I M A G E S A N D R E L A T E D C O N T E N T The cult of Colin Firth On both sides of the pond, women with literary tastes are seriously smitten with the dignified Brit who stole Bridget Jones' heart. By Liz Stevens Star-Telegram Staff Writer   from the Merriam-Webster Online cult Pronunciation: 'k&lt  Function: noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: French & Latin; French culte, from Latin cultus care, adoration, from colere to cultivate  5 a : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion

Colin Firth as lawyer Mark Darcy with Bridget Jones star Renee Zellweger.

Let's get one thing straight right off: Colin Firth's fans are not your stereotypical teeny-boppers.

They don't stalk. They're not crude. They cringe at the thought of sending the 44-year-old British actor panties in the mail or shouting, from the back of a crowd, that they want to have his baby.

No, no. Colin Firth's serious admirers have an unfanlike dignity. They are, most of them, women of a certain age with a relish for literature, period drama and English accents.

And many swear they have never done anything like this before, i.e. taken such an, ahem, interest in a movie star.

"I don't know what it was -- and I had never -- I'm happily married," says Marsha Boyd, a 42-year-old kindergarten teacher in suburban Atlanta, attempting to describe her initial infatuation with Firth. "It was embarrassing."

With Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason opening today, the Firth-fan sisterhood is abuzz with anticipation. The actor will reprise his role as Bridget's love interest, the staid barrister Mark Darcy. You know, the one who wore the "the reindeer jumper" to "Una and Geoffrey Alconbury's New Year's Day Turkey Curry Buffet in Grafton Underwood," and, in the end, wrapped a half-clad Bridget in his Saville Row overcoat and kissed her passionately.

Swoon.

Or maybe not. Firth's appeal isn't quite so obvious to most of America's InTouch-reading female population -- if they even know who he is.

"He's not classically handsome," says Kathy Cobbs, 52, a Norman, Okla., real estate saleswoman. "But there's just something about him."

Instead of Miami tan, Firth is London pasty. Instead of driving a race car in his spare time, he writes short stories. Instead of cozying up to fashionmodels, he's happily married.

To top it off, Firth's breakout role came in a six-hour television adaptation of a 19th-century novel, which ran on the A&E network. It required the actor to wear what Jerry Seinfeld would definitely classify as a "puffy shirt." There were no sex scenes, no swear words and only one chaste kiss.

But in the end, the BBC production of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, which aired here in January 1996, turned out to be one of A&E's most popular presentations ever. And for women whose tastes run more toward subtle, fully
clothed eroticism than hot-tub make-out scenes, P and P became the ultimate in fantasy entertainment and Mr. Darcy the ultimate fantasy man.

"First of all, not only do I think it's women of a certain age [who are typically attracted to Firth]," says Rhea Keenan, a Firth fan and marketing research consultant in Evanston, Ill., "I think it's women who are more intellectually oriented. The women I know who are enamored of him are readers and have this sense of . . . well-developed characters in novels."

In other words, Cobbs notes, "We like to call him the thinking woman's sex symbol."

Firth might not be the ever-alluring bad boy (a la Hugh Grant, with whom he co-stars in The Edge of Reason and with whom he is frequently compared), but Firth does possess the ability, say his fans, to "smolder": the emotive eyes, the 6-foot stature, the tousled brown locks, the commanding British voice.

Oh, yes. He's talented, too.

As an actor, Firth "can do more without talking than most people can do with a thousand lines of dialogue," says Mary Findlay, 37, and the Vancouver-based moderator for the Firthden fanlist.

"He's an excellent dramatic actor," adds 37-year-old Michelle R., who didn't want to be fully identified lest her professional reputation suffer. "And obviously he's gorgeous," says the Philadelphia public-relations specialist.
"Otherwise, I'd be a fan of Steve Buscemi."

Firth fans like to think of themselves as a sorority of smart, discerning women. Hundreds of them -- most in their 30s, 40s and 50s (and at least one in her 80s) -- frequent fanlists, such as Firthlist and Firthden, where the actor is referred to maternally as ODB (Our Dear Boy).

"We want people that are fairly educated and who want to talk about him and about ourselves and not," says Cobb, the Firthden librarian, "the sweaty stuff."

The women have bonded over their Firth habit, exchanging hard-to-find movies and articles, sending a group donation to a charity that Firth supports and traveling en masse across continents to see Firth in person.

And they don't just effuse over the man's talent and je ne sais quoi. They also swear he's just about the most admirable actor around: a dedicated father, an activist for the rights of indigenous African tribes, a celebrity who hasn't let stardom go to his head.

"Obviously, he's dishy," says 26-year-old Emma Bellenes, who runs The Firth Factor Web site from her home in England. "But it's more than that. Everything I've heard about him was just so nice. He was just this genuine bloke."

Firth, who has been acting since the early '80s, was a known commodity in Britain before Pride and Prejudice. And since then, roles in Love Actually, What a Girl Wants and Girl With a Pearl Earring have brought him greater recognition on this side of the Atlantic.

But his brooding portrayal of the archetypal Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the haughty English gentleman disarmed by love, is what forever drives the Firth fandom.

In the now famous "episode four" of six, Mr. Darcy dives into a small lake, fully clothed, after a horseback ride on his Pemberley estate. He emerges with his white shirt clinging to his chest -- sopping, vulnerable and steamily
sexy.

(Firth fans will be ecstatic to hear that BJD: The Edge of Reason makes reference to the white-shirt scene not once, but twice. After all, Firth's Mark Darcy is the modern-day Mr. Darcy.)

The Firth bug is a potent one. Keenan once threw a Firth fan-club party at her home with Firth's picture on the place settings. Cobbs, in Oklahoma, boasts a license plate holder that reads "It's a Colin Firth thing. You wouldn't understand."

And an Oprah Web site chat room recently was swamped with Firth fans after the announcement that Firth, Zellwegger and Grant would be her guests in October.

"Colin is coming on?! There is a God!" read a typical posting.

Grant fans, by contrast, made a meager showing.

"[Firth] plays beautifully the strong silent type who can be very sensitive but can be very decisive, like every woman's fantasy," notes Carol Moss, 50, a therapist from Wilmette, Ill., and an ardent Firth admirer. "Maybe it's a daddy figure kind of thing."

Ew. Let's leave our fathers out of this, shall we?

The fact that Firth was relegated to supporting roles in both The English Patient (as Kristin Scott Thomas' cuckolded husband) and Shakespeare in Love (as Gwyneth Paltrow's jilted fiance), irks Firth fans to no end.

"We're very angry because he is so underrated," says Houston teacher Linda Waldrop, 55. "Everything he does is better because he's in it," she asserts.

But some Firth fans have no interest in seeing Firth as a Nazi sympathizer (HBO's Conspiracy) or a soccer fanatic (Fever Pitch).

"It's more fun for us to see him in the Darcy roles," says Moss, whose husband remains baffled by her Firth addiction.

"[My friends and I] were literally so taken with him, we almost became obsessed," admits Keenan. "We clearly would have risked our marriages for one night with Mr. Darcy."

Curl up with Colin on DVD

When Oprah Winfrey recently asked Hugh Grant to introduce his on-screen nemesis, Colin Firth, Grant grudgingly offered this:

"Dreary old British actor, been around for ages. Played all kinds of roles, from Mr. Darcy in the BBC's Pride and Prejudice, right through to Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones 1, right through to Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones 2. One of Britain's most versatile actors, Colin Firth."

Snarky yes, but also right on -- except for the dreary part. Sure, Firth's best known for his Darcy trilogy, but his lengthy résumé also includes playing a conflicted Nazi, a prep school communist and a medieval lawyer whose chief client is a pig. Here are some of Firth's films available on DVD and rated for just how yummy he looks in each one.

Another Country: One of his first films. Firth plays the communist roommate to Rupert Everett's conflicted gay schoolboy in the repressed boarding-school hell of 1930s Britain. Slow, but moving, this film put Firth at the forefront of his generation of British actors, despite his wildly tall hair, reminiscent of Flock of Seagulls. Yum factor **

Valmont: Firth's portrayal of the womanizing French count lacks the psychopathic edge that John Malkovich brought to the same role in Dangerous Liaisons, but you can actually believe that every woman this side of Versailles wants to butter Firth's croissants. The film won an Academy Award nomination for best costumes, and it marks the first time Firth manages to look sexy wearing a ponytail and clogs. Yum factor ***

The Advocate: Netflix comments that mentioned "lots of gratuitous nudity" got our attention and didn't disappoint in this 1993 film funded in part by Miramax mogul Bob Weinstein. Firth must defend a pig charged with murder and defend himself from wanton wenches driven wild by his pageboy haircut. The pitch must have been "Perry Mason meets All Creatures Great and Small meets Tom Jones." Yum factor ***

Circle of Friends: Firth plays a creepy English lord/sex addict (only Ralph Fiennes does it better) in this film with Minnie Driver and lots of gorgeous Irish scenery. Yum factor **

The English Patient: Firth has a small but crucial role as the jilted husband in this Oscar-winning picture. This cry-fest is worth watching if only to check him out in Father Christmas attire. Yum factor **

Shakespeare in Love: Firth considers this Oscar winner his best film overall, with a cast that includes Gwyneth Paltrow and Rupert Everett. A bearded Firth plays the sleazy Lord Wessex intent on taking Paltrow away from her beloved Will to the wilds of Virginia. Yum factor *

Fever Pitch: Playing a fan obsessed with England's Arsenal soccer team, Firth manages to make the baggy fashions of '80s London look good. Keep the pause button handy for close-up shot of Firth wearing Arsenal underwear. Yum factor **

Conspiracy: Kenneth Branagh and HBO put together this disturbing look inside the decision-making of the Nazi Holocaust. Firth's portrayal of aconflicted Nazi was nominated for an Emmy but he lost out to co-star Stanley Tucci. Yum factor ***

What a Girl Wants: Firth plays daddy to Amanda Bynes, who gets him to loosen up, throw on some leather pants and play air guitar. DVD features commentary by Bynes, who repeatedly gushes, "Colin Firth rocks!" Yum factor **