As Mr. Darcy (1995), BBC, via YouTube

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, a Golden Globe, and finally, in February 2011, that over-due Oscar.

He played gay his West End debut in Another Country (1981) during his last year at the Drama Centre and was cast in the film adaptation in 1984.

In 1995, his turn as Mr. Darcy in the BBC’s Pride And Prejudice made him an icon for many gay guys. In the following decades, in films including Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001) and Love Actually (2003), he played straight characters that seemed gay.  I guess because they were British. In Mamma Mia (2008) he played a gay man again. Next summer, he repeats his role as Harry Brigh in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

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.”