Firth Sisters - Colin Firth Biography

Firth Sisters
« Colin Firth Biography »

Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register.
Jun 19, 2013, 9:31pm

Firth Sisters :: All About Colin :: Colin Firth Biography :: Colin Firth Biography

Author

Topic: Colin Firth Biography (Read 3,339 times)

Colinnut
Administrator

member is offline

[avatar]

May I tickle your ass with a feather?

Joined: Nov 2008
Gender: Female

Posts: 7,847
Location: Michigan USA

Colin Firth Biography
« Thread Started on Nov 18, 2008, 10:59pm »

Colin Andrew Firth

Born: 10 September 1960

Grayshott, Hampshire, England

To Parents: David Norman Lewis Firth b. 1934, Shirley Jean Rolles b. 1936

Siblings: Kate b. 1961 and Jonathan b. 6 April 1967

Currently lives: Chiswick, London, England

Married to: Livia Giugglioli June 21, 1997

Children: William b. September 1990 (mother-Meg Tilly)

Luca b. March 29, 2001

Mateo b. August 2003

Vitals: 6' 1 1/2", Brown Hair, Brown Eyes

He was born in Grayshott, Hampshire on the 10th of September, 1960, but spent the first four years of his life in Nigeria. His mother Shirley and father David, both children of Methodist missionaries, had met when they were 3 and 5 respectively, and were working in Nigeria as teachers. Colin can still remember his dad driving off to work each day in his VW Beetle. He could still see him when he arrived - the school was close, but not close enough to walk under the scorching African sun. He also recalls his first real friend, a little native boy named Godfrey.

[image]

Returning to England with a new sister in tow (Kate, later a voice coach and stage actress - a brother Jonathan, also an actor would arrive in 1967), the family spent periods out in Essex, in Billericay and Brentwood, before taking off for a year in St Louis when Colin was 12. Shirley had grown up in America and knew the place well, but Colin had a hard time. Back in England he'd been a bit of an outsider. His parents had never allowed the children to watch the "vulgar" new ITV channel, separating him from his classmates. He'd been taken by Marc Bolan and T. Rex on Top Of The Pops and tried learning guitar, but gave up when he discovered lessons would involve Kumbaya and Lord Of The Dance rather than Children Of The Revolution. Instead he used acting as an artistic outlet. Having debuted as Jack Frost in a play at infant school, he now took classes each Saturday.

Back in England again, the family settled in Winchester, David becoming a history lecturer at King Alfred's College while Shirley lectured in comparative religion at the Open University. Colin, meanwhile, attended the local comprehensive. Life did not improve. He was a troubled teen, scruffy and cocky, and often railing against a middle class whose children progressed via academia while the working class were pushed towards carpentry and other manual skills.

Having declared at the age of 14 that he wished to become an actor, his possibilities were somewhat limited. At 18 he decided to dump college and took off to London where he joined the National Youth Theatre. It didn't send him shooting up through the ranks, he got no further than "third fairy on the left", but he was keen and once his run was done he would stay on at the theatre, sitting in a little cubbyhole answering the phone for the rich and famous. Often, he's said, he was "alone in the building, alone in London".

But he was in the building, with all its contacts and rumours of job-openings, and before long Colin had signed on as a tea-boy in the wardrobe department at Laurence Olivier's National Theatre. This in turn led to an idea - if he was to be good, he had better learn his craft. He enrolled at the London Drama Centre on Prince Of Wales Road in London's Chalk Farm area. This was a hi-octane learning establishment, drawing heavily on the theories of Stanislavsky and thus combining a Russian emotional freedom with a serious Jewish introspection. Firth knew it would be tough, that's why he chose it, but having learned "the reality of the inner world" under coach Freda Kelsall (a TV writer), he soon excelled. Studying 6 days a week for 3 years, he won the lead in the likes of Tartuffe, King Lear and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, often being asked to play flamboyant types, either paranoid or psychotic. His Hamlet was the stuff of college legend, and headmaster Christopher Fettes told him that he could be the next Paul Schofield. The principal did add a very prescient proviso, though. He said Firth should beware the effect of his matinee idol looks. Even then, Mr. Darcy lurked within.

Firth's burgeoning reputation led to instant stage success. His Hamlet having been spotted by talent scouts, he was chosen to replace Daniel Day-Lewis as the lead, Guy Bennett, in the hit West End run of Another Country (Day-Lewis in turn having replaced Rupert Everett who'd brought the play to the West End alongside Kenneth Branagh). So, by June, 1983, he was blowing them away at the Queen's Theatre as the outspokenly homosexual public schoolboy Bennett, battling to find a place outside a stuffy tradition that won't accept him and eventually finding it in the world of espionage - the play being based on the real life tale of Guy Burgess and his treacherous cabal. He went on to make his screen debut in the 1984 film version of the play but not as Guy (that role went to Everett), but as Tommy Judd, the Communist schoolmate of Bennett.

Firth starred in a number of films after Tommy Judd with some measure of success (see filmography board). In 1995 Firth's ship came in. As the sexy Mr. Darcy in the acclaimed 1995 television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Colin Firth induced record increases in estrogen levels on both sides of the Atlantic. Imbuing his role as one of literature's most obstinate lovers with surly, understated charisma, Firth caused many a viewer to wonder where he had been for so long, even though he had in fact been appearing in television and film for years. And then back came Mr Darcy. One of the women who had thrilled to Colin's performance was writer Helen Fielding, and her hit novel Bridget Jones's Diary was loosely based on that Austen production. And who better to play Bridget's Mark Darcy than Darcy himself? Exhibiting an enviable good humour about it all, in stepped Colin, torturing Renee Zellweger with his pride and prejudice and scrapping hilariously with Hugh Grant.

Firth is in a good place now, thanks in part to Jane Austen's Mr. Darcy. He can pick and choose his roles and is now in the most prolific period of his professional life. Colin seems to have it all and he has done it in his own time and on his own terms. Colin is reputed to be straightforward, modest and level-headed. He dresses casually, is wary of fame and shuns excessive publicity. He says he has no other hobbies besides acting and family life, but it is known that he also likes to relax listening to music, he plays guitar and he also reads a lot. He is known for his social concerns and action in support of refugees and African tribal people. More recently he has emerged as a talented writer: his well received short story "The Department of Nothing" was included in an anthology "Speaking With the Angel" edited by writer and personal friend, Nick Hornby (author of "Fever Pitch"). Those who have met Colin personally, describe him as well mannered, kind, considerate, amusing, with a great sense of humour, and extremely good company. His personal magnetism attracts many people, men and women of all ages, who sincerely admire him and his many talents.

Firth Trivia

Awards and Recognitions

1988: Seattle Film Festival: Best Actor, Apartment Zero

1989: Royal Television Society: Best Actor, Tumbledown (also 1990 per imdb)

1996: Broadcasting Press Guild award: Best Actor, Pride and Prejudice

1998: Screen Actors Guild: Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture, Shakespeare in Love; shared with cast mates

2001: European Film Awards: Audience Award-Best Actor, Bridget Jones's Diary

2001: - 50 Most Beautiful People - People Magazine

2001: - GQ Man Of The Year - actor

2002: - Hello Magazine - Most Attractive Man

2003: - Sexiest UK Male Actor

2004: - Washington, DC Film Critics award. Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture, Love Actually; shared with cast mates

2004: - TEOR fan favorite movie - cast member

2005: - L'Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana
(Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity)

2011: - Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Colin loves...

Music
I had piano lessons when I was young, and when my family moved to America, I started a band. I never like to be far from music. It can lift you up, pull you down, entertain you and change your attitude.

Laughter
I like practical jokes that don’t hurt anyone, and I like to hear laughter, whether it’s the sound of children having a good time, of friends enjoying an evening at a restaurant, or an audience reacting to a joke at the theatre. There is nothing quite like laughter.

Sunshine
I love decent weather. If you’re feeling a bit low and it’s raining or overcast, you feel a whole lot worse, but if the sun is shining, it can give you a totally different approach to the day

America
I like America because it’s a country with a positive attitude. Heroes are acclaimed and celebrities are allowed to be celebrities without being hounded by people seeking to rubbish them. In America, the glass is always half-full and there is always someone willing to help you up if you fall flat on your face—I like that.

Judi Dench
I am very careful when I look at a script, and it is rare that I agree to something that I later regret. But a lot depends on whom you are working with as well. For example, how you work with Judi Dench and not enjoy every minute of it?

Boarding planes
As a child I grew up in several different countries because of my parents’ travelling. By the time I was in my teens, I had lived in Nigeria, India, America and England. They say that travel broadens the mind and it does, if you let it. It is wonderful to be able to board a plane and, within a few hours, be in another country with a different culture to explore.

Colin loathes.....

Rudeness
I don’t like it when someone comes up to me with a scrap of paper and a borrowed pen, and says, "Ere, sign this." I don’t mind being recognised or signing autographs, but there is a well-mannered way of asking which some people seem to forget.

Being branded a sex symbol
I once read about my having "smouldering looks". I thought it was one of the funniest things I had ever read. What exactly are smouldering looks? Everyone wants to be considered attractive, but I’ve never taken the sex symbol thing very seriously.

Mr Darcy
I have a loathing of being called Mr Darcy. I played that part some years ago and I was very pleased with it, but I’ve been in many other productions since then. To be called by the name of one of your characters, rather than by our own name, can be a little testing.

TV soaps
Soaps don’t do a lot for me. Some seem to be perpetually miserable, and I just don’t see that as entertaining. And you hardly ever get a happy ending because there is no ending—it just goes on and on!

Sore feet
Not only is it uncomfortable but it reminds me of my early years of trying to make it as an actor. I lived in a bedsit in North London and walked everywhere to save what little money I had. My shoes constantly had holes in them, and that gave me sore feet. Now getting a stone in my shoe brings it all back.

Prejudice
I detest bigotry, racism and prejudice of any kind. The diversity on this planet is something special, a privilege to live with. We should live and let live in harmony, with respect for our differences.

Scruffiness
I went through a spell of having my hair extra long, wearing scruffy clothes and withdrawing into myself. I was broke at the time and couldn’t afford a haircut, but I think it was all part of life’s learning curve. It taught me not to allow myself to get into that kind of situation again.

Films Colin Loves

Blade Runner
The Graduate
Women in Love
A Man for all Seasons
Tender Mercies
A Brief Enconter

Film Memories

* The yellow brick road... The first film I remember as a screen experience was The Wizard of Oz—obviously not in 1939, but it was definitely screened in a big cinema in the middle of the ‘60s and my sister had to be taken out because of the Wicked Witch of the West. She was about four and just shrieked.

* Screen violence... I remember there was something on the telly that I lost sleep over because it upset me so much. It was a Western called Apache with Burt Lancaster playing an Indian named Massai, who beat his wife. I just couldn’t cope with that.

* Dreaming... As a kid I was always in a movie. I’d walk down the street and I could hear the soundtrack. I’ve done it for 20-odd years, but I don’t do it any more.

[image]

Thank you to Dominic Wills for portions of this biography

« Last Edit: Mar 1, 2013, 7:57am by CheekyChick »

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Click Here To Make This Board Ad-Free