無論是看似高傲的達西先生（Mr. Darcy），還是嚴肅卻又苦惱於結巴問題的英王喬治六世（George VI），柯林．佛斯的魅力（charisma）與傑出的演技（acting），皆令觀眾深深著迷。佛斯的精湛演出歸功於他年少時的戀愛。以下短文不只揭開佛斯愛上演戲的時機，以及介紹他的演戲之路。
Colin Firth was born on September 10, 1960 in the village of Grayshott in the South of England. Firth’s parents were both university teachers, and the family moved frequently for work, living in Nigeria, the U.S. and different parts of the UK before finally settling in the city of Winchester. Although he began acting in school plays at the age of five, he didn’t develop a real interest until he had a crush on his drama teacher when he was 14. This interest became so strong that Firth dropped out of college at 18 and moved to London to pursue an acting career.
柯林．佛斯於一九六〇年九月十日出生在英國南部的格雷夏村。佛斯的雙親皆為大學老師，因此全家人常因工作之故四處搬遷，曾待過奈及利亞、美國和英國各地，最後才在溫徹斯特市定居下來。雖然他年僅五歲就開始在學校話劇中演出，不過卻沒有對演戲產生多大興趣，直到他在十四歲時暗戀上戲劇老師。佛斯對演戲的愛好變得十分強烈，他甚至在十八歲那一年自大學輟學，好搬到倫敦追求演藝生涯。
After working in the wardrobe department at the National Theatre, Firth enrolled at Drama Centre London, where he studied for three years. While playing Hamlet at the Drama Centre, he was spotted by playwright Julian Mitchell, who gave him a starring role in the 1983 West End production of Another Country. Firth was also chosen to star in the screen adaptation of Another Country the following year, marking his film debut. While this was followed by a number of film and TV roles, it wasn’t until he played the haughty Mr. Darcy in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice that he became a household name.
佛斯先是到皇家國立劇場的戲服部門工作一陣子，然後進入倫敦戲劇中心修就讀三年。他在戲劇中心飾演哈姆雷特時被劇作家朱利安．米謝爾發掘，並給予機會在 一九八三年倫敦西區上演的《同窗之愛》擔任主角。隔年佛斯又雀屏中選，擔綱演出電影版的《同窗之愛》而初登大銀幕。雖然他此後接演了不少電影和電視角色，不過要等到他在一九九五年英國廣播公司製作的《傲慢與偏見》影集中扮演高傲的達西先生，這才成為家喻戶曉的明星。
Firth’s interpretation of Mr. Darcy proved so popular that the character was brought back as Mark Darcy in the 2001 hit romantic comedy Bridget Jones, a modern version of Pride and Prejudice. Although this led to further romantic roles in movies like the Bridget Jones sequel and Love Actually, the actor has found his greatest success in serious dramas. Firth received his first Academy Award nomination as a gay British professor in 2009’s A Single Man, and won a Best Actor Oscar playing George VI in The King’s Speech two years later.
佛斯所詮釋的達西先生相當受歡迎，以至於這個角色在現代版的《傲慢與偏見》、也就是 2001 年的賣座浪漫喜劇《BJ 單身日記》中，以馬克．達西的身分被搬上大銀幕。雖然佛斯因此在《BJ 單身日記》續集和《愛是您‧愛是我》等電影中接演更多浪漫角色，不過這位演員最為成功的表演還是在嚴肅的劇情片裡。佛斯於 2009 年的《摯愛無盡》裡飾演一位同性戀英國教授而首度獲得奧斯卡提名，兩年後再以《王者之聲：宣戰時刻》中詮釋英王喬治六世的精采表現而獲得奧斯卡最佳男主角獎。
實用字彙
frequently (adv.) 經常地，時常
settle (v.)（使）定居，（使）安頓下來
pursue (v.) 從事，追求
spot (v.) 看見，發現，注意到
production (n.) 戲劇演出
adaptation (n.) 改編，改寫
haughty (a.) 高傲的，自大的
interpretation (n.) 詮釋，解釋
version (n.) 版本
sequel (n.) 續集
gay (a./n.) 同性戀的，同性戀者
professor (n.) 教授
本文取材自《好萊塢A咖教你說愛電影英文：EZ TALK 總編嚴選特刊 (1書1 MP3)》
圖片來源：pixabay
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