My dear Firthness friend Julia B had this neat idea to post pictures of the various Mr. Darcys we've had on film these passed 60 years! I hope you don't mind I steal it, Julia?

If you have pictures feel free to post them by using html tags

My first: Matthew Macfadyen, the new Mr. Darcy...



Renée

Colin as Mr. Darcy...

And a 'lesser God' IMHO, David Rintoul, even though he doesn't look that bad in this picture.

I found a few fab pictures of this beautiful couple who played our beloved couple in the first movie adaptation of P&P... I haven't seen it, unfortunately.







Perhaps he wasn't a 'real' Darcy, but OMG, he's handsome... I don't like his breeches though.

Renée

And another one...

And one in full colour...

You're too generous to trifle with me...



Ain't he handsome...?

But so is he!

One of my favourites of Colin's Darcy. The happy, hopeful expression on his face is so poignant. Love the following expression of determination to very much.
R~

my favourite is matthew!!!

it's just so weird , i always used to imagine
my "dreamboy" and when i saw p&p3 i was like "what?
it's him!! whhhhaaaaahhhh!"

but i don't really know what matthew is really like
and that's most important actually so maybe i'm not
really in love with him , i'm just in love with Darcy!

You're in good company, Alicia, aren't we all in love with Mr. Darcy? I thought I'd could only like Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, but that's not true. I like Matthew Macfadyen as much. It's the character that counts, right?

Renée

I first read P&P when I was 11, i am now 40 For me MM was/is Darcy, and KK is Lizzie, being a rather outspoken girl, i always thought Lizzie had more oopmh than portrayed in previous asaptations.. Also though I know she is not supposed to be a great beauty. In my imagination she always was pretty... tanned...dishevelled....

Hello Trixiara,

I used to be totally addicted to the BBC mini-series and became a great fan of Colin Firth. I still like the series very much, but I'm totally enchanted by the new movie and I'm not surprised that the new Lizzy and Mr. Darcy have caused a new wave of P&P fans.

I've read the book while in high school eons ago, but since I saw the BBC production for the first time in 2002, I read the book at least once a year.

Renee:
Thanks for sharing these. I'm the same way... I wore out the VHS version of the BBC's Pride and Prejudice and never expected that anyone could replace Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Now, I'm forced to admit that I think MM's interpretation is far better and he to me totally captured the true spirit of Darcy. By the way, the original with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier was a real disappointment!

Hello Maya! I understand your feelings about Greer and Olivier, but I must confess, I was delighted by the movie. It has very little to do with the book, of course, but I thought Olivier dashing, and Elizabeth beautiful. (Olivier's Darcy was way too nice and witty as of the beginning of course).

I suppose it's my age that makes me feel a little differently towards it. I see it as a product of its era, a typical Hollywood movie of the fourties and I'm sure my mum would have loved it if there wasn't a war in Europe at the time . I must ask her if she knows it!

PThe one and only Darcy has always been and I dare say will always be the most beautiful man in the world:Colin Firth.Not only is he sexy,haughty and gorgeous , he also knew his role.MM is a great actor, also very, very handsome and sexy.But he is not Mr Darcy.He plays the role of a very shy,hoplessly in love young gentleman who became bold enough to confess himself in love after much struggling.Mr Darcy, Austen Darcy ,is an arrogant petulant ( cute indeed anyway) who falls madly in love with the very kind of woman he despises.But in the end he is transformed by the love for this woman.Do not misunderstand me.I think MM was great anyway, but he cannot replace the longing looks casted by Colin´s beautiful dark eyes.Don't you agree Renee?

As I said before, I totally and completely fell in love with Colin's Darcy a couple of years ago and I still think he's great. MM's Darcy is very different but not less endearing to me. I stated somewhere else that I see Colin's Darcy more as a fashionable Byronesque member of the ton (indeed coming across far more arrogant than MM), whereas MM's Darcy is more the man of the wild outdoors of the North, conscious of his upbrining and descent, but a little less of his looks.

We all like to fill in our ideas of Mr. Darcy, but actually Jane Austen herself doesn't reveal so much, at least not before the letter: he is basically judged by the people surrounding him. What do we really know about him? That he is tall and clever, haughty, reserved and fastidious. The rest is based on the negative opinions of the Hertfordshire community because they don't understand him and because his manners are so in contrast with those of his friend Bingley...

Anyway, to be completely honest, the BBC series, however true to the book (even though Andrew Davies took many liberties), I prefer the dynamics of the movie. The cinematography is much nicer, the music, the scenery and the acting, I imagine, more appealing to a younger public.

That said, I can honestly say that I love both interpretations and that they are actually not really comparable: we are dealing with a movie of 2,5 hours and a TV series of 5, almost 6. For the latter it's easier to give the characters more depth. In the movie there was way too little room for MM to develop a Darcy as Colin got the opportunity to do.

I hope I'm making any sense





Renée

You do, I cannot agree with you more.On reading Colin Firth statement about how he prepared himself for the role of Mr Darcy and listening to MM´s, one can see the big difference.The former declared to have dug into Austen´s book while the latter in the script( he said he has never read the book , not even while filming).Nothing wrong with it, nonetheless one can understand the great difference in the interpretations.Anyway, being a woman in my early forties I confess I have a terrible crash on Colin and can only see Matthew through the eyes of my teenage daughter.

Anyway, being a woman in my early forties I confess I have a terrible crash on Colin and can only see Matthew through the eyes of my teenage daughter.
Email elenabustelo66@hotmail.com

MM could be my son, so no crush, but I just see him as a wonderful actor, I've admired in more than one film in the meantime. The crush I had on Colin was great, but decreased a bit since the augmentation of my admiration for various British actors whom I think are as good and as handsome (Richard Armitage, Matthew Macfadyen, Rufus Sewell...).

Did I ever tell you that I met Colin Firth in RL? Well, I did and that was a great pleasure.

I was allowed access to the press conference of BJD2 in Amsterdam and got the chance to ask a question which hit all the papers here , afterwards I seized the opportunity to approach him for an autograph.

Renée

I wrote a report, and my daughter accompanied me to take the pictures. Here you can see one of them.

Dammit Renee!How much I envy you.The only way I could ever see him in the flesh would be that he took a plane for Buenos Aires.Unfortunately,chances that he would do so are scarce.Anyway, I can be quite content that at least some people who likes him ALMOST as much as me have had the chance to do it.You say you even talked to him?Gosh!I think I would have never thought of anything worthy in front of him but the very stammering words MM pronounced when first asked Elizabeth to be his wife.What was it that you said, I wonder...

Oh Eli, this is fun. I hadn't thought of it for quite a while, I'm not so involved in the Colin Firth scene anymore, but here's my account of that wonderful event. It's longer in Dutch, posted at an MSN group I especially created, but is moderated now by agood friend of mine who's the administrator of Colin 24/7, a site I bet you know well.

Anyway, here it is, my report of the day I met Colin:


Never say never: Report of the TEOR press conference, Amsterdam. November 8th 2004

Renée Olsthoorn

After a photo call of barely ten minutes, during which our poor stars assume all requested poses, it's time for the actual press conference. But before that I manage to call out to Colin Firth and give him the Mauritshuis catalogue I had wanted to give him in The Hague at the premiere of GWAPE. He doesn't immediately understand what it is, but when I explain to him that the book is old, but the contents of the Mauritshuis much older, and that I had wished to offer it to him last spring in The Hague, he thanks me twice, casting me a broad smile. My reward, I guess.

We are not allowed to take any more pictures. The room is filled with representatives of all possible media; TV, radio, written press of course and… as the Algemeen Dagblad wrote: "Even somebody from a Colin Firth fansite." Exactly, that's me.

Under the expert guidance of movie and celebrity journalist, René Mioch, the half hour’s interrogation of a couple of movie stars starts. My heart is pounding, I simply must ask at least one question, I must, I must! I stick up my hand half way, then a little higher and finally my entire arm waving to René to draw his attention, trying to get eye contact. He nods yes! My turn will come.

But first, a couple of journalists even more impertinent than I get the chance to ask Renée about the eternal weight issue and if she recognizes certain traits of Bridget in herself. Apart from these too often asked questions somebody asks if she feels responsible for the fact that so many women identify with Bridget. Renée explains that she doesn't really feel responsible for the character and its effect on so many women, but that she's proud and grateful to have been given the opportunity to give shape to her. She sees it more as a gift. She definitely recognizes certain traits in herself, probably because they are universal for women: concerns for her appearance, the fear of failure. But she admires Bridget for the fact that she always manages to pull herself together to move on, in spite of all her blunders or bad luck.

A pretty female journalist asks Hugh if he'll go out with her. "In order to be able to answer that, I have to put on my glasses first," he replies wittily. Subsequently Hugh has to reply to the question “can he identify with Daniel Cleaver”, to which he responds that he sees Daniel as his naughty nephew. Colin is asked why Mark Darcy is even more arrogant than in the first BJD. Colin doesn't agree altogether. He prefers to see him as an old-fashioned rescuer of mankind. "He's not a human rights lawyer for nothing! I don't believe we had intended to make him look more arrogant than before." He says.

To the question whether a male Bridget would be possible, Hugh replies in the affirmative and that there's but one difference: biological. To a question about the acting profession Colin answers that it's starting to become a little embarrassing. "Must be an age thing, but I always like to be on a film set. And this time I put myself completely in her hands." And in a friendly way he points out director Beeban Kidron sitting next to him.

Beeban Kidron for her part said that the responsibility for the direction of this movie weighed heavily on her shoulders since the first was such a huge success. "BJD1 is a precious inheritance which one can't take lightly."

Renée refuses to answer the question who's the best kisser. I'm dying to know, but I guess she's right. She's too professional to make a fool of at least one of them. It's nobody's business anyway. She concludes by praising Amsterdam. It's a beautiful city she says and she's very happy to have had the time to enjoy the old buildings and the canals.

And then it's my turn. I state my name and present myself as the representative of the only French/Dutch Colin Firth fansite. Colin Firth looks a little sheepish and I'm not sure whether he likes it or not…

"Mr. Firth, There is talk about BJD III. Would you be willing to participate in another sequel and if so, do you think there's still some room to explore Mark Darcy's character? For instance as the husband of Bridget's being an insecure mother?" The audience laughs.

Colin looks genuinely surprised. "A third Bridget? No, I absolutely know nothing about that." It seems highly improbable to him. "Even before the script was written for the first Bridget Jones I didn't believe it could work. I was so surprised that it was a success. And I had even more doubts about the second. I was very skeptical. Well, maybe if the script is really funny and takes the lid off Darcy's character." When I ask him if he's thinking of a satirical Darcy, he replies affirmatively and adds, "As I see it now, it seems very unlikely, but in the movie world one should never say never."

When the press conference ends everybody heads toward our stars for an autograph or one last burning question. Hugh Grant disappears immediately and
Colin Firth is about to follow his example, but I ask him to stay just one second and sign my copy of 'Speaking With The Angel'. When he sees what I'm holding in my hand, he says surprised: "My goodness! What's your name again?" "Renée." I reply. "Like her?" He asks, pointing out Renée Zellweger. "Yes, exactly like her." On the title page of his own story in the book he then writes: 'To Renée, all the best to you, Colin Firth'.

"Do you have plans to write more stories in the future?" I ask him. "Oh yes, I am, definitely," he replies resolutely. When he hands the book back to me, I thank him gracefully. "My pleasure, goodbye." And again he casts a broad smile in my direction. My eyes follow him as he leaves the room and I can't help feeling grand!

I can hardly believe it, but as I'm writing this piece two morning newspapers have published a part of Colin Firth's reply to MY question and a few others mentioned that 'even a representative of a Colin firth fansite was present'. I think I'm a little proud, just a little… At least, I'm very happy to have gotten the opportunity to experience an afternoon like this.

One final, but relevant observation in this context: contrary to what is said in the media here and there, Colin Firth is still a very handsome man, even when appearing as himself. And he's definitely ageing very well.

Copyright held by Renée O, 2004