Colin Firth: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

3. Mark Darcy - Bridget Jones's Diary

This might not have the depravity of Where the Truth Lies or the stark, brutal realism of Tumbledown but this film, more than any other, cemented Firth as a mainstream romantic lead and, at the end of the day, he's bloody good in it too. Taking what could have been Hugh Grant's part as the 'nice guy', Firth gets to play off Renee Zellweger's manic Bridget and Grant's villainous Daniel Cleaver as both men fight for her affections. From the moment you see him in his silly green Christmas jumper to when he tells Bridget he likes her 'just as you are' it is a fleshed out performance in what could have been a throwaway comedy. His role as Mark Darcy harks back to Pride and Prejudice and also to the stereotype of the traditional English gent in the face of Cleaver's randy Romeo. He plays it pretty straight too in a film filled with 'big' performances and when he does confess his love for Bridget it is a great moment in a warm film. Also, let's not forget, a few films aside, including cameos in The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love, this was his first big hit at the box office where he played a significant character. To top it all off, he has street fight with Hugh Grant which, for British audiences, is like putting Stallone and DeNiro into the ring for a boxing match.