A TEARFUL Colin Firth has been presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he immediately dedicated the honour to his wife, Italian producer Livia Giuggioli.
Firth, nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in The King’s Speech, was seen to wipe away a tear at the ceremony on Thursday.
The actor, who found fame playing Mr Darcy in the Pride and Prejudice, told reporters: “I want to thank everybody that has accompanied me on this extraordinary journey, but probably more than anybody I could ever imagine Livia who has walked every step of this with me joyfully and truthfully,” he said.
Before dabbing his eyes, he added: “When I look down there at that star, it’s her name I see.”
Later the 50-year-old was reluctant to admit he had shed a tear. “You can make of it what you will, it was the wind,” he laughed.
His shrine is the 2,429th star, conveniently located in front of the Pig ‘N Whistle pub on Hollywood Boulevard, right next to British actress Emma Thompson’s.
“Actually that’s almost as good as the thing itself,” he said.
During his speech, he joked: “I have a feeling I’m going to be here when I’m about 93 under a pile of blankets asking for spare change and trying to convince anyone that will listen that I’m the guy whose name is on the sidewalk – failing to recognise that the old lady next to me is in fact Emma Thompson.”
Firth has a big weekend ahead. The star of The King’s Speech is a front runner to win Best Actor at this Sunday’s Golden Globes.
And critics are also tipping him for an Oscar nomination later this month for his portrayal of a stammering King George VI.
Firth has become one of Britain’s most bankable actors in recent years, with criticall-acclaimed roles in movies including The English Patient and A Single Man.
He is in Los Angeles for Sunday’s Golden Globes, in which he is tipped to win the best actor award for the King’s Speech.
The film sees Firth as King George VI, who enlists the help of Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue, whose controversial methods helped the King overcome his stammer.
“I want to thank everybody that has accompanied me on this extraordinary journey, but probably more than anybody I could ever imagine Livia who has walked every step of this with me joyfully and truthfully,” said Firth on being presented with his star.
The Hampshire-born actor’s career has spanned serious drama and romantic comedy, with his performance in A Single Man earning him a best actor Academy Award nomination in 2010.
The King’s Speech is nominated for seven Golden Globes and is also expected to do well when the 2011 Oscar nominations are announced on 25 January.
Adding to his list of honours, last weekend he won his first major award in what’s expected to be a taste of things to come.
He was presented with the Actor Achievement Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival by Dame Helen Mirren, who won an Oscar playing the Queen, King George’s daughter.
She joked: ‘Actually, I am not the Queen and neither is Colin the King.’
Firth is also expected to receive an Oscar nomination, which will be announced on January 25.
He is next expected to appear in the film adaptation of John le Carre’s spy novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
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