Archived completely due to unavailability on the internet
Brit actor content with anonymous success
Few adult women were surprised when Helen Fielding based the hero of her book, Bridget Jones' Diary, on British actor Colin Firth. If we have to explain the actor's appeal, then you must be a guy. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
ENSEMBLE OUTING
Firth, who went on to play Mark Darcy when the book became a very successful film, is currently starring in The Importance Of Being Earnest, an ensemble outing courtesy of Oscar Wilde with a cast that includes Dame Judi Dench, Rupert Everett, Reese Witherspoon and Frances O'Connor.
He says of Earnest, "I do find light comedy is the hardest thing to do. There's nothing to fall back on. And the whole identity thing ..."
Well, yes, the identity thing. In Earnest, Firth plays Jack Worthing, a man who pretends to be one person when he's in the country and quite another person when he's in the city. In the country, what's more, he watches over his ward (Reese Witherspoon) and in the city he courts a woman (Frances O'Connor) whose mother forbids a marriage. The film is very funny and very much about language.
At 42, the actor and author ("It's a rare occurrence I get anything into print. I need a deadline and a threat") says he first became an actor at the age of 14. "Because everything else didn't seem to be going anywhere." His choice was moved along by a complete academic inability at math, chemistry or physics. On one chemistry test, he scored 3%.
"And the teacher did mention giving me two points for writing my name correctly. It was a dead end. My physics was 1%. I just wasn't getting off the ground in that area." As English and music were going well, however, a career in the arts was born.
"It wasn't a choice, really."
From the get-go -- his first West End stage role in Another Country -- Firth found success. He picked up his Another Country role when the play became a movie, and went from there to such films as Apartment Zero, Valmont, A Circle Of Friends, Pride And Prejudice, The English Patient, Shakespeare In Love and of course, Bridget Jones' Diary. (After Valmont, Firth lived for a time with co-star Meg Tilly. They have an adolescent son together; currently, he is married to Livia Giuggioli, and they have one infant.)
Success seems surprising to him still. That's because, says Firth, he's never had any expectations.
'BRILLIANT ACTORS'
The grandchild of missionaries and the son of a history teacher and religion professor, Firth says, "I didn't expect to be in a movie, I didn't expect to be in the West End, either. I didn't expect to be in movies because that was another profession completely, for movie stars."
In England, his movie star thoughts are not unusual. "Look at Stratford -- all those brilliant actors. Not a film role among them."
Firth points out that he's been almost 20 years in the business without any sort of real presence, thus far, in the American movie-goers consciousness. "So, if it does not embrace me -- I can keep working and it's fine."
