 The
role that almost drove me crazy
by Sally Brockway
Portraying a Falklands
war hero gave Colin Firth nightmares. He's much happier as a murder suspect!
Drama
Ruth Rendell Mysteries:
Master of the Moor
ITV, Friday
New three-part psychological
thriller. A man's premonition comes true when he finds the body of a murdered
girl.
TV Times FIVE-STAR RATING
****
 With
his boyish features, dark brown eyes and manly 6ft 1 in frame, it's not
surprising that Colin Firth has become known for playing dashing heroes
and handsome ladies' men. He was a compulsive womaniser in the film Valmont,
based on the same play as Dangerous Liaisons, and became the most envied
man in Britain when he seduced Catherine Zeta Jones in the BBC drama Out
of the Blue.
But there's nothing
heroic about his latest screen character, furniture repairer Stephen Whalby,
who is suspected of being an obsessive killer in the new three-part Ruth
Rendell Mystery, Master of the Moor, beginning on ITV on Friday.
'This guy wears an anorak
and isn't at all handsome,' laughs Colin, 33. 'He's not much of a ladies'
man either - he's been married for four years and his wife is still a virgin.'
Colin found playing
an unattractive character a liberating experience. 'I feel silly playing
these heroic types but I found that I could really get into Stephen's character
because I wasn't at all concerned about what I looked like. He's a bit
of a social misfit, and I got to understand him - and to like him. He's
pretty heroic in his own quiet way.'
To date, Colin is best
known for his portrayal of soldier Robert Lawrence in the controversial
drama Tumbledown, about the Falklands war: The part had a profound effect
on him - for three years afterwards he was haunted by nightmares. 'I was
worried about my sanity,' he confesses. 'I really felt as if I'd experienced
all these terrible things. It messed my head up a bit. 'Since then, I've
constantly asked myself the question: Is acting worth it? On the one hand
it's not, but if another part like Robert Lawrence came along, I don't
think I'd be able to turn it down.'
His sanity is perfectly
safe in his next role as romantic hero Mr Darcy in a BBC adaptation of
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, currently being filmed. While on location
for the series he mixed filming with fatherhood - his three-year-old son
William stayed with him for three and a half months.
William's mother is
actress Meg Tilly, who went to Canada after she and Colin split up. Colin
is reluctant to talk about the split, but it's clear how much he loves
William. 'It was terrible when he went home,' he says. 'I missed him badly.
But to him, travelling all the way to England is a big adventure.' |
