“I’ve decided the quintessential Englishman I play doesn’t exist,” says Colin, while promoting his latest film, The Accidental Husband, in which he appears as... a quintessential Englishman.

“I play him but you don’t run into him very often. There aren’t very many Mr Darcys out there. I think he’s a figment of our folklore, or film lore.”

But while Colin, who is renowned for being among the most charming and well-mannered of all English actors, doesn’t believe his own hype, he reports that foreign fans have fallen for it hook, line and sinker.

“I was questioned on this by a group of Greek journalists recently while making a movie version of Mamma Mia!” he says.

“They were insisting on the stereotypical Englishman, that no Englishman had ever grown his hair long, played the electric guitar or pierced his ear. There was no Johnny Rotten, no John Lennon.

“One of them said that all Englishmen were like Prince Philip, whom I pointed out happens to be Greek. So I think my character exists in mythology and he may have existed once but now he only exists in the hands of actors.”

So weary is Colin of the endless comparisons to fictional heart-throbs – a situation not helped by his taking the role of Mark Darcy, the dashing beau of Pride And Prejudice-loving heroine Bridget in the Bridget Jones movies – that he claims he has a mental block about the time when all anyone could talk about was a certain scene involving a pond and a white shirt. “The memories have all faded,” he says. “They’ve all gone.”

SEARCH DAY & NIGHT for:

Share... • Got A Story? Get in touch online • Email the news desk directly here!

Next story... Cowell should sing for his fellow judges AFTER spending years lambasting the nation’s singing ability on The X Factor, it’s abo...

Print This Article

Email To A Friend

Contact Us About Article

Get RSS