Who would have thought there'd ever be a heartthrob named Colin? But there is, oh boy. And to celebrate the opening of Girl in a Pearl Earring (also known as 'Firth in a peculiar wig'), here are our top ten Colin Firth movie moments

1. Pride and Prejudice: That lake, that shirt. Felled the entire female population of the country like a pole axe, including your mum, your kid sister and old Mrs Gray who works down the community centre. How very embarrassing.

2. Bridget Jones' Diary: You would have thought the actor might have sent himself up, being so very obviously cast in Bridget Jones' Diary -but he played it straight and won our hearts all over again in the process. Remember this bit?
   Bridget: 'Nice boys don't kiss like that',
   Darcy: "Oh yes they f***ing do".

   
   

3. Girl with A Pearl Earring : Seeing serving girl Griet (Scarlett Johannsen) let down her hair and banging his head against the door in frustrated lust.

4. Love Actually: Richard Curtis is never one to miss out on a good thing, so he jumped at the chance to stick Colin next to a lake yet again in Love Actually. The mooning looks he cast towards his linguistically-challenged cleaner, as she jumped into the lake to save his manuscript, were a pleasure to behold.

5. Another Country: Playing cricket as golden haired communist schoolboy Tommy, who was off to die in the Spanish Civil War. Hey, he was older than sixteen when he played the role.

6. Fever Pitch: Making coffee for - and then suddenly kissing - Sarah (and, for a second, not banging on about football), in the film version of Nick Hornby's famous book about boys and their obsession with footy.

7. The Hour of the Pig: Managing to make long curly hair and a mediaeval outfit look pretty hot (if you haven't caught up with this film, it's a rather good romp about a lawyer putting a pig on trial in 13th-century France). Oh, and Colin has lots of sex in it.

8. Valmont: As the seductive Valmont corrupting Meg Tilly. Okay, so John Malkovich's take on the role might be more famous, but who would you rather be corrupted by?

9. Tumbledown: As the dashing sergeant Robert Lawrence. In uniform and everything! Oh yes.

10. A Month in the Country: And back in uniform as the heartbreakingly stuttering Tom Birkin, shellshocked and falling in love after the First World War. Guaranteed to bring out maternal instincts everywhere...aaah.