ACTOR · BORN 1960
Colin Firth
- Born
- 10 September 1960
- Known for
- The Revenant (2015), 1917 (2019), What a Girl Wants (2003), Operation Mincemeat (2021)
22 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Colin Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an actor best known for The Revenant, 1917 and What a Girl Wants.
Colin Firth over the years
22 Interesting Facts About Colin Firth
Interesting Facts (11)
- #001
In the DVD commentary for Love Actually (2003), Hugh Grant repeatedly mocks Firth's appearance, age, acting abilities and alleged smugness, eventually encouraging his fellow commentators, writer/director Richard Curtis and co-stars Bill Nighy and Thomas Brodie-Sangster, to join in the teasing. Firth apparently took the remarks in good humor and said that he and Grant had a "Bette Davis-Joan Crawford"-type relationship.
- #002
Colin Firth became a father for the third time at the age of 42 when his wife, Livia Giuggioli, gave birth to their son Matteo Firth in August 2003.
- #003
Colin Firth became a father for the first time at the age of 30 when his then-girlfriend (now ex) Meg Tilly gave birth to their son William Joseph Firth on 20 September 1990.
- #004
Colin Firth has played Mr. Darcy four times: in Pride and Prejudice (1995), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) and Bridget Jones's Baby (2016).
- #005
Colin Firth lost his on-screen wife to a member of the Fiennes family twice: to Ralph Fiennes in The English Patient (1996) and to Joseph Fiennes in Shakespeare in Love (1998).
- #006
He became a father for the second time at the age of 40 when his wife, Livia Giuggioli, gave birth to their son Luca Firth on 29 March 2001.
- #007
He studied at Barton Peveril College in Eastleigh. His film teacher was still teaching there as of November 2008.
- #008
His nearly 20-year public feud with Rupert Everett began when both appeared in Another Country (1984). Their quite different personalities clashed, with Everett publicly branding Firth "boring" and labelling him "a ghastly guitar-playing redbrick socialist." In his autobiography, Everett admitted he felt Firth's talent threatened him, but the two eventually resolved their differences in 2004. Firth claims "there's nobody I love more in the business now," and they have often worked together since.
- #009
He contributed a short story titled "The Department of Nothing" to the collection "Speaking With the Angel," edited by Nick Hornby. Colin Firth appeared in the film adaptation of Hornby's semi-autobiographical novel Fever Pitch (1997).
- #010
He played a First World War veteran in The Secret Garden (1987), A Month in the Country (1987) and Easy Virtue (2008). In the latter two, his characters were traumatised by their war experiences.
- #011
Unlike the rest of his family, he was not particularly successful at school and found his profession in acting, soon landing his first professional role in the stage production of Another Country, after which he was dropped from the play for its film version.
Behind the Scenes (5)
- #012
He was originally cast as the voice of Paddington Bear in Paddington (2014), but was replaced by Ben Whishaw during post-production. According to director Paul King, the decision was made because "it slowly became apparent that Paddington didn't have the voice of a very handsome older man with the most beautiful voice on the planet."
- #013
He regards his ex-girlfriend Meg Tilly's children, Emily and David (from her first marriage to Tim Zinnemann), as his own.
- #014
In the DVD commentary for Love Actually (2003), Hugh Grant constantly mocks Firth's (sometimes his on-screen rival's) appearance, age, acting abilities and alleged smugness, eventually encouraging his fellow commentators, writer/director Richard Curtis and co-stars Bill Nighy and Thomas Brodie-Sangster, to join in the mockery. Firth apparently took the comments in good humour and said that he and Grant had a "Bette Davis-Joan Crawford"-type relationship.
- #015
While he played the character Mark Darcy in the film adaptation of Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), he also appears as himself as a character in author Helen Fielding's sequel, adapted for the screen as Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004).
- #016
He lived in the United States for a year when he was 12.
Characters & Cast (1)
- #017
In addition to his various roles as Darcy, Colin Firth has played at least one other character who shares a name with a Jane Austen character: Henry Dashwood. His character in What a Girl Wants (2003) is named after a character in Miss Austen's "Sense and Sensibility."
Career & Awards (1)
- #018
Both of his Oscar-nominated roles came from playing a character named George: George Falconer in A Single Man (2009) and King George VI in The King's Speech (2010), for which he won the award.
Life & Family (4)
- #019
According to Colin Firth, when he was first offered the role of Darcy, his brother said in disbelief: "Darcy? But isn't he supposed to be sexy?"
- #020
Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman appeared in the same five films within two years. In 2012 they first worked together on The Railway Man (2013), followed by Before I Go to Sleep (2014). In November 2014 they shot Genius (2016). Firth was also cast in Stoker (2013) but left due to scheduling conflicts, and he worked on Paddington (2014) before being replaced by Ben Whishaw. Kidman appeared in all five of these films. She considers Firth one of her favorite collaborators and says "He's the best of the British actors."
- #021
He played King George VI in The King's Speech (2010). His younger brother, Jonathan Firth, had previously played the King's great-great-grandfather and Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, in Victoria & Albert (2001).
- #022
He is the brother of Katie Firth (a vocal coach) and Jonathan Firth.
Related pages
- Murder Mystery — Colin Firth comes up in the facts on that page
- St. Trinian's — Colin Firth comes up in the facts on that page
- Christoph Waltz — Colin Firth comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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