The League of Austen Artists: Colin Firth: This Timeless Romantic Hero Makes Us Blush (She Knows Love)

If there were ever a man to be described as "dashing," it's Colin Firth. This refined Brit's smooth delivery, wry sense of humor and classic good looks let him slide seamlessly from modern to historical roles — meaning he has a tendency to make women swoon no matter what the century. Now, in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, set in Cold War-era Britain, he dons another sexy costume: that of a secret agent. Whether we're donning lacy pantaloons or leopard-print knickers in our romantic fantasies — trust us — Colin Firth is there, waiting to sweep us off our feet.

Colin Firth

Born: Sept. 10, 1960
Hometown: Hampshire, England
Height: 6' 1-1/2"

Why we love him

We can picture that sexy accent amid grassy, rolling hills or on the streetscapes of modern London — we like it when an actor can morph depending on our mood!

He was chick-lit heroine Bridget Jones's paramour, both in her fantasies and in her "real" life

In author Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones novels, Bridget famously name-checked Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy in the British mini-series version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as the ideal romantic partner. Then Colin Firth actually signed up to play Bridget's real-life love interest, Mark Darcy, alongside Renée Zellweger in the film versions of the Bridget Jones books. Whew! And that was a whole lot of awesome going on right there, because Colin is sexy, whether he's wearing a cravat or a reindeer sweater at a turkey curry buffet.

Curvy girls, take note!: Zellweger famously put on weight for her role as Bridget — and Colin liked her better that way.

"I've always preferred Renée, physically, in Bridget mode," he told TV Guide. "I think that it's very pleasing. She's a very beautiful girl whatever she does, but I think that [as] Bridget [she] looks gorgeous and I wouldn't see any great need to get on the treadmill afterward."

In that case, we'd like to upgrade our Firth fantasies to a candlelit Italian dinner and then some sexy alone time!

He loves his craft

Ask Colin yourself, and he'll describe his booty-shaking role in 2008's Mamma Mia! (alongside Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried) as "one of the best things I've ever done, I think."

But he's also capable of doing a 180 with a character who's intriguing in a completely different way. He described how seriously he took his portrayal of tongue-tied King George VI in 2010's The King's Speech to the Wall Street Journal:
"[W]henever I play someone who suffers, I feel there's a danger that I'm an imposter," he said. "So it's a relief that people who stammer haven't felt misrepresented. The reason why people tell stories and read stories and see films is to feel less alone. And if there's a story that takes everyone through something like this, it's a way to say to others, 'Now you live through it and see how it feels.' And if my profession gets that wrong, we've lost that opportunity. So it's a great relief not to have dropped the ball."

We think the Academy got it very, very right when they awarded Firth the Best Actor Oscar in 2011.

His frank discussion of winning the Oscar is refreshing

Winning an Oscar? It takes some getting used to, according to Firth. We love the description of winning the statue and its aftermath that he gave to the U.K.'s Den of Geek:

"The main problem is actually taking stock and realising that [the Oscar lead-up is] to be enjoyed, because it’s very active and you’re travelling a great deal, and you’re talking about yourself a lot in artificial circumstances with a microphone pointed at you in a way that you’re probably babbling and not saying anything that represents what you really think or mean, it’s just talking, and then it suddenly happens, and it’s suddenly over, and it’s very odd, it’s a slightly numbing effect. I think, when major things happen to us, whether they’re good or bad, I think there’s a slight shock."

And did he remember going up to receive the Oscar?

"No. Don’t remember. That’s extraordinary, completely numb, but I remember thinking at the time, I’ll probably wake up in July and get very excited about it. That did happen, and I did, a month or two ago, get very excited about the fact it had all happened, but it was all a bit lonely, because everyone had gone home! The party was over."

We'll party with you, Colin!

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Colin Firth's relationship status

Colin has been married to Italian film producer/director Livia Giuggioli since 1997. They have two sons. Before he married Giuggioli, he had one child with actress Meg Tilly. When he met Livia on a movie set in 1995, he told The Mirror, "I remember seeing her through this crowd of people and just knowing that I had to get to her." Even better than a line in a romance novel!