DUBAI // British actor Colin Firth found portraying King George VI in his latest movie The King's Speech was like walking a tightrope due to concerns the audience would tire of his character's crippling stammer.
"I was afraid I was walking a bit of a tightrope and hoping it was going to be authentic," said Firth, who is in the city to attend The Dubai International Film Festival (Diff). "I would get exhausted and I was afraid the audience would get exhausted."
Firth's dry, self-deprecating humour sent waves of laughter through a crowd of more than 400 people who packed into the First Group Theatre at Madinat Jumeriah yesterday for a Diff event "A Conversation with Colin Firth".
The session was thrown open to the public towards the end of the question and answer session conducted by Variety magazine. It ran 20 minutes over its scheduled hour when, to cheers, Firth said: "Well, I'm not going anywhere."
He told a keen audience how he did his own research and spoke with people to help him gain a deeper understanding of how to play a character with a severe stammer.
The movie that had its premiere on Sunday, the opening night of Diff, is about King George VI who reluctantly took the throne of England when his elder brother abdicated in 1936 to marry an American divorcee. It also tells the story of the friendship that developed between the king and a speech therapist, played by Geoffrey Rush, who helped him overcome the stammer.
Director Tom Hooper was insistent about having the stutter play out in every single line, Firth said. The most difficult scene was the grand opening where as king he speaks to his subjects in a sprawling stadium. "I almost lost my bearings at that point, I didn't know whether the stammering was real or not," Firth said.
The conversation with Firth was momentarily interrupted when a volunteer who was working at the theatre tripped and fell off the stage. Firth's concerned response won over the few in the audience that were not already diehard fans.
"It's a bit strange to carry on [talking], isn't it? Is she OK?" he asked organisers who rushed to help. The woman was not hurt.
This endeared him to Lara Graham, a 17-year-old films studies student from the English College, who was at the event with dozens of fellow students.
"I'm not really a fan," said Ms Graham who has only liked Firth in the 2008 musical Mamma Mia. "I thought he'd be arrogant. But he is actually very different. He has changed my whole perspective. He wanted to stop and asked about that girl. That is so sweet."
Firth also received Variety magazine's International Star of the Year award that was presented to him by Hollywood star Carey Mulligan, recently seen in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
"He acts with his heart and he is an incredible inspiration because of his dedication to his work," said Mulligan, adding that she counted Firth as a friend. "He is a brilliant performer and he connects with people. He is a star but he is also a real person who is kind and compassionate."
Firth's performance as a grieving gay professor in A Single Man earned him an Oscar nomination last year but it was British television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice that won him fame playing the haughty Mr Darcy.
"Most people would date my existence to 1995," Firth joked, observing he would have never played the role if he had listened to female relatives who asked him not to play Mr Darcy. "The women in my family said I would ruin it. One of my relatives said, 'Please, I have been in love with this character, if you play it you will spoil it forever.'"
Visiting Dubai had always been on his wishlist, Firth said, when expressing happiness that he was able to attend a festival that brought together 45 different nationalities.
He had words of praise for City of Life, the Emirati film that depicts the parallel worlds that exist in Dubai. "It's a great example of young filmmaking," he said. "It's a film that is a great testament to multiculturalism."
rtalwar@thenational.ae
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
Look%20Both%20Ways
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Wanuri%20Kahiu%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Lili%20Reinhart%2C%20Danny%20Ramirez%2C%20David%20Corenswet%2C%20Luke%20Wilson%2C%20Nia%20Long%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The%20specs
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Army of the Dead
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera
Three stars
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Moonfall
Director: Rolan Emmerich
Stars: Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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Company%20profile
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TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
The biog
Favourite book: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Favourite holiday destination: Spain
Favourite film: Bohemian Rhapsody
Favourite place to visit in the UAE: The beach or Satwa
Children: Stepdaughter Tyler 27, daughter Quito 22 and son Dali 19
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16, second leg (first-leg scores in brackets):
PSG (2) v Manchester United (0)
Midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.6-litre turbo
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Power: 165hp
Torque: 240Nm
Price: From Dh89,000 (Enjoy), Dh99,900 (Innovation)
On sale: Now
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
