DD: People are calling this your finest performance yet, how do you feel about that?
Colin Firth: One thing that is satisfying, and a source of great relief, is that I’ve been asked to do a great deal more, the focus is on me more than it’s ever been. It’s much better than people saying, “they put a whole film on Firth’s shoulders and he dropped the ball.” So, in some ways it’s very gratifying. It’s very much in my hands and people like it and get it, so thank God. I only ever feel like I do what’s on the page, and there was a lot on the page this time. I got carried along on a free ride when brilliant people like Nick and Matthew and Julianne show up. Also having a director who has the time and patience to photograph something without me having to be flamboyant about it. I’m not the most demonstrative actor. I do like to try to do what I think people really do which is think their thoughts and feeling without indicating all over the place. And to have a director who has the patience to let it unfold, is not afraid of silence, is not afraid of stillness who doesn’t compulsively editorialise whilst you’re working, who just lets you get on with it and, when necessary, gets the camera close enough to pick up what you’re doing. That suits me and the way I work very well...more
