BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON

COLIN FIRTH (Mark Darcy) is a veteran of numerous television and film roles.

Most recently, Firth was seen in the Lions Gate film Girl With a Pearl Earring. Based on the best-selling novel by Tracy Chevalier, Firth portrayed the 17th century artist Johannes Vermeer opposite Scarlett Johansson and Tom Wilkinson. Girl With a Pearl Earring screened at the Telluride Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, the Hollywood Film Festival, the London Film Festival and the San Sebastian Film Festival. The film won both the L'Hitchcock d'Or and the L'Hitchcock d'Argent at the Dinard Festival of British Films.

In October 2003, Firth appeared in the Universal Pictures/Working Title release Love Actually, written and directed by Richard Curtis, appearing in the film with an outstanding ensemble cast that included Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney and Keira Knightly. Love Actually broke box office records as the highest grossing British romantic comedy opening of all time in the U.K. and Ireland and is the largest opening in the history of Working Title Films to date.

Firth has just wrapped production on the Universal/Working Title film, Nanny McPhee, written by and also starring Emma Thompson. Firth portrays Mr. Brown, a widowed father with a tribe of unruly children who become enchanted by a magical nanny (Thompson). The film is scheduled for release in the Spring of 2005.

Firth has also completed production on the independent psychological thriller Trauma, opposite Mena Suvari. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2004 and was released by Warner Bros. in the U.K. on August 17, 2004. The film also screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival.

Firth is currently in production with Atom Egoyan's Where the Truth Lies, opposite Kevin Bacon. Adapted from the acclaimed novel of the same name, the story follows the breakup of a celebrated comedy duo surrounding a mysterious murder and the journalist who seeks to solve the mystery.

In 2001, Firth charmed American audiences when he starred opposite Renée Zellwegger in the hit British comedy Bridget Jones's Diary. In the film he portrayed Mark Darcy, the man who rivals Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) for Bridget's affections.

In 2002, Firth was seen starring opposite Rupert Everett and Reese Witherspoon in the Miramax film, The Importance of Being Earnest. In 1998, Firth starred in Shakespeare in Love, where he portrayed Lord Wessex, the evil intended husband to Violet De Lesseps, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. In 1996, Firth appeared in the multi-Oscar® nominated film, The English Patient, opposite Kristen Scott Thomas and Ralph Fiennes. His other film credits include What a Girl Wants, Hope Springs, Relative Values, A Thousand Acres (with Michelle Pfeiffer and Jessica Lange), Apartment Zero, My Life So Far, The Secret Laughter of Women, Fever Pitch, Circle of Friends, Playmaker and the title role in Milos Forman's Valmont (opposite Annette Bening).

On the small screen, Firth is infamous for his 1995 breakout role, when he played Mr. Darcy in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor and legions of female admirers. Firth's most recent television appearance was as the host of NBC's Saturday Night Live in March 2004. He was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2001 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in the critically acclaimed