“On his fight scene with Hugh Grant in Bridget Jones: It was a delicious experience.” FightingSceneGrantsDeliciousBridget Jones Author:Colin Firth
“The Hollywood Foreign Press have just given me a time out from my 20-year midlife crisis. My heartfelt thanks to them.” YearsGivenHollywoodCrisisPressesThanksHeartfeltMidlifeMidlife CrisisHeartfelt Thanks Author:Colin Firth
“No matter how much technique you draw on or how much training you have, acting is a mystery.” MatterActingMysteryTrainingDrawsTechnique Author:Colin Firth
“If you're playing someone who's got marital problems, you have to play someone who's trying not to have marital problems. So, you've got to get into the problem first.” IfsTryingFirstsPlayProblemPlaying Someone Author:Colin Firth
“If you're playing someone who's impeded by fear, or shyness, or has whatever dysfunction your character might have, you have to achieve the dysfunction first, imaginatively, in order to play someone who is trying to negotiate their way out of it.” IfsWayTryingFirstsPlayCharacterMightOrderAchieveShynessDysfunctionPlaying Someone Author:Colin Firth
“I can't bring you absolute truth in the detailed factual sense. All I can do is bring you an interpretation as I understand it. That's all you can ever get from an actor.” I CanActorsCan DoAbsolutesInterpretationAbsolute TruthFactual Author:Colin Firth
“The great thing about dealing with people about whom we have historical resources, is that if the writing needs work, there's everywhere to go to enrich it.” PeopleIfsNeedsWritingResourcesHistoricalGreat ThingsDealing With People Author:Colin Firth
“Sometimes to think about why some institutions are stable, it's interesting to go one generation back and look at the author of that stability.” ThinkingLooksSometimesInterestingGenerationsInstitutionsStabilityStableTime To Think Author:Colin Firth
“Comedy - particularly the frothy and frivolous - is notoriously neglected by festivals and awards. But it's bloody hard to get right.” HardComedyAwardsBloodyFestivalsNeglectedFrivolous Author:Colin Firth
“I think everyone is throwing happy stuff at you, and that's when you come over all humbug. It's happy stuff in your face, happy stuff is being sold to you.” ThinkingFacesStuffYour FaceThrowingHumbug Author:Colin Firth
“When I look in the mirror, I don't see my Dad, I see my grandmother. For a while it was my mother looking back at me. If only it was my Dad.” IfsLooksMotherDadMirrorsMy DadGrandmotherLooking BackMy Grandmother Author:Colin Firth
“Doing a job, or even watching a film, can make a difference to your life, but I don't think it ever has an explosive impact where your life will never be the same again. It kind of seeps into your life, and perhaps realise you're a little more vigilant about certain things than you might have been.” ThinkingKindLittlesHas BeensMightJobsFilmCertainDifferencesImpactMaking A DifferenceRealisingMight Have BeenExplosivesVigilant Author:Colin Firth
“It was mainly to do with Helen Hunt, to be honest. That's what drew my attention to it. I was interested in the fact that she was going to be directing. I'd never met her but she projects a degree of intelligence and it was convincing t me that she'd be able to handle this sort of material very well.” WellsFactsAbleAttentionHonestMaterialsMetsDegreesProjectsHandleBeing HonestHuntsConvincingHelen Author:Colin Firth
“I find that at almost every press junket I get that comment, "this character's different from what you generally play..." And that's OK! But I think "generally play" stems back to Mr Darcy. I'm fine with it but I tend to find that if it's a departure, which in other people's words it always is, it's always a departure from that.” PeopleIfsThinkingDifferentPlayCharacterFinePressesCommentStemDepartureDarcy Author:Colin Firth
“Certainly, from where I stand, I'm not a specialist in wildly different walks and voices. But I find as much variation and nuance as what satisfies me in what I do. So, I don't find this particularly different. He has his own peculiarities. You're probably talking about a cluster of Englishmen in suits but I've done quite a big cluster of guys not in suits as well, which I've occupied myself with. So, I don't find that this is the one that stands out.” WellsDifferentDoneBigsGuyVoiceWalksTalkingSuitsStanding OutVariationEnglishmenNuanceSpecialistsClusters Author:Colin Firth
“I think the dictator director is based upon stories from the past. I don't think anyone would put up with it now. There are a lot of people on a film set with egos. So, to be completely authoritarian, you'd probably have to have a reputation like Kurosowa or somebody to get away with it.” PeopleThinkingStoriesPastFilmDirectorsEgoReputationGet AwayDictatorFilm Set Author:Colin Firth
“Directors don't get to see other directors at work - they're the only one on the set. I've met directors who've asked me what another filmmaker is like. So, there's probably nobody better placed to make all the comparisons and to pick up stuff than an actor.” ActorsStuffMetsDirectorsPicksFilmmakerComparison Author:Colin Firth
“So, if you haven't picked up some tips during an apprenticeship like that, you shouldn't be directing. It doesn't mean you can do it, but it loads you up with information.” IfsMeanCan DoHavensInformationLoadYou Can Do ItApprenticeship Author:Colin Firth
“There's no point in it unless it's a story that you really want to tell. It's a nebulous job. Unless you're doing it well, you're not doing anything. And there are a few of those. It's perfectly possible to be a passenger on a film set because if somebody else has written it, you can make nothing of that role and that's exactly what bad directors do.” IfsWantWellsStoriesJobsFilmRolesWrittenDirectorsNo PointPassengersFilm Set Author:Colin Firth
“There's a paraphrase about Orson Welles saying: "Great films are made by great directors and the rest are made by everyone else." I've been very lucky... before I start insulting the profession of directing, but I think a good director is everything and a bad director really is nothing at all.” ThinkingMadeFilmLuckyDirectorsProfessionPhrasesInsultingGreat FilmGood Directors Author:Colin Firth
“It's entirely to do with personality, I think. There are good directors who talk a lot, bad directors who talk a lot, and good directors who don't say much and vice-versa. It just depends on whether people respond to that personality and whether people have a willingness to do something for them.” PeopleThinkingPersonalityDependsDirectorsVicesWillingnessVice VersaGood Directors Author:Colin Firth
“It's whether they have a vision and whether they're able to communicate it. The best director is just someone who gets over-excited about doing it - they don't even have to know much about camera or acting.” KnowsAbleActingVisionDirectorsCamerasCommunicateExcitedGet Over Author:Colin Firth
“It's hard to get yourself into a position where someone will trust you to direct a film anyway, whatever sex you are. Certainly in England, the film set is a very male preserve. There's a lot of very rough looking men pushing equipment around that don't want the gaffer to be a girl.” MenWantHardFilmGirlSexPositionDirectEnglandMalesPreservesPushingRoughEquipmentFilm Set Author:Colin Firth
“Some people come up to be directors by coming through the camera department and there's not a lot of women in the camera department. The ones that are have to kind of prove they're one of the boys, I think. I don't want to get into trouble with generalisations but I think it's a fair observation.” PeopleThinkingWantKindBoysTroubleDirectorsProveFairsCamerasCome UpObservationDepartmentGeneralisation Author:Colin Firth
“And that is a hard route for a woman to come through. There's still a lot of roles that have to be conformed to. It's quite an old fashioned environment in a lot of ways.” WayStillsHardRolesEnvironmentRoutesOld Fashioned Author:Colin Firth
“Less racist now but it has been. I don't think it's been completely stamped out. There's a class element to it. And who's supposed to do what. You're very unlikely to get a gay grip.” ThinkingHas BeensClassGayElementsRacistUnlikely Author:Colin Firth
“I've actually heard people protesting furiously about straight male costume people as well. It's not universal and there are examples that break the mould all over the place. In my experience, it's more prevalent in the UK than in America.” PeopleWellsAmericaBreakHeardExampleUniversalMalesCostumesMould Author:Colin Firth
“I don't think it's aiming at gags, I think the humour is woven into it. It's part of how the characters operate and how they deal with disaster because they're worldly enough to have a bit of irony and wryness about their own circumstances. So, I think the humour comes out of that.” ThinkingEnoughCharacterBitsDealsHumourCircumstancesDisasterIronyWorldlyWovenGags Author:Colin Firth
“I do also think it eludes genre a bit - not in any groundbreaking way but you can't quite call it a comedy and you can't quite call it a romantic anything. It's not quite a drama either really. But it has elements of all those things.” ThinkingWayBitsComedyDramaElementsGenreEludeGroundbreaking Author:Colin Firth
“I don't know if there's a problem with original ideas... I think a healthy film industry should have a good supply of good, original writing.” IfsThinkingKnowsShouldWritingIdeasProblemFilmIndustryHealthyShould HaveOriginalsFilm IndustryOriginal Ideas Author:Colin Firth
“I do think a good story in a novel is fair game and there's nothing wrong with adapting that. It sometimes gets a bit facile where they think: "Let's get the next best-seller and see if we can turn it into a film."” IfsThinkingSometimesStoriesFilmTurnsNextGamesBitsNovelFairsGood StorySellersAdaptingBest SellersFair Game Author:Colin Firth
“I think it helps to get a film made because people who put money in are nervous. They like to have something recognisable enough to make them secure that there's a pattern there - that someone else put their money into something like this and made it back.” PeopleThinkingMadeEnoughHelpingFilmPatternsNervousSecureMade It Author:Colin Firth
“But this is where you get all the market research and things get in danger of becoming formulaic, and where you depend on brands and getting recognised actors. It's the thing that precludes risk very often, otherwise everyone would be avant-garde all over the place.” Would BeActorsRiskDangerDependsBecomingResearchBrandsAvant GardeMarket Research Author:Colin Firth
“Something like Shakespeare in Love, which became such an established hit that it now seems like a foregone conclusion... but it really wasn't. The script was around for a very, very long time and had people chickening out all the time.” PeopleLongSeemsLong TimeScriptsConclusion Author:Colin Firth
“So, I think there's a danger that good stuff can fall by the wayside if it doesn't conform to formula. But I think it comes down to money and they just don't know where it's going if they haven't got any precedent.” IfsThinkingKnowsFallStuffHavensDangerFormulasConformPrecedent Author:Colin Firth
“They said: "Make it in this amount of time and go for it now..." Which is why I was suddenly ambushed and we all found ourselves doing it. I suspect this wasn't quite recognisable in its genre to give people the confidence just to throw money at it.” PeopleGivingSaidFoundAmountGenreSuspectsThey Said Author:Colin Firth
“The way I've described Helen's sort of rigorous honesty I just think he also has tremendously. It's very strange... he just has this sort of way of making it happen really. You're not really aware of being directed, so much as being a part of this thing.” ThinkingWayHappensHonestyStrangeHelen Author:Colin Firth
“I have almost no memory of them [St. Trinian's films]. I don't think I've seen them since I was quite young. I was a bit frightened of the girls. I fancied them. Even though I was young, I found them attractive and rather frightening. I've always been attracted to frightening girls! I'm married to one!” ThinkingFilmYoungGirlFoundBitsMemoriesMarriedAttractiveFrightenedFrighteningNo Memory Author:Colin Firth
“To work effectively in a film, you have to repeat and work consistently. Basically, you shoot a big master then you do close-ups. You're supposed to be in the same moment, the same 30-second moment, for a day.” MomentsBigsFilmMastersSupposed To BeRepeatsConsistently Author:Colin Firth
“The skill of a good actor is to make it always seem like you're in that fantastically spontaneous moment. Very often, a stand-up comedian has a different instinct, which is to reinvent. Once you've laid down some material, and made them laugh, you move on and find some new material.” MadeDifferentMomentsSeemsMovingActorsLaughingMaterialsLike YouSkillsInstinctComedianSpontaneousGood ActorsStand Up Comedian Author:Colin Firth
“I often think it can often be very difficult for comedians to revisit the same gag. I think Russell's a bit more than a comedian.” ThinkingBitsDifficultComedianOften IsGags Author:Colin Firth
“It's a funny thing - the reality is I have no feelings about school. It's long gone. Funnily enough, the bad memories - of which I don't have any left to be honest, I can just remember a sense of tedium - have faded. And teachers that I liked have remained quite vivid. There are three or four left.” LongI CanEnoughFeelingsRealitySchoolRememberThreeLeftMemoriesGoneTeacherFourHonestBeing HonestVividFunny ThingsFadedTediumBad Memories Author:Colin Firth
“If I'd loved my chemistry teacher and my maths teacher, goodness knows what direction my life might have gone in. I remember there was a primary school teacher who really woke me up to the joys of school for about one year when I was ten. He made me interested in things I would otherwise not have been interested in - because he was a brilliant teacher. He was instrumental in making me think learning was quite exciting.” IfsThinkingKnowsYearsHas BeensMadeMightSchoolRememberJoyGoneTeacherTenGoodnessExcitingMathBrilliantPrimariesChemistrySchool TeachersPrimary SchoolMath TeacherChemistry Teachers Author:Colin Firth
“It's an unknown quantity. It's actually almost a cliché to say it, how hard comedy is. What's that famous quote? "Dying is easy, comedy's hard." I think the broader it gets, if you miss by a millimetre, you've missed completely. It's a very hard thing to do.” IfsThinkingHardEasyComedyDyingMissingThings To DoQuantityHard Things Author:Colin Firth
“But it's interesting being directed by someone who is a very good actor. There's nothing like it. It might sound like a territorial thing about what I do, but I don't think you can understand what it is until you've done it. I know that to be a fact.” ThinkingKnowsDoneFactsMightActorsSoundInterestingVery GoodGood ActorsTerritorial Author:Colin Firth
“However good a communicator a director is, unless they've been actors, it's just not the same as the shorthand you get with someone who's been an actor.” ActorsDirectorsCommunicatorsShorthand Author:Colin Firth
“Firth - all dodgy 'tache and frantic eyebrows - has got the sexual allure of a man who runs a swingers' club in Surbiton.” MenRunningClubsEyebrowsFranticAllure Author:Colin Firth
“It didn't have to be a newfound respect for the craft, I knew that it's notoriously difficult and frightens a lot of people off. I don't think anyone knows quite who to attribute it to, but the dying actor who says: "dying is easy, comedy is hard." I hear it.” PeopleThinkingKnowsHardActorsEasyDifficultComedyDyingCraftsAttributes Author:Colin Firth
“I have a great deal of respect for the craft, I don't know how much respect it has for me. But it's a precision process. Doing it on stage would be, I think, terrifying. Doing it on film has its own difficulties, because film is not conducive to spontaneity. You might have a run through and get a few chuckles at eight o'clock in the morning, but you don't keep laughing at the same thing all day long.” ThinkingKnowsLongMightWould BeRunningFilmProcessDealsMorningLaughingKnow HowStageDifficultyEightCraftsClockSpontaneityPrecisionChuckles Author:Colin Firth
