top of their game.
Geoffrey Clifton in The English Patient (1996)
Towards the end of World War Two, an Italian monastery serves as a makeshift hospital for wounded allies. One patient, Almásy (Ralph Fiennes), is burnt beyond recognition and claims he has forgotten who he is. Another man, Canadian soldier, David Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe), who has been tortured by the Germans, questions the burnt patient and slowly his story is revealed. Caravaggio also explains that he is out for revenge for the individual who helped the Germans with a map. It’s not long and Caravaggio suspects the burns and bandages of his new friend are hiding more than he is letting on.
Not the usual linear plot, The English Patient takes us back and forth from flashback to the movie’s present in an adventure of love and tragedy that ultimately have unforeseen events (which we get to slowly figure out). Colin Firth plays the supporting role of jealous Geoffrey Clifton, a character far from the dashing Mr Darcy. The English Patient was a massively successful movie with nine Academy Award wins, including Best Picture, five BAFTA Awards, and also two Golden Globes.
Harry Bright in Mamma Mia! (2008)
On the picturesque Greek island of Kalokairi, Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) is about to have the wedding of her dreams. She has everything she needs in place for her big day, all except her father. Which annoyingly is one of three different men, Harry Bright (Colin Firth), Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan), and Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgard). So, she has no choice but to invite them all to her marital, island paradise. Will she be able to find out the truth and ask her father to walk her down the aisle, or does she even need a father after all?
A bouncing, mad, fun-packed musical celebrating ABBA’s greatest songs that steer us through a comical whodunit type story, but without a murder in sight. All three ‘fathers’ are slightly different versions of each other, and each actor also leant their voice to song. Some slightly better than others.
Harry Hart in Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Street-smart chav, Eggsy (Taron Egerton) is out of luck, money, and any future prospects. So when a secret British spy organization decides to recruit him, he takes on the challenge, feet first. Harry Hart (Colin Firth) becomes his mentor. Meanwhile, tech billionaire, Richmond Valentine (Samuel L Jackson), has offered everybody in the world a free sim card, entitling people to free phone and internet use. Harry suspects all is not as it seems, and when he finds out the sim cards have the power to control their users, it’s up to him and a very uncouth Eggsy to save the day.
Kingsman: The Secret Service acknowledges that it is a very different spy thriller than the James Bond franchise. The fast-paced comedy and ultra-violent fight scenes present a more modern version of the stuffy British spy genre. Firth’s character represents the standard, but Egerton is the new blood. No one’s saying it’s better than Bond, but it’s a fresh take full of wit and not-so-dry humour and characters that love to swear.
King George VI in The King’s Speech (2010)
King George V (Michael Gambon) urges his son, the future King George VI (Colin Firth), to take more of a public role in speaking and addressing the crown’s subjects. Due to his stammer, George VI enlists the help of Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), a speech therapist, who helps the struggling royal by using some very unorthodox techniques and likes to refer to the future king by an equally unorthodox name, Bertie. King George V dies, the heir and new king, King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce) decides that he must abdicate in favour of marrying American divorcee, Wallis Simpson (Eve Best), and the newly crowned King George VI must address his subjects, one quarter of the world. Stammering is now not an option.
Colin Firth’s sublime and gripping portrayal of the frustrations and dealings with the public’s perception with a speech disorder is magnificently balanced. Never once does he enter the realms of overacting or farce. He is perfectly measured throughout and was awarded an Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Actor for his brilliant humanizing of a flawed and reluctant King and Emperor.
George Falconer in A Single Man (2009)
A British professor now living in Los Angeles, George Falconer (Colin Firth), has lost the love of his life, Jim (Matthew Goode). Each day is a chore to get out of bed, each day he walks like a souless zombie, and each day he is that step closer to killing himself. No longer looking for love, George by chance meets Spaniard, Carlos (Jon Kortajarena), who momentarily reignites his life. He also takes interest in one of his students, Kenny Potter (Nicholas Hoult), and they share a drink in his local bar and decide to go skinny-dipping. Kenny goes back to George’s house. George has already written his suicide note, loaded his gun, and prepared to shed his mortal coil, but will Kenny’s intervention change the heartbroken man.
American fashion designer Tom Ford made A Single Man his directorial debut. Choosing to use colour saturation to signify George's feelings and the use of paler tones for George’s lifeless and mundane existence, the movie has a unique look to match its mood, making it feel personal and intimate. Firth, in the role of a broken man, convincingly plays the last few days of George’s life with repressed emotion that could bubble over at any time.