A Colin Firth Collection Trivia Quiz

Answer:

'Circle of Friends' is a 1995 film set in Ireland and based on a book by Maeve Binchy - the same title is used for novel and film. The friends are three young women in the 1950s and the film follows the difficulties of their lives. Colin plays a rather unlikeable character who gets one of the women pregnant and offers her cash for an abortion instead of the marriage she expects. Nick Hornby's book 'Fever Pitch' has been used as the basis for two films but it's the British made one from 1997 which featured Colin Firth. He plays the lead role in this film, portraying a man obsessed with the football (soccer) team of Arsenal. This causes major problems with his romantic relationship.

The 1996 film 'The English Patient' saw Colin in a supporting role with Ralph Fiennes as the main character. Colin played the pilot who died in a air crash while trying to kill his unfaithful wife as well. In 2003 Colin played Johannes Vermeer, the artist who painted 'The Girl with a Pearl Earring', the film title. The focus of the film is the girl, named Griet, who was the model for the painting. Scarlett Johansson played the role.

'Nanny McPhee' was written by, and starred, Emma Thompson, who comes to the rescue of the widowed Colin Firth character and his seven badly behaved children. It's a sort of mixture of 'Mary Poppins' and 'The Sound of Music' but without the songs. It was released in 2005 with a sequel, without Colin, in 2010. From comedy we turn to tragedy with 'A Single Man' starring Colin as a gay man who has lost his long term partner in a motor accident. This 2009 film was Tom Ford's directing debut, based on a novel by Christopher Isherwood. Firth's character is depressed and contemplating suicide before realising that life still has something to offer.

Two war films now. 2019 saw the release of '1917', directed by Sam Mendes and set during World War I. The main focus is on a pair of soldiers tasked with taking a message to the front line to prevent a doomed attack. Colin's role is something of a cameo, as he appears only towards the end of the film as the general who receives the message just in time to prevent a massacre. The Second World War is the focus of 'Operation Mincemeat', released in 2021. Firth again plays a senior officer, this time in the navy, who is part of a plan to mislead the Nazis about a planned attack. The story has its basis in real life events.

Another film taken from real life events is 'The King's Speech' in which Colin plays King George VI as he struggles to overcome his stammer, which is particularly bad when speaking in public. This 2010 film also features Geoffrey Rush as the speech therapist who helps him. 'The Railway Man' is a film from 2013 and partly set during World War II. Firth plays a British officer who is captured by the Japanese and sent to work on the railway in what was then Burma. Many years later, he returns to the area to confront one of the former guards who had tortured him.

We'll finish on a couple of lighter notes with 'Bridget Jones's Diary' being the first of the films about Bridget, played by Renee Zellweger. The film was released in 2001 and starred Colin as one of the two men with whom Bridget becomes romantically entangled. 'Mamma Mia!' is the final film of those in which Colin appeared, playing one of the three men (the others being played by Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skarsgård) who might be the father of a young woman living on a Greek island with her mother. The storyline of this 2008 film is possibly less important than the chance to hear the cast sing (with varying amounts of skill) the famous hits of the band ABBA.

The incorrect answers all feature Firth's co-stars in leading roles, but without Colin's support. Hugh Grant, from the 'Bridget Jones' films, starred in 'Mickey Blue Eyes' in 1999 while 'Shine' (1996) gave Geoffrey Rush a leading role. Pierce Brosnan appeared in 'Mrs Doubtfire' in 1993 while Ralph Fiennes played a major part in 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' (2014). Benedict Cumberbatch was the lead actor in 'The Imitation Game' (2014) and also appeared in '1917'. Finally , Tom Wilkinson appeared in both 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' alongside Colin and played one of the main roles in 1997's 'The Full Monty'.