"Friends kept calling to tell me I was in Helen's columns and the buzz was out that I would be playing Mark Darcy in the film before anyone ever contacted my agents," recalls Firth, who is amused in a British sort of way about his sex-symbol status."It's utterly bizarre to hear people discussing me in sexual terms. It's not something I'm used to. As an actor, I'm far more used to experiencing failure, rejection and failed expectations."He concedes he's glad "I didn't achieve hunk status until I was 35. I know it would have been very difficult to deal with if it had happened my first time in film....more
