“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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 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
“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
“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
“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 like playing strange characters. Some people might say it has something to do with a hidden part of myself, but I think it's a lot simpler than that: normal people are just not very interesting.” PeopleThinkingCharacterMightInterestingStrangeNormalVery Interesting Author:Colin Firth
“In filming you're waiting. You're waiting for lights. You're waiting for people set things up. And when you're not waiting, you're repeating. And neither is conducive to spontaneity, you know. Comedy makes you very, very neurotic because you think, I - but did I nail it?” PeopleThinkingWaitingComedyNeuroticSpontaneity Author:Colin Firth
“I do notice that when I've been away and I come back to London. People look at you. People are ready to pick arguments.” PeopleLooksReadyPicksArgumentLondon Author:Colin Firth
“One of my grandfathers, actually, having gone out there as a minister, decided he would better serve the people as a doctor. So at a very late age - at the age of 38 in fact - he changed course and decided to become a doctor.” PeopleFactsAgeCoursesGoneChangedLateDecidedDoctorsMinistersGrandfatherMy Grandfather Author:Colin Firth
“People have the idea of missionaries as going out with the Bible and hitting natives with it. It's not really what they were doing. They were all doing something rather different.” PeopleIdeasDifferentHittingGoing Out Author:Colin Firth
“Actors are basically drag queens. People will tell you they act because they want to heal mankind or, you know, explore the nature of the human psyche. Yes, maybe. But basically we just want to put on a frock and dance.” PeopleKnowsWantHumansActorsMankindHealQueensDragHuman PsycheDrag Queen Author:Colin Firth
“I think that London is very much like that. I find there's humour in the air and people are interesting. And I think that it's a place which is constantly surprising. The worst thing about it? I think it can be smug and aggressive.” PeopleThinkingInterestingAirWorstHumourLondonAggressiveSurprisingWorst Things Author:Colin Firth
“I would rather five people knew my work and thought it was good work than five million knew me and were indifferent.” PeopleMillionsFiveIndifferentGood Work Author:Colin Firth
“Almost every comedy you see is about people making all wrong choices and making all the errors of judgement possible. Good comedy is when it works on this scale. Because it is psychologically very real.” PeopleRealChoicesComedyErrorsScalesJudgementWrong Choices Author:Colin Firth
“I think it's quite extraordinary that people cast me as if I'm Warren Beatty: until I met my present wife, at the age of 35, you could name two girlfriends.” PeopleIfsThinkingTwoAgeNamesWifeMetsExtraordinaryCastsGirlfriendBirthday60th BirthdayBeatty Author:Colin Firth
“I'm not patient, and some things drive me crazy. In my work, I get incredibly upset when people don't get it right or don't respect others' needs.” PeopleNeedsCrazyPatientUpsetRespecting OthersDrive Me Crazy Author:Colin Firth
“The English people, a lot of them, would not be able to understand a word of spoken Shakespeare. There are people who do and I'm not denying they exist. But it's a far more philistine country than people think.” PeopleThinkingCountryAblePhilistines Author:Colin Firth
“I work with the options I have in front of me and my reasons for choosing a job can vary enormously depending on the circumstances. Sometimes I take a job because it's a group of people I'm dying to work with, and sometimes it can be a desire to shake things up a bit and not to take myself too seriously.” PeopleSometimesReasonJobsDesireBitsGroupsDyingFrontsCircumstancesShakesVary Author:Colin Firth
“My parents and grandparents have always been engaged in teaching or the medical profession or the priesthood, so I've sort of grown up with a sense of complicity in the lives of other people, so there's no virtue in that; it's the way one is raised.” PeopleWayParentVirtueTeachingRaisedProfessionMedicalEngagedGrandparentLives Of OthersPriesthoodMedical ProfessionComplicityParents And Grandparents Author:Colin Firth
