--- description: Paddington Bear will no longer be voiced by Colin Firth in the upcoming film adaptation of the picture-book series title: Colin Firth Will No Longer Voice Paddington Bear in New Film image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteab8a07284f71376/69869809adae44c7ab543bd8/rtr3nwk5.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Colin Firth Is Paddington Bear No More by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 18, 2014 6:50 AM CUT  Actor Colin Firth arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala Benefit in Manhattan on May 5, 2014 Actor Colin Firth arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala Benefit in Manhattan on May 5, 2014Carlo Allegri—Reuters by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 18, 2014 6:50 AM CUT Paddington Bear, the beloved anthropomorphized creature of children’s literature, will no longer be voiced by Colin Firth, the beloved English actor of stage and screen, in the upcoming film adaptation of the picture-book series. Though a replacement for Firth hasn’t yet been determined, the Weinstein Company still aims to release the project in the U.S. on Christmas Day as planned. The actor’s split from the film was amicable, according to both Firth and director Paul King. “We love the voice and we love the bear, but as our young bear came into being we agreed that the two didn’t seem to fit,” King said in a statement. “So, with somewhat heavy hearts we decided to part ways.” “It’s been bittersweet to see this delightful creature take shape and come to the sad realization that he simply doesn’t have my voice,” Firth [told](http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/06/17/colin-firth-leaving-as-voice-of-paddington-movie-exclusive/ "undefined") _Entertainment Weekly_ _._ “I’ve had the joy of seeing most of the film, and it’s going to be quite wonderful.” Beyond finding a voice actor to replace Firth, work on the animated film is almost complete. Filmmakers released [a trailer](http://family-room.ew.com/2014/03/05/paddington-trailer-first-look/ "undefined") back in March — with Firth’s voice absent. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2892622/colin-firth-is-paddington-bear-no-more/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2892622/colin-firth-is-paddington-bear-no-more/"},"headline":"Colin Firth Is Paddington Bear No More","datePublished":"2014-06-18T06:50:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:28:34.749Z","description":"The split was amicable, both Firth and filmmakers say, and the film is still on schedule for a Christmas release","url":"https://time.com/2892622/colin-firth-is-paddington-bear-no-more/","keywords":["Hollywood","Colin Firth"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteab8a07284f71376/69869809adae44c7ab543bd8/rtr3nwk5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteab8a07284f71376/69869809adae44c7ab543bd8/rtr3nwk5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Colin Firth arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala Benefit in New York","caption":"Colin Firth arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala Benefit in New York","creditText":"Carlo Allegri—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2892622/colin-firth-is-paddington-bear-no-more/","name":"Colin Firth Is Paddington Bear No More"}}]}] ```