Would love to work in India: Colin Firth

It’s gratifying to get attention for a performance. I’m not going to wish any of it away.

You have handled several demanding roles in your career. What makes The King’s Speech special?

Bertie (King George VI was christened Albert) had to do something that you could almost describe as heroic in order to get a sentence out. It took great courage to face a microphone and deliver a live broadcast to millions of people,not just in England but across what was then the Empire. He wasn’t afraid of action in World War I,but the idea of speaking,and speaking publicly,terrified him. If you speak to anyone who has a stammer,they will tell you that’s all they think about.

Since you didn’t take much interest in the lives of royals,how challenging was it to portray the character of a stammering monarch?

I was sensitive to the fact that our characters have living relatives,and I didn’t completely ignore the fact that one of the characters was the reigning Queen. But I would be equally sensitive to the living relatives of the Logue family,of which there are many,and many of whom we’ve met now. But I was more concerned with how people who stammer would respond,because any inauthenticity would be doing a terrible disservice in that direction.

You have made some very unusual movie choices. What has been the deciding factor when accepting a role?

I love the quotation from Miles Davis,“Don’t play what you know — play what you don’t know.” Easier said than done. Typecasting always beckons.

Your parents were raised in India. Have you ever visited this country?

Both my parents were born and raised in India and so there was an immense cultural diversity under my own roof throughout my upbringing,and I consider that to be absolutely nothing but a privilege. I would love to work in India,but if you have heard me sing or seen me dance,I don’t think I’ll be getting an invitation from Bollywood any time soon.

You have often been called “the sexiest man alive”. How much significance do you give to such titles?

I seem to be coping.

You have said that you would like to play a villain. Why so?

I’d love to play a villain like Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes.