wistful,gallant,a ablyroguishandhandsometurns in
lovestories like
LoveActually
,
TheEnglishPatient
and
hiscareer-making,definitiveportrayalof themorose
Mr.Darcy ina1995BBCadaptationofJaneAusten’s
PrideandPrejudice
,enjoyedbymorethan100million
viewersaroundtheglobe.
So inthismoment, theonethatmakessenseat
first,Firth isexactlywhatyouwouldexpecthimto
be.Whenagroupofyounghooligansdescendsupon
Firth’sserenebooth,wherehehasundoubtedlybeen
meditatinguponthemaximthat“middleage iswhen
anarrowwaistandabroadmindbegintochange
places,”something inthemanshifts, ifmarginally, like
anenginesluggishlywhirringto life.Butwhenone
of thethugsbeginstauntingFirth, referringtohim
as“granddaddy,”theproverbial jukebox fallssuddenly
mute,alldecorumshattered.
AudienceshaveseenColinFirth losehiscoolbefore,
but,withtheexceptionofastammering, incensed
streamofexpletives in
TheKing’sSpeech
andtwo
notable—andnotablyeccentric—fistfightswithacad-
dishHughGrant intheBridgetJonesfilms,histemper
hasmostlybeenrelegatedtoasterngazeand,perhaps
moredevastatingly,awithering lookofdisdain.
But inthismoment, theonethatmakessenseat
first,Firthuncoilshis6'2" framedeliberately from
thebooth, likeaheadmasterabouttodeliveruntohis
abusersa lessontheyshallnotsoon forget. “Manners
makethman,”Firthdrollyasserts,before— inavery
un-Firth-likemanner—dispatchingthegoonswitha
precise ferocityandanalarmingpanache.Notasingle
hair falls from itsperfectplace.
COLINFIRTHNEEDED
to leto a littlesteam
and,also, theOscar-winningactorhas,withhis
upcomingrole in
Kingsman:TheSecretService
—a
white-knuckledaction-thrillerdirectedbyMatthew
Vaughn(
XMen:FirstClass
)that’sdueout inFebru-
ary2015and isbasedonthe2012comicbookseries
byMarkMillar(
Wanted
)andDaveGibbons(
Watch-
men
)—apparentlydisavowedthe importanceofbeing
earnest.Rather,hehasdiscoveredtheclarityofkinetic
pleasuresandat long lastdeclared,onceand forall,
thatgoodMr.Darcy isnomore. Indeed,atanagewhen
manymensurrenderto leisuresuits,gardensports
andexistentialstagnation,Firth issuddenlymoremad
dogthanEnglishman—andhavingthetimeofhis life.
“IthinkthatwasMatthew’swholeplan: tomake
mischiefwiththebaggageIbringtoaprojectasan
actor,”saysFirth,who lives inWestLondonwithhis
wife, Italiandocumentaryfilmmakerandgreenentre-
preneurLivia,andtheirtwochildren. “I’mhonestly
the lastmanonEarthmostpeoplewouldthinkof fora
character likethis.”
ThatwasexactlyVaughn’s intention,hiringFirth
fortheroleofsuperspyHarryHartbeforehe’deven
A
TFIRST, ITALLMAKESSENSE.
ColinFirth isseatedquiescently ina leatherbooth,a20-ounceBeckerbefore
him,hisby-now-familiar facethinnerthanwemightrecall fromhis30yearsof
superlativework infilms like
Valmont
,
Shakespeare inLove
,
BridgetJones’sDiary
,
ASingleMan
and
TheKing’sSpeech
, forwhichhewasawardedanOscar in2011.
Inthismoment, theonethatmakessenseatfirst, the54-year-oldactorappearsdebo-
nair:hisscrupulouslycoiedbrownhairmeticulouslymatchedtoanattytwo-piece
AriannePhillipssuitandhand-carvedCutler&Grosseyeglasses;hisneckadornedwith
anelegant,handmadesilktie fromDrake’s;andawood-handledSwaineAdeneyBrigg
umbrellapostednonchalantlyathisside.Hisvisage inthisLondonpubonaplacidafter-
noonbetraysnothing;notmirthnormalice,notmerrimentnormillstone—he isEnglish
afterall.AndFirthhasalwaysbeenanactorofrestraint,methodicallyrevealing,often
byalmost imperceptible increments,hischaracters’ folly,yearningorangst.
He’snotapeacockof thesilverscreen,andhe’snotachewerofcinematicscenery,not
whenhe’scuckoldedagainandagain,piningand lovelornashe iswonttoplay.Forhis
eorts ingoodtasteandminimalism,Firthhasbeenoftshoweredwithtrophiesandac-
colades.He’salsoattractedadevoted legionofpredominantly femaleadmirers forhis
MUSINGS
ONFIRTH
MATTHEWVAUGHN:
“Colin is sogoodbe-
causehe
has this rare
trait
: He takes acting
very seriouslybut
isprepared tomakea
foolofhimself
.”
RICHARDCURTIS:
“The thing I loveabout
Colin is that
he’s
interestingwhenhe’s
playingsomeonenice
,
which lotsof people
aren’t. It’sbecause
he’s sovulnerableand
three-dimensional.
And
he’sbrilliant,
too,whenhe’splaying
someonenotvery
nice
.”
WINTER
AA.COM CELEBRATEDLIVING
60
