--- title: Watch Colin Firth Swear in Italian description: Of course when he says bad words, they still sound classy canonical: https://time.com/62549/watch-colin-firth-swear-in-italian/ author: Belinda Luscombe article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-17T21:04:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:52:35.645Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Watch Colin Firth Swear in Italian og:description: Of course when he says bad words, they still sound classy og:url: https://time.com/62549/watch-colin-firth-swear-in-italian/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b9b5cacf27eb8c7/69868af0adae4472fb542987/colin_firth_italian_new1280.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1280 og:image:height: 720 og:image:alt: Colin Firth og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Colin Firth Swear in Italian twitter:description: Of course when he says bad words, they still sound classy twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b9b5cacf27eb8c7/69868af0adae4472fb542987/colin_firth_italian_new1280.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 06:54 video:published: 2014-04-16 section: entertainment topics: Railway Man, war trauma, former POW, revenge, acting process, true stories, costume memorabilia, Italian language, bella figura, Pride and Prejudice genre: interview, celebrity profile tones: reflective, candid, playful, warm emotions: empathy (high), sadness (medium), amusement (medium), admiration (medium) sentiment: neutral audience: film enthusiasts, general readers, fans of Colin Firth, history and war story followers people: Colin Firth, Belinda Luscombe, Nicole Kidman, Patti Lomax, Terry Lomax, Kirstie Cameron organizations: TIME, CosProp products: Railway Man, Pride and Prejudice content_suitability: war [00:08-01:26]; violence [02:33-03:21]; tragedy [01:26-02:05] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Watch Colin Firth Swear in Italian > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: 10 Questions with Colin Firth [Watch (HLS stream): 10 Questions with Colin Firth](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/awsk8TvB.m3u8) (6:54)  _Published 2014-04-16. Academy Award-winning actor Colin Firth talks to TIME's Belinda Luscombe about his new movie,_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Academy Award-winning actor Colin Firth talks with TIME's Belinda Luscombe about his film Railway Man, based on a former POW who returns to Thailand to confront a former torturer. They discuss the emotional weight of portraying real people's extraordinary experiences, the film's handling of revenge, and the trauma that affected the real-life subject and his wife. The interview closes with reader questions on costume memorabilia and Italian language and culture. ## Key points - Firth says one of the most interesting parts of his job is taking on someone else's extraordinary experience, whether beautiful, horrific or inspiring. (00:24) - Firth says the film is not a morality tale and does not take a position on revenge, but tells how a man found healing and peace by letting go of his need for revenge. (02:23) - Firth says the real-life subject's wife, Patti, did not realize how deeply damaged he was until after they married, when his nightmares became apparent. (01:26) - Firth says the subject told him he had nursed himself to sleep on the screams of his victim in his mind and sustained himself on that thought. (03:21) - Firth says he has never been kissed unexpectedly by a stranger, and jokes that such a kiss would only happen in his dreams with someone like Nicole Kidman. (04:20) - Firth says the white shirt from Pride and Prejudice was not really soggy and that he never came out of a lake as the scene is remembered. (05:01) - Firth explains the Italian concept of 'bella figura' as making a good impression, and says Italian has a precision for such social concepts that English lacks. (06:02) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 01:26] Playing real-life experiences in Railway Man. Firth discusses taking on extraordinary true stories and the film's romance-to-war-drama shift. - [01:26 to 02:23] The real Terry and Patti Lomax story. Firth describes how Patti discovered the depth of her husband's trauma after marriage. - [02:23 to 04:03] Revenge and the subject's inner life. Firth addresses the film's stance on revenge and recounts the real subject's account of his plans. - [04:03 to 05:01] Kiss scene and reader question on costume. Firth jokes about the on-screen kiss and answers a reader question about the Pride and Prejudice shirt. - [05:01 to 06:54] Italian words and cultural concepts. Firth shares favorite Italian insults and explains the idea of bella figura. ## Key quotes - [00:24] Colin Firth: "One of the most interesting areas of my job is when I get asked to have a brush with someone else's extraordinary experience" - [02:23] Colin Firth: "It's not a morality tale. It's not a, a bromide for life. It's not a, a prescription." - [03:21] Colin Firth: "he'd nursed himself to sleep on the screams of his, his victim, in his mind." - [05:01] Colin Firth: "this shirt is barely soggy or clingy or any of the things that it's mythologized to be." - [06:02] Colin Firth: "bella figura is, is when, you know, I've, I've made a good impression of myself." ## Questions this video answers - What is Railway Man about? [00:02] - Does Firth believe in revenge, and what does the film say about it? [02:05] - How did the real Patti Lomax experience her husband's trauma? [01:26] - Did Firth keep the waterlogged white shirt from Pride and Prejudice? [05:01] - What does the Italian phrase 'bella figura' mean? [06:02] ## Content suitability - war [00:08-01:26]: Film is based on a former prisoner of war's story and discussion touches on wartime experience. - violence [02:33-03:21]: Discussion of a plan to kill a torturer and the subject's inner fixation on his victim's screams. - tragedy [01:26-02:05]: Describes a marriage affected by severe, unacknowledged trauma and damage.  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Apr 17, 2014 9:04 PM UTC Colin Firth talks to TIME's Belinda Luscombe about his favorite Italian words.  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Apr 17, 2014 9:04 PM UTC Colin Firth’s wife is Italian. Therefore Colin Firth speaks Italian. When Firth dropped by TIME’s offices to promote his new movie _The Railway Man_, he acknowledged that he spoke it well enough to make an Italian movie, as long as he were playing an English guy. Firth’s particularly fond of Italian insults, which he claims are more precise than the ones in the language you are currently reading. In Firth’s new movie, which also stars Nicole Kidman, he plays a former POW who worked on the horrific Thai Burma railway during World War 2\. (This one of the most brutal episodes of the Pacific theater, but is not as well-known as some of the horrors of Europe.) Firth’s character is based on a real person by the name of Eric Lomax, a railway enthusiast who survived the war but not without a marriage-damaging amount of emotional damage. Lomax is bent on revenge and the movie follows what happens after he finds one of his tormentors showing tourists around his old prison camp. In the fuller interview, which subscribers can read [here](http://time.com/66281/colin-firth-10-questions/), Firth also talks about the horror of naked costars and what he feels about his dreamy reputation. Watch a longer version of the interview below. ## Transcript [00:00] Colin Firth is an Academy Award winning actor. His new [00:02] movie is Railway Man, and I'm honestly excited to say [00:03] that he's here with me now. Mr. Firth, welcome. Good [00:08] to be here. So, Railway Man is based on the story of, of [00:11] a former POW who, who goes back to Thailand to [00:16] kind of hunt down one of his torturers, more or less. [00:18] Are veterans particularly interesting characters to you, [00:20] or is it just the, is it just that's two great stories? [00:24] One of the most interesting areas of my job is when I [00:28] get asked to have a brush with someone else's [00:30] extraordinary experience whether it's beautiful or [00:33] horrific or inspiring or, or otherwise. It's [00:37] nevertheless an exploration beyond anything that has [00:40] has happened to me. And and it becomes my [00:44] job, a very difficult job at the to to understand it as [00:47] best I can. And then to [00:52] hopefully relay something of it you [00:57] know, through this particular medium. When I saw the [00:59] movie I thought, oh, this is going to be a nice little [01:02] romance between Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. He's [01:05] a wonderful man. I've seen it, but he's a mess. You [01:10] couldn't possibly imagine what he's been through. And [01:13] then suddenly, you're in a war movie. And I was like, [01:16] oh, he's tricked me with his romanticness. Well I think [01:20] that's what Patti Lomax felt when she met her Terry [01:22] Lomax. I think, wherewith, we're walking a mile in her [01:26] shoes. Because she didn't really have a clue when she [01:28] met him. I love him and I want him back. As you see in [01:32] the film, it wasn't really until they got married, that it [01:35] very suddenly and abruptly became apparent. [01:38] Because his nightmares were harrowing. For anybody [01:41] who, who is present or even in the same house, they [01:44] couldn't even have guests staying with them because [01:47] his his screams were so distressing. So yes, [01:51] she met a charming, somewhat eccentric rather [01:57] brilliant individual who proved to be [02:03] profoundly complicated and, and extremely damaged. [02:05] Do you believe in revenge? It's a question that comes [02:09] up, and I think it's a question that probably should [02:13] come up. But I don't really think. I'm not in the [02:17] business of answering that question. And I don't think [02:18] the film really is trying to. It's not a morality [02:23] tale. It's not a, a bromide for life. It's not a, a [02:26] prescription. It takes the position though, I would say, [02:29] on revenge. I don't actually think it does. I think it tells [02:33] a story about how a man found healing and [02:37] some peace. By letting go of his need for revenge. I [02:40] asked Erik himself over lunch. It's a very strange thing [02:44] to find yourself asking a question about someone's [02:46] plans for murder. And his wife's sitting there, and [02:49] we're having Shepherd's Pie. Tea? Yes. And you don't, [02:54] I wasn't quite sure what the proper vocabulary is in [02:57] polite company. But I have. I said, did you? I [03:01] mean, did the people around you, the counselors, your [03:06] wife, were they aware of your, your plan [03:10] to to like he just said, kill him? Well, [03:16] yes and he said, oh yeah. And he said it didn't matter [03:20] whether they knew or not. And he said, I knew I was [03:21] going to do it. He'd thought about it and it was like [03:24] he'd seen in the film. And he said he'd nursed himself [03:26] to sleep on the screams of his, his victim, in his mind. [03:29] And, he had, he sustained himself on [03:33] that. You know, and I think this [03:38] story is meaningless unless we are honest about that, [03:41] and those years spent completely [03:46] compelled by those things. I think it, it makes it much [03:50] more meaningful and it, and actually [03:54] it, it adds. I think it adds in -, incredible [03:59] weight to the, the decision he eventually made. At [04:03] one point, Nicole Kidman's character kisses you [04:05] unexpectedly. And I'm thinking, well, that's gotta be [04:08] happening to Colin Firth all the time, though. No. [04:12] Really, strange women coming up and kissing you [04:14] awkwardly. Oh, no, no. If only. No. Oh, come on. No, [04:16] no. And I, I can [04:20] honestly say I think it has never happened. And and [04:24] no, it's that way in my dreams. [ LAUGH ] And in my [04:27] dreams, that it would look like Nicole Kidman. [04:28] [ SOUND ] [ LAUGH ] Questions from readers. This one [04:32] is from Kirstie Cameron from New Zealand. Did you [04:35] keep the waterlogged white shirt [ MUSIC ] from Pride [04:36] and Prejudice? No. There were probably about seven [04:40] of them. Because, yeah, they came from a, a costume [04:44] house called CosProp. [ MUSIC ] In London, very good, [04:46] it was the most wonderful tailor there. Who, who made [04:49] it all on a tiny, tiny budget. We had to rotate very few [04:53] costumes to make them look as if I had a lot. And I [04:55] didn't. And it was a moment when, for the sake of [04:57] continuity, we had to look like I'd been for a swim. And [05:01] this, this shirt is barely soggy or clingy or any of the [05:03] things that it's mythologized to be. They've even got [05:05] me coming out of a lake which I never did. And that [05:07] got voted as the most memorable moment in television [05:10] history. The thing that never happened. LAUGH And so [05:15] I think it's been auctioned off. Oh. Probably more times [05:20] than is actually feasible. Is your Italian good enough for [05:23] you to do an Italian movie? yes, long as, as [05:27] long as I'm playing an Englishman. LAUGH I couldn't be [05:30] mistaken for an Italian. You have a favorite word in [05:32] Italian? I love, I mean the insults are wonderful, [05:34] because they use them more sparingly than we do. But [05:37] they really do use them to great effect. Stronsa is a [05:40] wonderful word, it's an insult. Is it clean enough to say? [05:45] It means piece of ****. But it's more specific than that, [05:47] it means a floating piece of ****. And there's the whole [05:50] thing of Lafigura, because we don't really have that [05:53] concept. It's about the impression you create. It's [05:57] very important. It's important enough to have a word, [05:59] which is in very, very common currency. So bella figura [06:02] is, is when, you know, I've, I've made a good [06:04] impression of myself. It's not as, we have to, I'm saying [06:08] it in a way that's rather labored, but it's not. A bella [06:09] figura. It means like that, that came [06:14] across well. Or [ FOREIGN ]. Or [ FOREIGN ] if you put [06:17] [ UNKNOWN ] on the end it means the bad version of [06:19] something. And that'll mean when you've, there's been [06:23] a gaffe or, or when you Messed up. Yes. [06:27] So you've just you know if I, if I sat here and and made [06:32] some idiotic mistake about who I was talking to or [06:34] where I was, that would be a [ FOREIGN ]. And we [06:38] don't really have that. And But we do it. When we just. [06:42] We do it but we have to sort of anatomize it and create [06:44] a phrase out of it and you know, INAUDIBLE for, for [06:46] them. So you, you often find that there a lot of these [06:49] things have a, have a precision in that language which, [06:49] which we don't. Mr. Firth. Thank you so much. 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