Colin Firth looked nothing like the "real" Mr Darcy.
Nick Hardcastle's sketch of Mr Darcy
The 56-year-old actor - who was cast as the fictional character from Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' - was "too sexed up" in the BBC television adaptation and doesn't share any similarities with the heartthrob, according to academic research, as they believe an honest portrayal should have depicted the character with grey hair, a long nose and a pointed chin instead of being tall, dark and handsome.
The study titled 'The real Mr Darcy', which has been conducted by John Sutherland, Lord Northcliffe Professor Emeritus of Modern English Literature at University College London and Amanda Vickery, Professor of Early Modern History at Queen Mary University of London, has led artist Nick Hardcastle to draw up the first accurate portrait of Mr Darcy based on the existing depictions, the socio-economic and cultural factors of the time, including his background, appearance and lifestyle.
Speaking about Mr Darcy's aesthetic, Professor Amanda Vickery said: "Mr Darcy is an iconic literary character, renowned for his good looks, charm and mystery. As Austen wrote 'Pride and Prejudice' in the 1790s, our Mr Darcy portrayal reflects the male physique and common features at the time. Men sported powdered hair, had narrow jaws and muscular, defined legs were considered very attractive. A stark contrast to the chiselled, dark, brooding Colin Firth portrayal we associate the character with today.
"Drama's The Real Mr Darcy - a dramatic re-appraisal study reveals that in recent times, Darcy's character has been sexed up for the modern day audience with a turbo-charged injection of testosterone and steamy romance."
And Professor Sutherland added: "There are only scraps of physical description of Fitzwilliam Darcy to be found in 'Pride and Prejudice'; he is our most mysterious and desirable leading man of all time."
This research was commissioned by the television network Drama to celebrate 'Jane Austen Season', which started on Sunday (12.02.17).
However, Colin had to undergo a drastic make-over in a bid to land the lead role in 1995, which saw him dye his hair darker after being told he was too "ginger" to play the part.
Speaking previously, writer Andrew Davies said: "With Colin I was a bit doubtful because of his colouring at the time because he didn't have those dark curls back then.
"Sue was absolutely convinced that he would be wonderful but we said he had to go dark and he did go dark. He's stayed dark ever since so he must have liked it."
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