10 Actors Who Were Haunted By Their Movie Roles

Colin Firth’s spellbinding portrayal of King George VI is a performance that receives nowhere near enough the adoration or recognition it wholeheartedly deserves. Although the actor saw much critical acclaim for his extraordinary work in bringing the former King to the big screen, the role wasn’t without its challenges for Firth.

The challenge for him came in the form of accurately conveying George’s signature stammer. George suffered from a serious speech impediment that made performing speeches to the masses a daunting and near-impossible task for him to accomplish without his stutter stealing the spotlight from him.

The Englishman carefully studied recordings of George that highlighted the man’s mannerisms and general tics that were linked to his stammer, as well as working alongside a vocal coach.

Firth’s performance made it abundantly clear he had done his homework, as he executed George’s imperfection perfectly. However, the actor himself admitted that he was struggling to rid himself of the stammer he had spent so long adapting, while even stuttering during the interview detailing this.

As well as this, Firth spoke of the physical toll the task took on him, telling The Guardian that “It had an effect on my body – headaches… it put my left arm to sleep, it was very peculiar… It was a semi-paralysis that would last three or four days.”

The King's Speech was certainly an arduous and tenuous experience for Colin Firth, but with his name engrained on an Academy Award, you’d say it was more than worth it in the end.