We have written the life adventure of Colin Firth, who is mentioned as one of the most successful artists of our time, who fulfilled everything he dreamed of, starred in a dozen films and crowned them with awards.
His full name is Colin Andrew Firth, he was born on September 10, 1960 in Hampshire, England. He was born to his mother, Shirley Jean Rolles, a religious lecturer, and his father, David Norman Lewis Firth, a history teacher and educator. Firth has an actress sister named Kate and a voice coach and actor brother named Jonathan. Firth, who traveled frequently as a child for his family's work, also spent several years in Nigeria. On his return to England, he was enrolled to study at Montgomery of Alamein Secondary School (now Kings' School), a comprehensive public school. A stranger to everything, Firth was also the target of bullying.
Firth, who started attending drama workshops at the age of 10, decided to become a professional actress at the age of 14. After his sixth school years, he decided to move to London. There, he joined the National Youth Theatre, made many connections, and got a job in the wardrobe department at the National Theatre. He then studied at Drama Center London.
Playing "Hamlet" in Drama Center's year-end production, Firth was spotted by playwright Julian Mitchell, who appeared in the 1983 West End play "Another Country." In 1984, Firth made his film debut with Rupert Everett as Guy Bennett's straight, Marxist schoolmate Tommy Judd in "Another Country," a screen adaptation of the play. This was the beginning of a long-running public feud between Firth and Everett that was eventually resolved. In the following years, he appeared with Sir Laurence Olivier in the TV mini-series "Lost Empires"(1986), based on the novel by J.B.Priestley.
The following year Firth and other promising British players such as Tim Roth, Bruce Payne and Paul McGann were called the "Brit Pack". That year, he co-starred with Kenneth Branagh in "A Month in the Country," based on J.L. Carr's novel of the same name. In 1988, he played real-life British soldier Robert Lawrence MC in the BBC drama film "Tumbledown." After the movie was released, it caused controversy at that time with criticism from the left and right of the political spectrum. However, his performance earned him a Royal TV Society Award for Best Actor and a 1989 BAFTA Television Award nomination.
In 1989, he took the lead role in the romantic drama film "Valmont", based on a novel directed by Miloš Forman. Once released, it didn't make a huge impact when compared to another movie just a year ago. That year, he played a paranoid, socially awkward character alongside Hart Bochner in the Argentine psychological thriller "Apartment Zero."
Firth finally made a British name for his role as the distant, arrogant aristocrat Mr. Darcy in the six-part British TV series "Pride and Prejudice", based on Jane Austen's novel of the same name. His other co-star in the film was Jennifer Ehle. A critically acclaimed and popular success. The series also garnered praise for the performances of the two lead actors, and Firth's rise began to increase with this series.
For a time, his role in the show seemed to eclipse the rest of Firth's career. In his next five films, humorous references were made to this role. Most notably, he played the love interest Mark Darcy in the film adaptation of "Bridget Jones's Diary" (2001), a modern retelling. The film was a huge success and received critical acclaim.
Prior to this success, Firth appeared in a major supporting role in the romantic war drama "The English Patient"(1996) as the husband of Kristin Scott Thomas's character, whose adultery jealousy led to the deaths of both. Also that same year, he played the husband of Kristin's sister, Serena Scott Thomas, in the television drama mini-series "Nostromo." In the following years, he appeared in the romantic comedy film "Shakespeare in Love"(1998), the comedy film adaptation "Relative Values"(2000) and the romantic comedy-drama film "The Importance of Being Earnest"(2002). Besides that, he also appeared in several television productions, including "Donovan Quick" (1999) (an updated version of Don Quixote). Additionally, he played a more serious role as Dr. Wilhelm Stuckart in the drama film "Conspiracy"(2001) about the Nazi Wannsee Conference. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his performance.
Firth appeared in the star-studded cast of the romantic comedy "Love Really" (2003), written and directed by Richard Curtis. Despite being a film that divided critics, it was a financial success. He also starred alone in the romantic comedy film "Hope Springs" (2003), based on a novel. However, the film received very poor reviews and had little box office impact. Later that year, he played painter Johannes Vermeer alongside Scarlett Johansson in the drama film "Girl with a Pearl Earring" based on the novel of the same name. The film garnered mixed reviews from critics, both praising it for its subtlety and flamboyant visuals, and lamenting the film for its almost restrained, boring, and emotionless appearance. Despite this, the film received mostly positive reviews and was a moderate commercial success. It has also won many awards and nominations. In 2004, its sequel, the romantic comedy "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" was mostly criticized by critics. Despite this, it was financially successful and earned nominations for the awards.
The following year, Firth co-starred with Emma Thompson in the comedy-drama fantasy film "Nanny McPhee," in which he plays a struggling widowed father. He has also appeared in the thriller "Where the Truth Is", based on the novel of the same name, which is a return to some of his darker, more intense early roles involving a bisexual orgy and a notorious scene. Among other films of this time, he appeared in the comedy-drama film "Then He Found Me" (2007) with Helen Hunt and in the action adventure film "The Last Legion" (2007) with Aishwarya Rai.
In 2008, she appeared as the adult Blake Morrison, reminiscent of her difficult relationship with her ailing father, in the drama "And When You Last Seen Your Dad?," a film adaptation of Morrison's memoir. Other leading roles were Jim Broadbent and Juliet Stevenson. The film garnered generally positive reviews and praise for his performance. It has also won many awards and nominations in various categories.
That same year, "Mamma Mia!" The musical romantic comedy film adaptation of Firth was his first foray into musicals. The film has grossed over $600 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing British film of all time. Despite this, it garnered mixed and contrasting reviews from critics. That year, Firth also starred in a romantic comedy based on the play of the same name, "Easy Virtue", which received excellent reviews at the Rome Film Festival. The generally acclaimed film achieved the same success at the box office. In the same year, he appeared in the drama film "Genova", which premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.
The following year, he played the character of Scrooge's optimistic nephew, Fred, in "A Christmas Carol," adapted from Charles Dickens' novel of the same name and using the performance capture procedure. The film was met with both box office success and mixed reviews. Later, at the 66th Venice International Film Festival, Firth appeared in the romantic drama film "A Single Man," based on Tom Ford's directorial debut novel of the same name, as a college professor struggling with loneliness after the death of his longtime partner. For his performance, he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. Additionally, it has earned career best reviews and Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors' Guild Award, BAFTA Award and BFCA Award nominations. In February the following year, he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Firth appeared in the 2010 drama "The King's Speech" as Prince Albert, Duke of York / King George VI. In the film, he detailed his efforts to overcome the speech impediment when he became the monarch of the United Kingdom at the end of 1936. The film, which received a standing ovation at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), coincided with Firth's 50th birthday and was described as "the best 50th birthday present". It was also a huge commercial success around the world. The following year, he won a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for his performance in the film. He also won the Best Actor Award by the Screen Actors Guild on January 30, 2011. The following month, he received the second consecutive best actor award at the 2011 BAFTA awards, and the Academy Award for Best Actor on February 27, 2011.
Firth appeared as veteran British secret agent Bill Haydon in the spy thriller "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"(2011), based on John le Carré's novel of the same name and directed by Tomas Alfredson. The film starred alongside Gary Oldman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, and John Hurt. The film, which received mostly excellent reviews, became the highest-grossing film at the British box office with its gross. Firth's performance was also highly praised.
Later that year, he began appearing in the comedy crime film "Gambit," a remake of a 1960s crime game originally played by Michael Caine. Released in the UK in November 2012, the film was a financial and critical failure. In 2012, Firth co-founded "Raindog" with British music industry executive and entrepreneur Ged Doherty. Firth's first feature-length thriller, "Eye in the Sky," was released in April 2016. The last live-action movie starring Alan Rickman, who died in January 2016, had both positive reviews and positive box office success.
In May 2013, Firth co-starred with Emma Stone in Woody Allen's 1920s romantic comedy "Magic in the Moonlight," set on the French Riviera. The film received mixed reviews, while the performances of the leading roles were praised. In 2014, he made his debut as Harry Hart in the spy action movie "Kingsman: The Secret Service", the first film in the series. The film was a commercial success, grossing $414.4 million on a budget of $81 million.
In June 2015, he began appearing in the biographical drama film "The Mercy" along with Rachel Weisz, David Thewlis and Jonathan Bailey in the story of amateur yachtsman Donald Crowhurst. The following year, he reprized the role of Mark Darcy in the sequel "Bridget Jones's Baby," which fared better with audiences and critics than the second in the series. That same year, he played the American editor Max Perkins in "Genius," based on A.Scott Berg's biography and co-starring with Jude Law. Filming began later that year, playing Wilde's friend Reginald "Reggie" Turner in Rupert Everett's directorial debut and the movie "The Happy Prince"(2018), based on Oscar Wilde's biography.
In 2017, he reprized his role as Jamie in the 2003 film 'Love Really' in the short film "Red Nose Day Really" by Richard Curtis. Also that year, he returned as Harry Hart in the sequel "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" comedy action movie. In 2018, he reprized his role in the sequel "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again". That year, he appeared as William Weatherall Wilkins in the musical fantasy film "Mary Poppins Returns," starring Emily Blunt. He also played the role of British navy commander David Russell with Matthias Schoenaerts in Thomas Vinterberg's disaster drama "Kursk", which tells the true story of the 2000 Kursk submarine disaster.
In 2019, he had a role as British General Erinmore in the First World War movie "1917" directed by Sam Mendes. The film was successful at both the box office and critically. The following year, he appeared with Julie Walters in the fantasy drama film "The Secret Garden." Later, he took the lead role with Stanley Tucci in "Supernova" (2020). In 2021, he starred with Odessa Young, Josh O'Connor and Olivia Colman in the romantic drama film "Mothering Sunday" (2021), based on the novel of the same name and directed by Eva Husson. Later that year, he appeared in the Sam Mendes drama film "Empire of Light," starring Olivia Colman.
In 2022, he starred as Ewen Montagu in the war drama movie "Operation Mincemeat" directed by John Madden. Firth returned to television as Michael Peterson in the HBO biographical crime drama TV mini-series "The Staircase" in May 2022.
Private life
In 1989, Firth began dating co-star Meg Tilly. The following year, the couple's son, William Joseph Firth, was born. William is now an actor and appeared with his father in the movie "Bridget Jones' Baby" in 2016. Later, Firth and co-star Jennifer Ehle began a romantic relationship that only gained media attention after they broke up. In 1997, Firth married Italian producer Livia Giuggioli. The couple has two sons named Luca and Matteo.
Fluent in Italian, Firth also has some command of Scots and some island languages. He also holds dual citizenship, British and Italian. Firth's first published work was also published in "Speaking with the Angel"(2000), a collection of short stories published for the benefit of the TreeHouse Trust school to help the autistic, "The Department of Nothing" edited by Nick Hornby. The profits from the sale of the book were sent to "Survival International", an indigenous rights organization.
Firth served as executive producer on the documentary film "In Prison My Whole Life" starring Noam Chomsky and Angela Davis. In 2012, an audiobook recording of Firth's book "The End of the Affair" by Graham Greene was released on Audible.com. The following year it was announced as Audiobook of the Year at the 2013 Audie Awards. He also took part in various institutions, organizations, associations and societies. Here he has done and supported material-spiritual, financial aid, petition and all other works. He was included in the list of "50 most beautiful people in the world" by People magazine in 2001.