Colin Firth was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010, for his powerful performance as George Falconer, a depressed gay British university professor in the Tom Ford-directed A Single Man, adapted from the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood.
The pinnacle of his career, so far, is his role as stuttering King George VI in The King’s Speech which won him a BAFTA, aGolden Globe, and finally, in 2011, that over-due Oscar.
He also played gay his West End debut in Another Country(1981), and he was cast in the film adaptation in 1984.
In 1995, his turn as Mr. Darcy in the BBC’sPride And Prejudice made him an icon for many gay guys. He then lampooned his iconic position when he played “Mark Darcy” in Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001).
In so many films, including Love Actually (2003), he plays straight characters that seem gay; I guess because they were British. In Mamma Mia (2008) he played a gay man again, repeating his role as Harry Brigh a decade later in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018).
Here, see what I mean in 10 of my favorite Firth performances:
After winning that Oscar for playing King George VI in The King’s Speech, Firth suggested that he was anti-monarchist in a CNN interview with the deplorable, smug Piers Morgan, noting that voting was “one of my favourite things” and that unelected institutions were “a problem for me….”.
And apparently, Firth likes to wear a dress on occasion.
“If you’re known as a straight guy playing a gay role, you get rewarded for that. If you’re a gay man and you want to play a straight role, you don’t get cast, and if a gay man wants to play a gay role now, you don’t get cast.”
