Matthew Rhys plays Mr. Darcy in a new adaptation of a sequel to Pride And Prejudice, but he says he can’t top Colin Firth’s sexy scene in which he comes out of a lake wearing a white shirt.
The scene has become one of the most iconic romantic moments in period drama history and the ladies can attest to that.
Colin Firth became an instant sex symbol when he played the broody Jane Austen hero in the 1995 BBC adaptation.
Now Rhys is playing a different sort of Darcy in another BBC production set to premiere during the Christmas holiday in England, Death Comes To Pemberley.
The 38-year-old Welsh actor says he has no intention of emulating Firth, who also received an Oscar for his performance in The King’s Speech.
Death Comes To Pemberley is an adaptation of the novel by PD James, which sees Fitzwilliam Darcy (Matthew Rhys) married to Elizabeth (Bennet) played by Anna Maxwell Martin.
The novel takes place six years after the events in Pride And Prejudice. The happily married couple is settled and enjoying their life when tragedy strikes in the form of Darcy’s former nemesis, Mr. Wickham’s death.
Rhys states that playing an iconic literary hero is always problematic and on top of that if that hero has been portrayed by Colin Firth makes things more difficult.
He says his Mr. Darcy will be a more mature family man this time around, “I can wholeheartedly say I won’t be competing with Mr Firth emerging from a lake in a dripping white shirt – thankfully – because I don’t think anyone can top him.”
Rhys is no stranger to American audiences with roles in The Americans and Brothers & Sisters, he finds American accents easier than “posh English ones”.
The handsome actor says that he has no intention of settling down and that is fine by him, but his mother thinks otherwise.
Will you be watching Matthew Rhys play Mr. Darcy in Death Comes To Pemberley?
[Image via Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com ]
