Colin Andrew Firth CBE (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, two European Film Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as the Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup for Best Actor. In 2010, his portrayal of King George VI in Tom Hooper's The King's Speech won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. He was identified in the mid 1980s with the "Brit Pack" of rising young British actors, undertaking a challenging series of roles, including leading roles in A Month in the Country (1987), Tumbledown (1988) and Valmont (1989). His portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice led to widespread attention, and to roles in more prominent films such as The English Patient (1996), Shakespeare in Love (1998), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Award, Conspiracy (2001), The Importance of Being Earnest (2002), Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003), Richard Curtis's romantic comedy ensemble film Love Actually (2003), and the musical comedy Mamma Mia! (2008) and its sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again! (2018) In 2009, Firth received international acclaim for his performance in Tom Ford's A Single Man, for which he won a BAFTA Award and received his first Academy Award nomination. He subsequently appeared as MI6 agent Bill Haydon in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), and as secret agent Harry Hart in Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and its sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017). In 2018, he co-starred in the musical fantasy Mary Poppins Returns, and the following year, he appeared in the Sam Mendes' war film 1917. In 2012, he founded the production company Raindog Films, where he served as a producer for Eye in the Sky (2015) and Loving (2016). His films have grossed more than $3 billion from 42 releases worldwide. In 2011, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was selected as one of the Time 100. Firth has campaigned for the rights of indigenous tribal people and is a member of Survival International. He has campaigned on issues of asylum seekers, refugees' rights and the environment. He commissioned and co-authored a scientific paper on a study of the differences in brain structure between people of differing political orientations.