Colin Firth almost missed out being Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice because he was ‘too ginger’
The actor got his breakthrough in the Jane Austen adaptation - but his flame hair nearly cost him the role
COLIN Firth has become famed as love interest Mr Darcy in two successful franchises - but nearly didn't get either after a screenwriter deemed him too ginger for the role twenty years ago.
Speaking at the BBC Store event to at the BFI, writer Andrew Davies, who worked on the original BBC adaptation of the show in 1995, admitted that underneath the stars iconic brown curls "he's sort of fairly ginger."
Andrew admitted that this became an issue with his image of what Darcy should look like, and nearly cost Colin the role as a result.
He said: "With Colin I was a bit doubtful because of his colouring at the time because he didn’t have those dark curls back then."
However, thanks to some badgering from producer Sue Birtwistle, they decided to take a chance on the star, resulting in one of the most iconic TV characters of all time.
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Andrew added: "Sue was absolutely convinced that he would be wonderful but we said he had to go dark and he did go dark.
"He’s stayed dark ever since so he must have liked it."
The role of Mr Darcy turned Colin into a heartthrob for women everywhere.
One iconic scene of him diving into a lake and coming out soaking wet being voted the most memorable British TV drama moment of all time in a poll last year.
He has since been recast in the role in a modern day adaptation of the 200 year old story - the successful film franchise Bridget Jones's Diary.
Colin, now 56, has also been awarded a CBE and won an Oscar for his performance as King George in 2010 drama The King's Speech.
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