During Monday's (April 7) appearance on "The Tonight Show," guest Colin Firth reveals to Jimmy Fallon that the iconic "Pride & Prejudice" scene where he supposedly emerges from a lake in a clingy shirt, dripping wet, never actually happened, despite the fact that it got voted as the most memorable drama moment in British TV history last summer -- which led to a giant statue of the moment being created in Hyde Park.
In the above video, Firth says, "It never happened. I never got out of a lake in a white shirt. ... They've turned me into Ursula Andress from the end of the Bond movie ... a stunt guy jumped into a kind of algae-ridden pond and then it cut to me ... then it got singled out as a memorable moment ... and now 20 years later it's the only thing that happened and they've added the emergence from the lake, which actually never took place."
From Colin Firth's famous lake scene to Laurence Olivier's romantic declaration, we take a trip down memory lane to revisit our favourite portrayals of Austen's brooding hero
Susanna Lazarus
6:27 PM, 28 May 2013
The sight of Colin Firth in his white shirt, breeches and enviable sideburns, emerging from Pemberley's lake certainly stirred the heart of Elizabeth Bennet, not to mention the pulses of countless female viewers across the globe. But while his Mr Darcy remains one of the most iconic in TV history, his portrayal was not the first and is certainly not the last, with the recent announcement that Matthew Rhys will become the latest actor to step into the brooding bachelor's shoes in new BBC serial, Death Comes to Pemberley.
So to celebrate the upcoming three-part adaptation of PD James's Austen spin-off, we thought we'd indulge in a run-through of the finest Mr Darcy's in TV and film history. From Laurence Olivier's 1940s incarnation to Martin Henderson's Bollywood inspired Bride and Prejudice turn, not to mention Matthew Macfadyen's starring role opposite Keira Knightley, here is an essential reminiscence of the very best Mr Darcys...
Laurence Olivier
Even in black and white, Laurence Olivier smoulders as Lizzie Bennet's dashing suitor. After seeing to her sister Lydia's predicament – following her scandalous elopement with deceptive soldier Mr Wickham – Darcy returns to the Bennet household bearing news of Mr Bingley's imminent proposal. But the gallant gent has a surprise of his own up his voluminous sleeve – a second proposal to Lizzie, the outspoken object of his affections. This Mr Darcy has none of the awkward stuttering of latter portrayals – Olivier's smooth delivery and bushy sideburns make for a easy-on-the-eye romantic hero as he shares a smooch with his "dear, beautiful Lizzie".
David Rintoul
Fast-forward to 1980 and David Rintoul was telling Lizzie Bennet "how much I ardently admire and love you" in Darcy's cringe-worthy first proposal. A note to any rich, comely gentlemen readying himself to ask for his loved one's hand in marriage: do not first berate her for "the inferiority of her family, the miserable connection, the degradation and the lack of judgement" she displays. It doesn't go down too well, as can be seen in the following clip...
Matthew Macfadyen
Matthew Macfadyen's turn in Mr Darcy's shoes opposite Hollywood A-lister Keira Knightley was much anticipated – and his frosty presence did not disappoint. Directed by Atonement's Joe Wright, this 2005 silver screen production saw Pride and Prejudice adapted for a 21st century audience, with Macfadyen's brooding presence a rare depiction capable of rivalling Firth's. While his ill-concealed regard for Lizzie emerges later in the film, the following scene sees the pair fire barbed comments back and forth as they dance together during Mr Bingham's Netherfield Ball.
Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville is to drop his heirs, graces and, um, trousers, in his new role as the Duke of Milan in new Fox drama Da Vinci’s Demon’s, the Daily Mail reports!
Bonneville, who plays the highly sophisticated Earl of Grantham in the hit ITV period drama Downton Abbey, says he has no reservations about appearing naked for his new, controversial role.
Da Vinci’s Demon’s is a television drama series about Leonardo da Vinci’s early life, written by David S. Goyer for Fox and Starz networks, with the first of eight instalments due to premier on April 12 2013.
The historical fantasy, filmed in the Welsh coastal city of Swansea will explore the untold story of da Vinci “inventing” the future at the age of 25, and is also rumoured to involve the mystery cult known as the Sons of Mithras.
Bonneville, who appears in the series alongside his former Lost In Austen co-star Tom Riley, filmed the part shortly before filming for the fourth series of Downton began earlier this year and said of his casting:
“When Tom Riley calls and says, ‘How do you fancy playing a naked, hungover git who gets assassinated?’, you tend to say, ‘I’m free on Thursday next week.’”
Hugh Bonneville and Gemma Arterton from "Lost in Austen"
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Gemma Arterton and Hugh Bonneville are lined up for "The Pre-Nup," a new romantic comedy to be directed by Jonathan Lynn, a person familiar with the project told TheWrap.
Currently in pre-production, the film follows an American groom who suggests to his British bride on the night before their wedding that they get a pre-nup.
He is a successful investment banker and she is an expat novelist based in New York. And his father is a former rock star who threatens to cut him off if he doesn't agree to get the legal document.
