Birth name Colin Andrew Firth NationalityUnited-kingdom Birth 10 september 1960 (59 years) at Grayshott (United-kingdom) Awards Academy Award for Best Actor, Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
Colin Andrew Firth, CBE (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor. His films have grossed more than $3 billion from 42 releases worldwide. He has received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, two BAFTAs and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as the Volpi Cup. His most notable and acclaimed role to date has been his 2010 portrayal of King George VI in The King's Speech, a performance that earned him an Oscar and multiple worldwide best actor awards.
Identified in the late 1980s with the "Brit Pack" of rising, young British actors, it was not until Firth's portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice that he received more widespread attention. This led to roles in films such as The English Patient, Bridget Jones's Diary (for which he was nominated for a BAFTA), Shakespeare in Love and Love Actually. In 2009 he received widespread critical acclaim for his leading role in A Single Man, for which Firth gained his first Academy Award nomination, and won a BAFTA Award. He starred in the action spy comedy Kingsman: The Secret Service in 2014, which was a commercial success and received generally positive reviews.
In 2011, Firth received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was also selected as one of the Time 100. He was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Winchester in 2007, and was made a Freeman of the City of London in 2012.
Firth has campaigned for the rights of indigenous tribal peoples and is a member of Survival International. He has also campaigned on issues of asylum seekers and refugees' rights and the environment. Firth commissioned and is credited as a co-author on a scientific paper on a study into the differences in brain structure between people of differing political orientations.
Biography
In 1989, he began a relationship with Meg Tilly, his co-star in Valmont and, in 1990, they had a son, William "Will" Joseph Firth. The family moved to the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Firth's acting career slowed down until they broke up in 1994, and his return to the UK. Firth remains in contact with Will and with Tilly's two other children. In 1997, Firth married Italian film producer and director Livia Firth (née Giuggioli). They have two sons, Luca (born March 2001) and Matteo (born August 2003). The family now live in both Chiswick, London and Umbria, Italy. Firth started to learn Italian when he and Giuggioli began to date and is now fluent in the language. Firth is a supporter of Arsenal F.C.
Firth was awarded an honorary degree on 19 October 2007 from the University of Winchester. On 13 January 2011, he was presented with the 2,429th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In April 2011, Time magazine included Firth in its list of the world's 100 Most Influential People. Firth was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to drama, and made a Freeman of the City of London on 8 March 2012.
Activism
Firth has been a long-standing supporter of Survival International, a non-governmental organisation that defends the rights of tribal peoples. Speaking in 2001, he said, "My interest in tribal peoples goes back many years... and I have supported [Survival] ever since." In 2003, during the promotion of the film Love Actually, he spoke in defence of the tribal people of Botswana, condemning the Botswana government's eviction of the Gana and Gwi people (San) from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. He says of the San, "These people are not the remnants of a past era who need to be brought up to date. Those who are able to continue to live on the land that is rightfully theirs are facing the 21st century with a confidence that many of us in the so-called developed world can only envy." He has also backed a Survival International campaign to press the Brazilian government to take more decisive action in defence of the Awá-Guajá people, whose land and livelihood is critically threatened by the actions of loggers.
As a supporter of the Refugee Council, Firth was involved in a campaign to stop the deportation of a group of 42 Congolese asylum seekers, expressing concerns in open letters to The Independent and The Guardian that they faced being murdered on their return to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Firth said "To me it's just basic civilisation to help people. I find this incredibly painful to see how we dismiss the most desperate people in our society. It's easily done. It plays to the tabloids, to the Middle-England xenophobes. It just makes me furious. And all from a government we once had such high hopes for". Four of the asylum seekers were given a last-minute reprieve from deportation.
Firth along with other celebrities has been involved in the Oxfam global campaign Make Trade Fair, focusing on trade practices seen as especially unfair to third world producers including dumping, high import tariffs, and labour rights. He has further contributed to this cause by opening (with a few collaborators) an eco-friendly shop in West London, Eco. The shop offers fair trade and eco-friendly goods, as well as expert advice on making spaces more energy efficient. In October 2009 at the London Film Festival, Firth launched a film and political activism website, Brightwide, along with his wife Livia.
During the 2010 General Election, Firth announced his support for the Liberal Democrats, having previously been a Labour supporter, citing asylum and refugees' rights as a key reason for his change in affiliation. In December 2010, Firth publicly dropped his support of the Liberal Democrats, citing their U-turn on tuition fees as one of the key reasons for his disillusionment. He also said that while he no longer supports the Liberal Democrats, he is currently without an affiliation. Firth appeared in literature to support changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote for electing members of parliament to the House of Commons in the unsuccessful Alternative Vote referendum in 2011. In 2011, he stated despite playing King George VI in the King's Speech, he is a republican.
In 2009 Firth joined the 10:10 project, supporting the movement calling for people to reduce their carbon footprint. In 2010 Colin endorsed the "Roots & Shoots" education programme in the UK run by the Jane Goodall Institute (UK).
Directed byJames Marsh OriginUnited-kingdom GenresDrama, Adventure ActorsColin Firth, Rachel Weisz, David Thewlis, Andrew Buchan, Ken Stott, Simon McBurney Roles Donald Crowhurst Rating59% 1968. Donald Crowhurst, un homme d’affaires anglais, passionné par la voile, est au bord de la faillite. Pour sauver son entreprise et vivre l’aventure dont il rêve depuis toujours, il décide de participer à la première course à la voile en solitaire pour remporter le grand prix. Soutenu par sa femme et ses enfants, il se lance alors dans cette incroyable odyssée à travers les mers du monde. Mais mal préparé et face à lui-même, Crowhurst rencontre très vite de graves difficultés…
Directed byJames Marsh OriginUnited-kingdom GenresDrama, Biography, Adventure ThemesSeafaring films, Transport films ActorsColin Firth, Rachel Weisz, David Thewlis, Andrew Buchan, Ken Stott, Simon McBurney Roles Donald Crowhurst Rating59% 1968. Donald Crowhurst est un homme d’affaires anglais, passionné par la voile. Pour sauver son entreprise de la faillite, il décide de participer au Golden Globe Challenge, un tour du monde en solitaire. Il souhaite ainsi remporter le grand prix. Avec le soutien de sa femme et ses enfants, Donald va donc se lancer dans cette incroyable aventure. Cependant, peu préparé, il va très vite devoir faire face à de graves difficultés.
Directed byRob Marshall OriginUSA GenresFantastic, Comedy, Fantasy, Musical ThemesFilms about children, Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Children's films ActorsEmily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Colin Firth Roles William "Weatherall" Wilkins / Wolf (voice) Rating67% Michael et Jane sont désormais adultes. Michael vit sur Cherry Tree Lane avec ses trois enfants et leur gouvernante, Ellen. Lorsque celui-ci perd un proche, Mary Poppins, l’énigmatique nounou, réapparaît dans la vie de la famille Banks. Grâce à sa magie et avec l’aide de son ami Jack, l’allumeur de réverbères toujours optimiste, Mary va tout faire pour que la joie et l’émerveillement reviennent dans leur existence… Elle leur fera aussi découvrir de tout nouveaux personnages pleins de fantaisie, dont sa cousine, l’excentrique Topsy…
, 2h21 Directed byMatthew Vaughn OriginUSA GenresComedy, Action, Adventure, Spy ThemesSpy films, Films about drugs, Films about terrorism ActorsTaron Egerton, Julianne Moore, Mark Strong, Halle Berry, Sophie Cookson, Channing Tatum Roles Harry Hart / Galahad Rating68% Kingsman est une organisation secrète anglaise. Eggsy coule désormais des jours heureux avec la princesse suédoise Tilde. Des attaques simultanées détruisent le quartier général du Kingsman et tuent tous les agents. Les seuls survivants, Eggsy et Merlin, sont alors amenés à rencontrer leurs homologues américains du Statesman, dont la base est située dans une distillerie de bourbon dans le Kentucky. Ensemble, entre l'Italie et le Cambodge, ils vont affronter Poppy Adams, une trafiquante à la tête du cartel de drogue le plus puissant du monde, le Cercle d'or.
, 1h37 Directed byWoody Allen OriginUSA GenresDrama, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Historical, Crime, Romance ThemesFilms about magic and magicians, La provence ActorsEmma Stone, Colin Firth, Hamish Linklater, Marcia Gay Harden, Jacki Weaver, Eileen Atkins Roles Stanley Crawford Rating65% In 1928, a globally famous illusionist, Wei Ling Soo, performs in front of a crowd in Berlin with his world-class magic act. As he walks off stage the film audience sees that he is actually a British man named Stanley (Colin Firth). He berates his employees and is generally curmudgeonly towards his well-wishers. In his dressing-room, he is greeted by old friend and fellow illusionist Howard Burkan (Simon McBurney). Howard enlists Stanley to go with him to the Côte d'Azur where a rich American family, the Catledges, has apparently been taken in by a clairvoyant and mystic, Sophie (Emma Stone). In fact, the son of the family, Brice (Hamish Linklater), is smitten with Sophie, and his sister Caroline (Erica Leerhsen) and brother-in-law George (Jeremy Shamos) are concerned Brice is considering proposing marriage. Howard says that he has been unable to uncover the secrets behind her tricks and he admits that the more he watched her the more he believed she really has supernatural powers. So he would like Stanley, who has debunked charlatan mystics in the past, to help him prove she is a fraud.
, 1h35 Directed byPaul King OriginFrance GenresComedy, Adventure, Animation ThemesFilms about animals, Mise en scène d'un ours, Mise en scène d'un mammifère ActorsColin Firth, Ben Whishaw, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Bonneville, Michael Gambon, Sally Hawkins Roles the voice of Paddington Rating71% In the deep jungles of darkest Peru, a British geographer named Montgomery Clyde happens upon a previously unknown species of bear. He is about to shoot it to take back a specimen to England when another bear playfully takes his gun away. He learns that this family of bears is intelligent and can learn English, and that they have a deep appetite for marmalade. He names them Lucy and Pastuzo. As he departs, he throws his hat to Pastuzo and tells the bears that they are always welcome should they wish to go to London.
, 1h54 Directed byAtom Egoyan OriginUSA GenresDrama, Thriller, Biography, Crime ThemesPrison films, Films about capital punishment ActorsReese Witherspoon, Kevin Durand, Stephen Moyer, Mireille Enos, Colin Firth, Elias Koteas Roles Ron Lax Rating60% In 1993, in the working class community of West Memphis, Arkansas, three eight-year-old boys – Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore – go missing from their neighborhood. After an extensive search, their bound and beaten bodies are found the next day. The community and the police department are convinced that the murders are the work of a satanic cult, due to the violent and sexual natures of the crime. A month later, three teenagers – Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. – are arrested after Misskelley confesses following approximately 12 hours of interrogation. They are taken to trial, where Baldwin and Misskelley are sentenced to life, and Echols to death, all the while still proclaiming their innocence.