Colin Firth backstage at the 2011 Academy Awards

The 83rd annual Academy Awards took place on February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. Here is what this Academy Award winner said backstage in the Academy Awards press room.

COLIN FIRTH

Best Actor

("The King’s Speech")

"The King’s Speech" apparently has gotten the royal nod of approval from Queen Elizabeth II. And now that you've won the Oscar for best actor, for your portrayal of her father, King George VI, do you think that you might possibly be getting an invitation to her grandson Prince William’s wedding?

As I understand it, the invitations have already gone out. Mine is almost definitely lost in the post somewhere.

"The King’s Speech" actually got made in the first place because of a grant from the U.K. Film Council, which was scrapped by the U.K. government in 2010. What do you think your success tonight and the success of the film says about that decision?

I don't really want to get entangled in the political judgment on that. I tend to find that my rather insignificant opinions get more attention than they deserve, but I do think that on the face of it, that that was a short-sighted decision.

I do, however, think that the fact that the BFI [British Film Institute] seems to have taken up that role is very positive. And I think that it was probably a sign that the government has recognized a need for a body like that, that they need to work closely with to find a way to get films financed with government cooperation. So I'm optimistic at the moment.

"The King’s Speech" has taken up so much of your time in the last few months. Now that you've won the Oscar, are you actually looking forward to taking a break from King George VI?

Yeah, I am. Yeah, I've started having fantasies about what I'll do, I'll have to talk to you about. No, it's lovely company. I think I'm going to cook a lot. I don't think I'm particularly good at it, but I'm going to inflict my cooking on anybody within range. I tend to find that's a very good way to decompress. I'll probably be the only one eating it but that's what I'm going to do.

What message do you think "The King’s Speech" story sends to people?

I don't believe in messages in what I do. I don't think we're preachers. I don't think we're philosophers. I personally happen to be an annoyingly outspoken person, but that's not because I think the storytelling involves prescribing what people should think or hear, so I'm not in that business.

What has struck me is the emotional response to it seems to be very, very personal. It's quite diverse. Quite obviously, speech therapists and people who have difficulties with their speech of whatever kind, have responded to it. And that is very powerful to me to be on the receiving end of that kind of feedback, because what we do is very often, it's justifiably judged as completely and utterly frivolous. I think frivolity is also very important. That's a whole other argument.

But the fact is that it overlaps with something that has connected with or resonated with people who've feel they've been heard about something for the first time. It's probably the most valuable thing of all to me. I don't think it sent a message. I just think maybe it shines a light on something which badly needed it.

What do think of the new PG-13 version of "The King’s Speech"?

I haven't seen it. I don't know anything about it. I got some second-hand information about it. Have they cut the scene? I don't support it.

Why do you not support it?

Because I think the film has its integrity as it stands. I think that scene belongs where it is. I think it serves a purpose. I'm not someone who is casual about that kind of language.

I take my children to see football games, soccer. And I wouldn't be able, if I wanted, to protect them from those kind of words at the expense of all else. I hate hearing that language around them, but I'm not going to deny them an experience of a live game. You know, it does distress me to hear that language bawled in the ears of my kids. So I don't take that stuff lightly.

But the context of this film could not be more edifying, more appropriate. It's not vicious. It's not to do insult or it's not in any of the context which might offend people, really.

It's about a man trying to free himself through the use of forbidden words, and he's so coy about it. I still haven't met the person who would object to it. So I think the film should stand as it is.

On stage, you spoke of impulses that you're trying to control. Now that you're backstage …

I'm not doing it here. What's the next question?

You don't want to let loose?

No. I was struggling with the containment in that moment and I think I need some quality time alone. I don't think this is the particular forum to display that. Anyone having seen "Mamma Mia!" will know what I'm talking about.

You were very good about noticing "The King’s Speech" director Tom Hooper’s choice of lenses, the way he placed you in the frame and helped you create the feeling of isolation that you got. Would you like to take an opportunity to mention that again?

Yes. In some ways, the way of working was conducive to the kind of tension and anxiety that I needed to draw from for it. The very first thing that Tom shot on me was a single shot of me in the first scene where Bertie meets Logue. That's kind of baptism by fire in a story like this.

Normally, you would kick off with something easy like walking down a corridor or getting out of a car and then the crew will get to know each other. And once we're all safely in the zone, then you can start to get into the more serious stuff. And then you might eventually start with a wide master shot with two actors, three actors. And you'll know that that you're establishing the scene first, the critical stuff.

The stuff on your face, most of that, is not going to play on this shot. So you get a chance; it's like a rehearsal. Tom didn't do any of that. He decided to take a 10-minute scene, which was basically a three-act play and said kick off on my face. And there is nothing for it but to commit. And I think he made a very, very good decision, not just for me, but for him, where we thought, "OK, you don't have much time in film." [There is] a misperception that you try and try again until you get it right and you can keep doing it.

That's not how it works. You get three goes, four. It's expensive. You know, it goes into the can, and you move on. It doesn't matter if you haven't really nailed it. This is like a feeling of being pushed out in the royal upper house and told to sing on the first night without much rehearsal and you just have to dig for whatever you can.

And then, I think it was very good, because I put both feet in, and so did he. And he committed to a style he wasn't quite sure about yet. He still had a few options open, but after we completed that day which could have ended up being about 10 percent of our entire film, he realized he had committed to a cinematographic style. And I had committed to my approach. And [I was] squeezed down in the corner of a sofa, and Tom kept telling me to shrink myself physically because I'm much bigger than George VI. He was very slight and he had a famous small disposition.

So Tom's note to me was, "Try to disappear as much as possible." And I think that's partly why he put me on the edge of the big sofa and part of why he put me on the edge of the frame, surrounded me by what he thought was negative space. And I could feel all that going on, so it definitely informed what I did.

For more info: "The King's Speech" website

Academy Awards website

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