[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/firth.jpg]]

->''"Colin Firth is not laughing. He's British."''
-->-- '''Creator/KirkDouglas''' at the 83rd UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s

Colin Andrew Firth [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever CBE]] (born 10 September 1960 in Grayshott, England) is a British actor known for his ability in both comedy and drama (and for being very [[RuleOfThree handsome]]).

After a youthful career of small roles, fame finally arrived following his performance as Mr. Darcy in the acclaimed [[Series/PrideAndPrejudice1995 1995 BBC miniseries]] based on Creator/JaneAusten's ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'', which made women swoon all over the world. Some notable supporting roles in films were to follow, including ''Film/TheEnglishPatient'' and ''Film/ShakespeareInLove'', both of which featured the rare event of his character losing in a love triangle (to one of the Fiennes brothers, Creator/RalphFiennes or Creator/JosephFiennes, in each case; perhaps they're his kryptonite). Real film stardom came with 2001's ''[[Literature/BridgetJones Bridget Jones's Diary]]'', where he basically reprised his role as Mr. Darcy for the 21st century. In the following decade, Firth became a fixture of both romantic comedies and some smaller, more serious films. By the end of the decade, he had decisively established himself as a serious actor, with an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for ''Literature/ASingleMan'' and widespread acclaim for his work as King George VI in ''Film/TheKingsSpeech'' which earned him the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Actor, as well as just about every other major acting award.

He has gained an [[SixDegreesOfKevinBacon Erdos-Bacon number]] of 7 after [[http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822%2811%2900289-2 commissioning a study looking into the differences between the brains of conservatives versus liberal politicians]].

He has been married to Italian producer/director Livia Giuggioli since 1997. No relation to Creator/PeterFirth.
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!! The notable works of Colin Firth include:
* Tommy Judd in ''Film/AnotherCountry'' (1984)
* Adrian [=LeDuc=] in ''Film/ApartmentZero'' (1988)
* The Vicomte de Valmont in ''Film/{{Valmont}}'' (1989)
* Mr Darcy in ''{{Series/Pride and Prejudice|1995}}'' (1995)
* Geoffrey Clifton in ''Film/TheEnglishPatient'' (1996)
* Lord Wessex in ''Film/ShakespeareInLove'' (1998)
* Mark Darcy in ''Literature/BridgetJones''
** ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' (2001)
** ''Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason'' (2004)
** ''Bridget Jones' Baby'' (2016)
* Wilhelm Stuckart in ''Film/{{Conspiracy|2001}}'' (2001)
* John Worthington in ''Theatre/TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest'' (2002)
* Henry Dashwood in ''Film/WhatAGirlWants'' (2003)
* Creator/JohannesVermeer in ''Film/GirlWithAPearlEarring'' (2003)
* Jamie Bennett in ''Film/LoveActually'' (2003)
* Vince in ''Film/WhereTheTruthLies'' (2005)
* Cedric Brown in ''Film/NannyMcPhee'' (2005)
* Aurelius in ''Film/TheLastLegion'' (2007)
* Richard Bratton in ''Film/TheAccidentalHusband'' (2008)
* Harry in ''Film/MammaMia'' (2008)
** And in the sequel ''Film/MammaMiaHereWeGoAgain'' (2018)
* Lord Henry Wotton in ''Film/DorianGray'' (2009)
* George in ''Film/ASingleMan'' (2009)
* Fred in ''{{WesternAnimation/A Christmas Carol|2009}}'' (2009)
* King George VI in ''Film/TheKingsSpeech'' (2010)
* Bill Haydon in ''Film/TinkerTailorSoldierSpy'' (2011)
* Harry Deane in ''Film/{{Gambit}}'' (2012)
* Ben Lucas in ''Film/BeforeIGoToSleep'' (2014) [[spoiler: Actual name revealed to be Mike]]
* Harry Hart/Galahad in ''Film/{{Kingsman}}''
** ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'' (2015)
** ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle'' (2017)
** ''Kingsman: The Blue Blood'' (TBA)
* Donald Crowhurst in ''Film/TheMercy'' (2017)
* William Weatherall Wilkins in ''Film/MaryPoppinsReturns'' (2018)
* General Erinmore in ''Film/NineteenSeventeen'' (2019)
* Lord Craven in ''Literature/TheSecretGarden'' (2020)
* Sam in ''Film/{{Supernova|2021}}'' (2021)
* Ewen Montagu in ''Film/OperationMincemeat''
* A tortilla chef in ''Film/RyeLane'' (2023)
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!! Tropes related to Colin Firth:
* AwesomeDearBoy: He played Harry Hart in ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'' because it gave him the chance to play a suave, James Bond-type action hero in an absolutely balls-to-the-wall comedy that hangs a lampshade on practically every spy-movie trope.
* BettyAndVeronica: Is almost always the Betty.
* CreatorBacklash: He’s apologized for working with Creator/WoodyAllen in the past and says he’d never work with him again after allegations from his daughter about sexual abuse resurfaced in 2018. He says he sees a conversation he had with Creator/EmmaStone on the set of ''Film/MagicInTheMoonlight'' about how weird it was he was playing her LoveInterest when he’s the same age as her dad in a very different light now.
* FakeAmerican: To varying degrees of success. He's British, but he's managed a fairly affective midwestern accent in ''A Thousand Acres'' (1997), ''Arthur Newman'' (2012), ''Genius'' (2016), and the HBO Max series ''The Staircase'' (2022), where he plays Michael Peterson. He sports a somewhat shakier southern dialect in ''Main Street'' (2010), and ''Devil's Knot'' (2013).
* LanternJawOfJustice: Especially pronounced in ''Film/TheKingsSpeech''.
* PlayingAgainstType: He plays a [[spoiler:manipulative, abusive psychopath villain]] in ''Film/BeforeIGoToSleep''.
** Subverted in ''Film/MaryPoppinsReturns'', where he plays an upperclass banker who is a [[spoiler:manipulative, duplicitous villain]].
* PlayingWithCharacterType: Before ''Kingsman'', Firth's best known work was playing upperclass and polite gentleman characters in ''Bridget Jones''-esque rom-com films, with the main exception being an Roman soldier role in the lesser-known epic film ''Film/TheLastLegion''. As Harry Hart in ''Kingsman'', he retains a slightly more vulgar version of his upperclass politeness, but kicks a ''lot'' more ass while doing so.
* TypeCasting: Not so much since he started winning Oscars, but even a quick glance at his filmography before that (and even several after) reveals a significant number of roles that have shared more than a few things in common with [[Literature/PrideAndPrejudice a certain pompous but ultimately good-hearted upper-class gentleman from Derbyshire]].
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: He was originally cast as the voice of Literature/PaddingtonBear for the LiveActionAdaptation. However, after recording his lines, both he and the producers came to the mutual conclusion that his voice wasn't the right fit for the character, and he ended up being replaced by Creator/BenWhishaw instead. This was somewhat awkward as there had already been posters printed out and distributed with Colin's name on them. However, there were no trailers featuring Colin's voice.
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->''So hail {{Satan}}, and have a lovely afternoon, madam.''