Colin Firth says he’s tired of waiting to be asked to play James Bond so he agreed to play a suave secret agent in Kingsman: The Secret Service.
The 54-year-old said he was attracted to the role because it was similar to the shows and movies he loved in the 1960s, and he took the part because he accepted he wasn’t going to be offered the role of the iconic spy, currently played by Daniel Craig, reports contactmusic.com.
“I think to a very large extent, in terms of style, the character of the spy movies I fell in love with has its roots in the ’60s. It’s The Man from UNCLE, it’s the Harry Palmer films, it’s John Steed’s Avengers and those early Bond films,” he told SFX magazine.
“It’s the guy in the suit who seems slick and cool and capable and is very, very contained but you cross him at your peril. He’ll get you with the umbrella or a slick move or a gadget or something. It was all that.
“I’d been waiting for the offer on Bond for long enough, but it was [director] Matthew Vaughn who decided that it was a good combination,” Firth added.
The actor admits the director only approached him because he felt he was such a surprising choice for the part.
“Matthew likes to take your presumptions about people and then flip them on their head, so he came to me and said, ‘I think you’re the last person on Earth anybody would expect to kick anyone’s a** so I think it would be a big surprise. But I would like you to do it, so are you up for it?,” he said.
