Although she was over the moon to see her man pick up the most coveted prize in acting, Livia’s response was typically down to earth. ‘We’re not moving to Hollywood, we’re going back home and he’s still the man I married,’ she told Grazia. ‘He’ll still put out the bins and leave his socks on the floor. It’s just now he has an Oscar, and that is amazing.’
Since their first meeting, in South America, Livia has been used to ladies of all ages making eyes at her husband but the spirited Italian has nothing to worry about. Colin is not planning to go anywhere. ‘It does help to actually realize that however stunning the person who is, you know, fluttering eyelashes at you, she doesn’t do anything to match up to your wife,’ he said on a US chat show in February 2011. ‘Maybe it’s shallow of me to have a wife that’s so beautiful but it makes things easier. To me she’s the most beautiful woman in the world. We’ve made it fifteen years together … I think that is pretty good going in Hollywood standards. And it’s going to go on for ever.’
Two weeks after flying home with his gong, which he dressed in miniature black and white pants for an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Colin received news to keep that dazzling smile on his face. Son Will, who was hoping to follow in his famous father’s footsteps, had won a place at drama college in London. The twenty-one-year-old would be moving to London for three years, meaning Colin and the family would get to spend much more time with him.
Mum Meg’s blog announced, on 16 March, ‘Happy news! Everybody here is jumping up and down. I just got off the phone with my boy Will and he has been offered a spot in a great three year acting program in England. Hats off to you, honey! We are SO proud!’
Despite his Oscar-night gag about his career peaking, Colin has plenty more to give the world of cinema. With starring roles in John Le Carre’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and the Coen brothers’ comedy Gambit in the pipeline, and many more offers on the table, the British star is much in demand. As a younger actor he might have wished for the critical status of Ralph Fiennes, or the box office pull of Hugh Grant, but he had played the long game, and won.
‘There is one quote – J.B. Priestley, I think – in which he says: “I have never been out of fashion, because I have never been in fashion” and that seems to sum me up,’ he once said. ‘I have been flavour of the month but never a number-one star. I have been second or third choice for things, too, and that is probably a safer area to be than bang on top of the mountain.
‘The result so far is that I’ve never been out of work from the day I left drama school. I have been stuck, because I have not been able to find anything good. But that is different from being worried about not paying the rent or feeding the kids.’
As an added bonus The King’s Speech has finally rid him of the wet shirt and riding boots of the dashing Mr Darcy. From now on, his prefix will no longer read ‘Pride and Prejudice star’ but ‘Oscar-winner’.
Surrounded by awards and fêted by Hollywood legends, however, the charming, humble and approachable actor and committed family man remains unchanged.
‘I never believed I had the capacity to be a star,’ he says. ‘Sometimes I can’t get my head round the fact that I’m a dad and successful. It doesn’t seem like my story.’
Index
(CF = Colin Firth; JE = Jennifer Ehle; LG = Livia Giuggioli; MT = Meg Tilly)
About a Boy (i)
Accidental Husband, The (i)
Affleck, Ben (i)
Amnesty International (i), (ii)
Anderson, Terry (i), (ii)
Andrews, Julie (i), (ii)
Another Country (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x)
Apartment Zero (i), (ii), (iii)
Aragona, Giancarlo (i)
Arterton, Gemma (i)
Atkinson, Rowan (i), (ii)
Atterton, Edward (i)
Backstage West (i)
Bacon, Kevin (i)
BAFTAs (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii)
Bakare, Ariyon (i)
Baldwin, William (i)
Bamber, David (i)
Bardem, Javier (i)
Barnes, Ben (i), (ii)
Barton Peveril Sixth Form College (i), (ii), (iii)
BBC (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi), (xii), (xiii), (xiv)
Beacham, Dennis (i)
Bening, Annette (i), (ii)
Bettany, Paul (i), (ii)
Billington, Michael (i)
Binoche, Juliette (i), (ii)
Birtwistle, Sue (i), (ii), (iii)
Biutiful (i)
Blackadder (i), (ii)
Bochner, Hart (i), (ii)
Bonham Carter, Crispin (i)
Bonham Carter, Helena (i), (ii), (iii)
Born Equal (i)
Boy in the Bush (i)
Bradshaw, Peter (i), (ii)
Branagh, Kenneth (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x)
Brassed Off (i)
Bridges, Jeff (i), (ii)
Bridget Jones’s Diary (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi), (xii), (xiii), (xiv), (xv), (xvi), (xvii), (xviii)
sequels (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)
Brooks, Adam (i)
Brosnan, Pierce (i), (ii), (iii)
Bruce, Cyril (grandfather) (i)
Burgess, Guy (i), (ii)
Burrows, Saffron (i)
Bynes, Amanda (i), (ii)
Callow, Simon (i)
Camille (i)
Canning, Iain (i)
Caretaker, The (i)
Cargill, Patrick (i)
Carlyle, Robert (i)
Carter, Jim (i)
Celebration (i)
Chatsky (i), (ii)
Chatto, Daniel (i)
Chevalier, Tracy (i), (ii)
Christmas Carol, A (i)
Christopher, James (i)
Ciampi, Carlo (i)
Circle of Friends (i), (ii), (iii)
Close, Glenn (i)
Conrad, Joseph (i)
Conspiracy (i)
Coulson, Ivo (i)
Coward, Noël (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Crazy Heart (i)
Crown Court (i)
Curtis, Richard (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix)
Daily Express (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi)
Daily Mail 6 (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi)
Daily Mirror (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Daily Record (i), (ii)
Daily Telegraph (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)
Dangerous Liaisons (i), (ii)
Darcy, Mr (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii)
Bridget Jones and (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x)
CF declines (i), (ii)
CF praised for (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)
mania/fans (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi)
see also Pride and Prejudice
Davies, Andrew (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)
Day-Lewis, Daniel (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
de Jongh, Nicholas (i)
Dean Primary School (i)
Dee, Jack (i)
Deep Blue Sea, The (i)
DeGeneres, Ellen (i), (ii)
Dench, Judi (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
‘Department of Nothing, The’ (i)
Desert Island Discs (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)
Doctor’s Dilemma, The (i)
Donovan Quick (i)
Donovan, Martin (i), (ii), (iii)
Dorian Gray (i)
Drama Centre (i), (ii)
Driver, Minnie (i), (ii), (iii)
Dutch Girls (i), (ii)
Easy Virtue (i)
Edwards, Penny (i), (ii), (iii)
Egoyan, Atom (i)
Ehle, Jennifer (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii)
Eisenberg, Jesse (i)
Elizabeth II (i), (ii), (iii)<
br />
Ellen DeGeneres Show (i), (ii)
Elwes, Cary (i)
Empire (i), (ii), (iii)
English Patient, The (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)
Evans, Marc (i), (ii)
Everett, Rupert (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)
Eyre, Richard (i), (ii), (iii)
Femme Fatale (i)
Fettes, Christopher (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)
Fever Pitch (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Fielding, Helen (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Fiennes, Joseph (i), (ii)
Fiennes, Ralph (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)
Firth, Colin:
awards and (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi), (xii), (xiii), (xiv), (xv), (xvi), (xvii), (xviii), (xix), (xx), (xxi), (xxii)
as Mr Darcy, see Darcy, Mr
becomes an actor (i), (ii)
education of (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi)
film work of, see by title
human rights/charity work of (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii)
JE and (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)
LG’s parents and (i), (ii), (iii)
MT and (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii)
politics and (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)
sex-symbol status of (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)
stage work of (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii)
TV work of, see by title
Firth, David Norman Lewis (father) (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x)
Firth, Jonathan (brother) (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)
Firth, Kate (sister) (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)
Firth, Livia (wife), see Giuggioli, Livia
Firth, Luca (son) (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)
Firth, Matteo (son) (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Firth, Shirley (née Rolles) (mother) (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi), (xii)
Firth, William Joseph (‘Will’) (son) (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi), (xii)
Flint-Shipman, Piers (i)
Ford, Tom (i), (ii), (iii)
Forman, Miloš (i), (ii)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (i), (ii)
Fourplay (i)
Fox, Edward (i)
Franco, James (i)
Frears, Stephen (i)
French, Philip (i)
Fry, Stephen (i)
Gambit (i)
Gemmell, Ruth (i), (ii)
Genova (i), (ii)
George VI (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)
Gerritsen, Gusta (i)
Girl with a Pearl Earring, (i), (ii)
Giuggioli, Livia (‘Livy’) (wife) (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi), (xii)
CF courts (i), (ii)
CF marries (i), (ii), (iii)
eco-business of (i), (ii), (iii)
motherhood of (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)
Giuggioli, Nicola (brother-in-law) (i), (ii)
Golden Globes (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)
Goode, Matthew (i), (ii)
Graduate, The (i), (ii)
Graham, Heather (i), (ii)
Grant, Hugh (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi), (xii), (xiii), (xiv), (xv), (xvi)
Grint, Alan (i)
Gritten, David (i)
Guardian (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi), (xii), (xiii), (xiv), (xv), (xvi)
Half, The (i)
Hallmark Hall of Fame (i)
Hamlet (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)
Harker, Susannah (i)
Harpers & Queen (i), (ii), (iii)
Harris, Rosemary (i)
Hendrix, Jimi (i), (ii)
Herman, Mark (i), (ii), (iii)
Heydrich, Reinhard (i)
Hoffman, Dustin (i), (ii)
Hollywood Reporter (i), (ii)
Holmes, Rupert (i)
Hooper, Tom (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)
Hope Springs (i), (ii), (iii)
Hopkins, Anthony (i), (ii)
Hornby, Nick (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii)
Hostages (i), (ii)
Hour of the Pig, The (i), (ii), (iii)
Hudson, Hugh (i)
Hudson, Kate (i)
Hunt, Helen (i)
Hunter, Allan (i)
Ide, Wendy (i)
Ideal Husband, An (i)
Importance of Being Earnest, The (i), (ii), (iii)
In Prison My Whole Life (i)
Independent (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi), (xii), (xiii)
Independent on Sunday (i), (ii), (iii)
Irish Times (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)
Jacob, Irène (i)
James Bond (i), (ii), (iii)
Johansson, Scarlett (i), (ii)
Johnstone, Iain (i)
Kanievska, Marek (i)
Kauffmann, Jean-Paul (i)
Keenan, Brian (i), (ii)
Kelsall, Freda (i), (ii), (iii)
King’s Speech, The (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii)
Kingsley, Ben (i), (ii)
Knightley, Keira (i), (ii), (iii)
LA Times (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Landesman, Cosmo (i)
Langton, Simon (i), (ii)
Lansbury, Angela (i)
Last Legion, The (i)
Lawley, Sue (i), (ii), (iii)
Lawrence, Lt Robert (i), (ii)
Leigh, Jennifer Jason (i)
Les Liaisons Dangereuses (i)
Lincoln, Andrew (i), (ii)
Lonely Way, The (i)
Lost Empires (i)
Love Actually (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)
McCarthy, John (i), (ii)
McGovern, Elizabeth (i)
Mad at the Moon (i)
Madden, John (i)
Maguire, Sharon (i)
Maher, Kevin (i)
Main Street (i), (ii)
Malkovich, John (i), (ii), (iii)
Malmgren, Yat (i)
Mamma Mia! (i), (ii), (iii)
Marchand, Philip (i)
Marhri, Zak (i)
Marmont, Pat (i)
Massey, Anna (i)
Master of the Moor (i), (ii)
Mazower, Jonathan (i)
Minghella, Anthony (i), (ii)
Mitchell, Julian (i), (ii)
Molière, Jean-Baptiste (i), (ii)
Montgomery of Alamein School (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)
Month in the Country, A (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)
Moore, Julianne (i), (ii)
Morrell, Jill (i), (ii)
Morrison, Blake (i)
Morrison, Steve (i)
Morrissey, David (i), (ii)
My Life So Far (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Nanny McPhee (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Neeson, Liam (i), (ii), (iii)
New York Times (i), (ii)
Nigeria (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Nighy, Bill (i), (ii), (iii)
Noble, Caroline (i)
Norman, Robert (i)
Nostromo (i)
Notting Hill (i), (ii)
Observer (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi), (xii), (xiii), (xiv), (xv)
O’Connor, Pat (i), (ii)
Old Vic, London (i), (ii)
Oldman, Gary (i), (ii)
Olivier, Laurence (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (i)
Oscars (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi), (xii), (xiii), (xiv), (xv), (xvi), (xvii), (xviii)
Oyelowo, David (i)
Palmer, Alasdair (i)
Paltrow, Gwyneth (i), (ii), (iii)
Parker, Oliver (i), (ii)
Pfeiffer, Michelle (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Pines, Chris (i)
Pinter, Harold (i), (ii), (iii)
> Playmaker, The (i)
Premiere (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Pride and Prejudice (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi), (xii), (xiii), (xiv), (xv), (xvi), (xvii), (xviii), (xix), (xx), (xxi), (xxii), (xxiii)
see also Darcy, Mr
Priestley, J.B. (i), (ii)
Puig, Claudia (i)
Queen Mother (i), (ii), (iii)
Reed, Frank (i)
Reid, Alastair (i)
Reilly, Arron (i), (ii), (iii)
Reilly, Esmond (i)
Relative Values (i)
Richardson, Natasha (i), (ii)
Rickman, Alan, (i), (ii), (iii)
Robards, Jason (i)
Roberts, Fissy (i)
Rolles, Helen (maternal grandmother) (i)
Rolles, Montague (maternal grandfather) (i)
Rolles, Montague Rolles (maternal great-grandfather) (i)
Rolles, Shirley (mother), see Firth, Shirley
Romeo and Ethel, The Pirate’s Daughter (i)
Rush, Geoffrey (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii)
St. Trinian’s (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)
Sangster, Thomas (i), (ii)
Savage, Dominic (i)
Scacchi, Greta (i)
Scapino (i)
Schnitzler, Arthur (i)
Scofield, Paul (i), (ii), (iii)
Scots Guards (i), (ii), (iii)
Scott Thomas, Kristen (i), (ii), (iii)
Secret Laughter of Women, The (i)
Seidler, David (i), (ii)
Seyfried, Amanda (i)
Shakespeare in Love (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Shine (i)
Shone, Tom (i), (ii)
Single Man, A (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii)
Skarsgård, Stellan (i), (ii)
Social Network, The (i)
Spall, Timothy (i)
Speaking with the Angel (i)
Spencer, Charles (journalist) (i), (ii)
Spielberg, Steven (i)
Steadman, Alison (i), (ii)
Stephenson, Pamela (i)
Stoddart, Patrick (i)
Stoppard, Tom (i)
Streep, Meryl (i), (ii)
Strong, Mark (i)
Stuckart, Wilhelm (i)
Sun (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Sunday Express (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)
Colin Firth Page 22