He may have been nominated for an Academy Award for his role in ‘A Single Man’, but Colin Firth insists he still struggles with Hollywood and has trouble scoring the big parts.

The 49-year-old British star says, “They’re not bombarding me with offers, although the ones that have come along have been too preposterous to contemplate, so it’s not as if I spend my day resisting $20-million pay cheques. I work with the options in front of me and my reasons for choosing a job because it’s a group of people I’m dying to work with – and sometimes it can be a desire to shake things up a bit and not take myself too seriously.”

Colin – who has starred in ‘Mamma Mia!’ and ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ – adds that he needs to vary the types of movies he’s in to stay sane. He says, “A life of very, very serious, po-faced films would drive me nuts. I need, and am fortunate to have, a fairly varied menu in that respect.”