Colin Firth

Born: 10 September 1960
Where: Grayshott, Hampshire, England
Awards: 3 BAFTA and 1 Emmy Nominations
Height: 6' 1"

Few actors have ever burrowed as deeply into the national female psyche as Colin Firth. It seems that no British woman of child-bearing age can quite control herself when his name is mentioned. Or rather, when the name of his most famous character is mentioned. Try it as an experiment; walk into any pub or restaurant and shout out "Cab for Mr Darcy!" The result will always be the same. No man will express the slightest interest, but every woman's eyes will brighten, a coy smile of delight will appear on her lips and her head will revolve as close to 360 degrees as is possible. Just in case it's him - THE Mr Darcy.

There is, you see, only one Mr Darcy. No modern woman has created her own version from the pages of Jane Austen's classic Pride And Prejudice. Neither will she recall the legions of actors who have made the role their own down the years. No, there's only one, with his naturally curly brown locks and searching look, his seemingly cruel aloofness disguising a heart brimming with sensitivity, his body buff as you like as he rises from the sparkling waters of that famous lake. That's Darcy, that's Colin Firth, a man beside whom most women find Brad Pitt about as sexy as his namesake Ingrid.

Now, most actors would despise this kind of attention. They'd find it demeaning, belittling their efforts at thespianism. But Colin Firth is different. He never complains because he understands what Darcy has given him. Having toiled for a decade and a half on stage and screen, having reached the heights of Hollywood starring roles then fallen swiftly backwards, he appreciates a success that means he never wants for work, that allows him to continue in his usual experimental vein. Absolute proof of this came when he played Bridget Jones's love/hate interest Mark Darcy (the fictional Jones worships Firth). He played the typecasting game, because he knew he would win it. Colin Firth, though most are not aware of it, has been around the block.

He was born in Grayshott, Hampshire on the 10th of September, 1960, but spent the first four years of his life in Nigeria. His mother Shirley and father David, both children of Methodist missionaries, had met when they were 3 and 5 respectively, and were working in Nigeria as teachers.

British screen hunk Colin Firth is still baffled so many women found his Pride And Prejudice lake-plunge so sexy, nearly ten years after starring in the TV series. The Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason star leapt to international fame as aloof aristocrat Mr Darcy in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel, and won over an army of female admirers with his famous aquatic scene. Firth says, "I know that people did go mad and thought I was some kind of sex symbol, especially when I came out of the lake, but I'd never thought of myself as sexy. I still find it hard to believe. I thought it was a joke really. I still find myself wondering why anybody would find me sexy."