Colin Firth facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Colin Firth
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Firth in 2017
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Colin Andrew Firth
10 September 1960 Grayshott, Hampshire, England
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| Citizenship |
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| Alma mater | National Youth Theatre Drama Centre London |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1983–present |
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Works
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Full list |
| Spouse(s) |
Livia Giuggioli
(m. 1997; div. 2021) |
| Partner(s) | Meg Tilly (1989–1994) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives |
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| Awards | Full list |
Colin Andrew Firth (born September 10, 1960) is a famous English actor and producer. He has won many important awards for his acting. These include an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. He was also nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2011, he received a special honor called a CBE for his great work in drama. That same year, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
In the mid-1980s, Colin Firth became known as part of the "Brit Pack" of talented young British actors. He played main roles in films like A Month in the Country (1987) and Valmont (1989). His role as Mr. Darcy in the 1995 TV show Pride and Prejudice made him very popular. After this, he got roles in bigger movies. These included The English Patient (1996) and Shakespeare in Love (1998). He also starred in Love Actually (2003) and the Bridget Jones film series. He was also in the musical comedy Mamma Mia! (2008) and its 2018 sequel.
Colin Firth won an Academy Award for Best Actor for playing King George VI in The King's Speech (2010). Before that, he was nominated for an Oscar for his role in A Single Man (2009). This role also earned him a BAFTA Award. He later played secret agent Harry Hart in Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and its 2017 sequel. He also appeared in films like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) and Mary Poppins Returns (2018). For his TV work, he was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for his roles in Conspiracy (2001) and The Staircase (2022).
In 2012, he started his own production company called Raindog Films. Through this company, he helped produce movies like Eye in the Sky (2015). His films have earned more than $3 billion around the world. Colin Firth also supports the rights of Indigenous people. He is a member of Survival International. He has also spoken out about the rights of asylum seekers and refugees, and about protecting the environment.
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Contents
Early Life and Education
Colin Firth was born in Grayshott, Hampshire. His parents were both teachers and academics. His mother, Shirley Jean, taught about different religions. His father, David Norman Lewis Firth, taught history. Colin is the oldest of three children. His sister, Kate Firth, and his brother, Jonathan Firth, are also actors. His grandparents were also involved in religious work and spent time in India.
As a child, Colin traveled often because of his parents' jobs. He lived in Nigeria for some years. He also lived in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States, when he was 11. He said this was a "difficult time" for him. When he returned to England, he went to Montgomery of Alamein Secondary School. He felt like an outsider there and was sometimes bullied. To fit in, he started to copy the local accent and act like he wasn't interested in schoolwork.
Colin started attending drama workshops when he was 10 years old. By the time he was 14, he knew he wanted to be a professional actor. He wasn't very interested in school subjects at first. He later said school was "boring and mediocre." However, at Barton Peveril Sixth Form College, a teacher helped him love English literature. He said those two years were some of the happiest of his life. After college, Colin moved to London. He joined the National Youth Theatre and later studied at Drama Centre London.
Acting Career Highlights
Early Roles and First Big Success
Colin Firth played Hamlet in a school play. In 1984, he made his first film appearance in Another Country. He played Tommy Judd, a school friend. He also starred with the famous actor Sir Laurence Olivier in the TV show Lost Empires (1986).
In 1987, Colin Firth and other young British actors were called the 'Brit Pack'. That year, he was in the film A Month in the Country. He played a real-life soldier, Robert Lawrence, in the 1988 BBC show Tumbledown. This show was about Lawrence's struggles after being injured in the Falklands War. Colin's performance won him a Royal TV Society Best Actor Award. In 1989, he played the main role in Valmont.
Colin Firth became very well-known in Britain for playing the proud Mr. Darcy. This was in the 1995 BBC TV show Pride and Prejudice. The show was a huge success around the world. It made Colin a big star. He became known as a "romantic idol." Even though he was famous for this role, he didn't want to be known only as Mr. Darcy. He tried to choose different kinds of roles after that.
Romantic and Ensemble Films
After Pride and Prejudice, Colin Firth often played romantic roles. He famously played Mark Darcy in the film Bridget Jones's Diary. This movie was a modern version of Pride and Prejudice. Colin took the role because he saw it as a fun way to make fun of his Mr. Darcy character. The film was very popular. A sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), was also a financial success.
Colin Firth had an important role in The English Patient (1996). He played the husband of Kristin Scott Thomas's character. He also played a school teacher and a big fan of Arsenal F.C. in the film Fever Pitch (1997). He appeared in romantic period films like Shakespeare in Love (1998) and The Importance of Being Earnest (2002). He also had a serious role as Dr. Wilhelm Stuckart in Conspiracy (2001). For this, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
Firth was part of the large cast in Richard Curtis's film Love Actually (2003). This movie was also a big financial success. He played Amanda Bynes' character's father in the teen comedy What A Girl Wants (2003). He also played painter Johannes Vermeer in Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003). This film received good reviews and won several awards.
In 2005, Colin Firth was in Nanny McPhee with Emma Thompson. He played a father who was struggling after his wife passed away. This was one of his few roles in a fantasy film. He also appeared in Where the Truth Lies, a more intense role. Other films from this time include Then She Found Me (2007) and The Last Legion (2007).
In 2008, he played an adult remembering his difficult relationship with his father in And When Did You Last See Your Father?. This film received generally good reviews. Colin Firth's first musical film was Mamma Mia! (2008). He said it was "a bit nerve-wracking." Mamma Mia! became a very high-earning British film. That year, he also starred in Easy Virtue and Genova. In 2009, he appeared in A Christmas Carol, playing Scrooge's nephew Fred.
Award-Winning Performances
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In 2009, Colin Firth won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 66th Venice International Film Festival. This was for his role in A Single Man. He played a college professor dealing with loneliness after his partner's death. His performance earned him many nominations, including for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. He won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in 2010.
Colin Firth starred in the 2010 film The King's Speech. He played Prince Albert, Duke of York, who later became King George VI. The film showed his efforts to overcome a speech problem as he became king. At the Toronto International Film Festival, the film received a standing ovation. On January 16, 2011, he won a Golden Globe for his performance in The King's Speech. He also won a Screen Actors Guild award on January 30, 2011. In February 2011, he won his second straight best actor award. On February 27, 2011, he won an Academy Award for Best Actor. The film earned over $414 million worldwide.
In 2011, Firth appeared as a British secret agent in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. This film received excellent reviews. Critics praised Colin's "suavely arrogant" and "sardonically" delivered performance.
Later Career and Producing
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In 2011, Colin Firth started filming Gambit, a remake of an older crime movie. It was released in the UK in November 2012. In 2012, Firth also co-founded Raindog Films. Their first film, Eye in the Sky, was released in April 2016.
In 2013, it was announced that Firth would star with Emma Stone in Woody Allen's romantic comedy Magic in the Moonlight. In 2014, he played Harry Hart / Agent Galahad in the spy action film Kingsman: The Secret Service. This movie earned a lot of money. Colin Firth was supposed to voice Paddington Bear for the film Paddington. However, he later decided his voice wasn't right for the character.
In 2015, he began filming The Mercy, about amateur yachtsman Donald Crowhurst. In 2016, Firth returned as Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones's Baby. This film was more popular than the second one in the series. He also played American book editor Max Perkins in Genius. In 2016, he started filming The Happy Prince, playing Oscar Wilde's friend Reginald Turner.
In 2017, he played Jamie again in the short film Red Nose Day Actually. He also returned as Harry Hart / Agent Galahad in Kingsman: The Golden Circle. In 2018, Firth played Harry Bright again in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. That year, he also appeared in the musical fantasy film Mary Poppins Returns. He played British naval commander David Russell in Kursk, a film about the 2000 Kursk submarine disaster. In 2019, he had a small role as British General Erinmore in the World War I film 1917. In 2020, he starred in The Secret Garden and Supernova. In 2021, he was in Mothering Sunday. In December 2021, he was cast in Empire of Light. He was seen as Ewen Montagu in Operation Mincemeat in April 2022. Firth returned to TV in May 2022, starring as Michael Peterson in The Staircase. In 2025, Firth starred in the drama series Lockerbie: A Search for Truth. He played Jim Swire, whose daughter died in the Pan Am Flight 103 disaster.
Writing and Research
Colin Firth's first published story was "The Department of Nothing." It appeared in a book called Speaking with the Angel (2000). This book was put together by Nick Hornby to help autistic children. Colin met Hornby while filming Fever Pitch. He also wrote for the book We Are One: A Celebration of Tribal Peoples (2009). This book talks about the cultures and challenges of Indigenous people worldwide. The money from the book helps Survival International, an organization that supports Indigenous rights. Firth was also a producer for the film In Prison My Whole Life.
In December 2010, Colin Firth was a guest editor for a radio show called Today. He asked for research to be done on people's brains. The goal was to see if brain structure differences could explain political views. He was listed as an author on the scientific paper that came from this research. The study suggested that people with different political views might have slightly different brain structures.
In 2012, Colin Firth recorded an audiobook of The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. This audiobook was named Audiobook of the Year in 2013.
Activism and Causes
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Colin Firth has long supported Survival International. This group works for the rights of tribal peoples. In 2003, he spoke out for the Indigenous people of Botswana. He criticized the government for moving the Gana and Gwi people from their land. He said these people are not "remnants of a past era." He also supports a campaign to help the Awá-Guajá people in Brazil. Their land is threatened by loggers.
Colin Firth also supports the Refugee Council. He helped in a campaign to stop the deportation of Congolese asylum seekers. He worried they might be in danger if they returned home. He wrote open letters to newspapers about his concerns. He said it was "basic civilization to help people."
Firth has also been involved in the Oxfam campaign Make Trade Fair. This campaign focuses on trade practices that are unfair to producers in poorer countries. He and some friends opened Eco, an eco-friendly shop in London. It sells fair-trade and environmentally friendly products. In 2009, he launched a website called Brightwide with his wife, Livia. It focused on film and political activism.
During the 2010 United Kingdom general election, Colin Firth supported the Liberal Democrats. He had previously supported the Labour Party. He changed his support because of issues like asylum and refugee rights. In December 2010, he stopped supporting the Liberal Democrats. This was because of their change on tuition fees. He also supported changing the British electoral system in the 2011 referendum.
In 2009, Firth joined the 10:10 project. This project encourages people to reduce their carbon footprint. In 2010, he supported "Roots & Shoots." This is an education program in the UK run by the Jane Goodall Institute.
Personal Life
In 1989, Colin Firth started a relationship with Meg Tilly, his co-star from Valmont. Their son, William Joseph Firth, was born in 1990. William is also an actor and appeared with his father in Bridget Jones's Baby in 2016. The family lived in British Columbia, Canada. Colin and Meg broke up in 1994. While filming Pride and Prejudice, Colin and his co-star Jennifer Ehle had a relationship.
In 1997, Colin Firth married Italian activist Livia Giuggioli. They have two sons, Luca and Matteo. Colin speaks Italian fluently. The family split their time between London and Italy. They announced their separation in 2019. They had separated privately a few years before but had gotten back together.
Colin Firth was against the Brexit initiative for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. After the vote passed, he applied for "dual citizenship (British and Italian)" in 2017. He wanted to have the same passports as his wife and children. His application was approved on September 22, 2017. Colin said, "I will always be extremely British."
In 2011, after winning an Academy Award for The King's Speech, Colin Firth suggested he might be a republican (someone who is against having a monarch). He said that voting was "one of his favourite things" and that unelected institutions were "a problem for him."
Awards and Honors
Colin Firth has received many awards. These include an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, British Academy Film Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. He won these for his role as King George VI in The King's Speech (2010).
He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Winchester in 2007. On January 13, 2011, he received the 2,429th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In April 2011, Time magazine included him in its list of the World's 100 Most Influential People. He was made a Freeman of the City of London in 2012. He also received an honorary fellowship from the University of the Arts London in 2012.
Firth was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2011. This was for his great contributions to drama.
See also
In Spanish: Colin Firth para niños
- List of British actors
- List of Academy Award winners and nominees from Great Britain
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
- List of actors with more than one Academy Award nomination in the acting categories
