A
My Hols celebrity travel special
Colin Firth, 47, became a household name after appearing as Fitzwilliam
Darcy in the BBC television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, then as Mark
Darcy (no relation) in Bridget Jones’s Diary. He stars with Meryl Streep and
Pierce Brosnan in the Mamma Mia! movie, which will be released on July 10.
He is married to the Italian film producer/director Livia Giuggioli; they
have two sons, Luca, 7, and Matteo, 4, and live in London and Italy
‘My first great adventure was a trip across America with my family in 1972. My
father was working in Missouri, so I spent a year at junior high in St
Louis.
I wasn’t crazy about the school days, but I adored the country – there are so
many versions of the planet on one continent. Each school vacation, we took
off on a road trip. The first Christmas, we drove south to Baton Rouge,
hugging the shining Mississippi River all the way down through Mississippi
state, Tennessee and Memphis, then into Louisiana.
Everything from the landscape to the vegetation to the people blew me away.
Americans are bursting with warmth and friendliness. When our old Volkswagen
broke down – which it did frequently – people fixed our car and offered us
hospitality with no expectations. In the current climate of negativity about
US foreign policy, it’s something Europeans don’t realise unless they’ve
travelled the real small-town America.
I married an Italian 10 years ago, and we spend a good deal of time in Rome
and Umbria, but my mastery of the Italian tongue remains only functional,
despite many of my crucial family relationships being conducted entirely in
the language. It’s rather absurd to try to speak Italian unless you have got
the hands right.
Their expressions integrate with their body language, whereas Brits zero in on
wordplay. For example, there’s no Italian word for “wit”, which is bizarre,
because there are certain areas of English-speaking society that wouldn’t be
able to function without it.
I was in Nigeria as a toddler and I have things that pass for memories, but
they’re probably vivid reedited versions of memories. I haven’t been back to
West Africa, but I went to Ethiopia for Oxfam a few years ago. I was
prepared for the poverty, but not to fall in love with the country so
forcibly.
I had an idea of Ethiopia based on the images of famine in the 1980s – and
those parched regions we’re all familiar with do exist – but we stayed in
lush mountain regions, surrounded by breathtaking beauty and abundant
wildlife. You couldn’t tell the churches or mosques apart except by the
cross or crescent on their tin roofs – and people lived incredibly
harmoniously, stripped of all of those shades of difference.
I love the desert: every single change of light or movement of the sun is
reflected in the landscape. One of the most unforgettable things I’ve seen
was when I was in Tunisia filming The English Patient. We were in the
northern Sahara, a place called Tozeur, where there’s a vast shott, or salt
lake.
It’s actually a crunchy, soggy salt plain that stretches out for miles either
side and has the quality of a lunar surface, or silvery snow. In certain
light, you couldn’t see the horizon, and a dilapidated bus that had sunk
into it looked as if it were suspended in midair. At sunset, the lake became
a mirror reflecting the brilliant, blood-red sky – it was spectacular.
Everyone who’s travelled has places that loom largest in their affections, and
for me it’s the west of Scotland. I first holidayed there with a friend when
I was 25. We were pretty tame – no hiking boots and hostile terrain, just an
amble through the farm gates and up the hill.
Then I filmed around Loch Fyne a few years ago, around the time I was about to
get married, and it seemed imbued with an impossibly romantic glow. I’ve
since met two other actors who got married next to the loch, so there’s
probably some nuptial element in the waters. Perhaps I should bottle it.
I opened an eco-shop in London last year, called Eco [on Chiswick High Road],
and now I’m very conscious of my carbon footprint. I’ve found that casually
hopping on a plane to go somewhere for fun is not a decision I can take
without thinking. Yet while there are people out there who say flying has to
stop, I can’t go along with that in the absolute.
Economic development, conflict resolution, the health of economies and
exposure to other cultures and experiences – it’s all too richly rewarding,
isn’t it?’
Have admired Colin for his acting ability since his early work - not to mention the fact he is so easy on the eye - but all of his interviews reinforce the fact that he appears to be a really grounded, no nonsense guy despite fame. Hang on to that Colin! Me, Morocco is to die for!!!!!
Dolores Ferris, Dublin, Ireland
This man is so full of emotions !!!He can easily express them not only in acting but also in talking and of course in writing, (the department of nothing) because he also has this talent.
It's so optimistic to watch this kind of people.
He must be very proud of himself.
Eri Greece, Athens, Greece
Mmmmm, anything Colin Firth...he's so chameleon-like and wonderful and articulate and sexy and intelligent and gentle and mmmm, lovely. Thanks for this special glimpse into his mind and thoughts on the peoples and places of the world.
Sue, Airdrie, Canada
One of Mr Firth's many qualities is modesty.
I've heard him being interviewed in Italian and trust me his Italian is much better that "functional".
As a non native speaker of both Italian and English, yet a native speaker of Greek, i have a feeling that there's more in the word "wit". Isn't so ?
Rita, Athens, Greece
Men are usually so critical about Colin... Why so ? )))
Camilla, Moscow, Russia
It's so nice to hear a bit about the 'man' himself. I loved hearing about his family trip across the U.S. as a lad.
Too bad I hadn't run into him then!
I didn't know he had visited Louisiana. It's nice to hear he appreciates the U.S. as well. Hope he visits South Fla soon he'd love South Beach!
Michele, Miami, FL, USA
This man is DELECTABLE. He has looks, he can act, and he speaks like a poet.
His lucky wife must pinch herself at times. I lived in the USA for a year whilst my husband taught chemistry and the Americans were very welcoming. I agree with Colin about the deep South - I adored New Orleans.
Rose , Bath, UK
I very much look forward to any Colin Firth film that comes to America. They have such depth and character development which is so lacking in most American films. The rely heavily on wonderfully written dialogue and the artistry of great direction. He is getting better with age.
Linda , Sunnyvale , USA
I've become very fond of Colin Firth over the years--from Pride & Prejudice on BBC, to Love Actually (the pond scene is priceless), to the more recent 'When Did You Last See Your Father,' which is one of the more engaging films of 2008... Looking forward to Mama Mia as well.
Thanks Mr. Darcy!
Elan Durham, Santa Monica, CA/US
As your Italian is only functional, Colin, perhaps you shouldn't hold firth, or rather, forth on Italian not having a word for wit. It's "spirito" as in "battuta di spirito" - joke or "spiritoso" - witty. Italians are not aware that we Brits regard ourselves as wits, so don't respond as we expect.
david, milano, italy