Colin Firth Biography

Colin Andrew Firth is an award-winning actor best known for portraying King George VI in The King’s Speech, a role that won him an Academy Award along with several other honors. Blessed with broad shoulders, a square face, and an air of quiet dignity, Firth seems to be the perfect choice for leading roles in period dramas. He developed a love for acting in childhood and attended drama workshops from the age of ten. By the time he was a teenager, he knew he wanted to pursue acting as a profession. Choosing not to pursue academic studies, he joined the National Youth Theatre, where he made several acquaintances who would later help him in his career. Despite his good looks and talent, success did not come easily. He started acting in stage productions and television during the 1980s, but it took years before he became a well-known name. His breakthrough came when he was cast as Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The show was a big hit in both the U.S. and U.K., establishing him as a television star. Films such as The English Patient and Bridget Jones’s Diary further cemented his status as an acclaimed film actor.