Colin Firth: 'Playing Mr. Darcy harmed my career'

Colin Firth regrets taking his star-making role as Mr. Darcy in the BBC's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice as it led to him being typecast as a brooding heartthrob.

The British actor left audiences hot under the collar after emerging from a lake, dripping wet, in just a shirt and underclothes in the 1995 miniseries' most memorable scene.

However, in a new interview, Colin has claimed the role actually had a negative impact on his career because it meant he was restricted to dull parts that focused on his looks.

"It tended to create this image that can restrict what kind of roles you are going to be able to find," he told Britain's Good Housekeeping magazine. "Looking good and strutting around is very boring. I wanted to do other things as an actor."

The role also helped him land a part as Mark Darcy in the Bridget Jones films, a modern incarnation inspired by Jane Austen's aloof but romantic hero.

But Colin is adamant the attention that came with those films also made him deeply uncomfortable - as he didn't like being thought of as a Hollywood star.

"I gained a lot of attention but there was a side of me that resisted all of that," the 59-year-old explained. "Perhaps what kept me from wanting to be a big star, to use that term, is that I just hate the way that some stars behave. There's a lot of arrogance and indulgence when it comes to some major actors."

Happily, Colin has found more rewarding roles later in his career, including an Oscar-winning turn as King George VI in 2010's The King's Speech. The star also pinpointed his Oscar-nominated performance as a gay university professor in Tom Ford's 2009 film A Single Man as a turning point.

"I was playing an older, sadder kind of figure and suddenly you're seen in a different way," he added.