Outside work, Colin Firth is an active supporter of several human rights movements such as Amnesty International [The Wembley Stadium concert] and other well worth causes.

From Empire Online, 15/11/1999: Pride and Prejudice actor Colin Firth was among Friday's protesters outside the Houses of Parliament, campaigning against the government's decision to extend the use of detention for asylum seekers. Last week the immigration bill received its royal assent, a move which Home Secretary Jack Straw ensured would make positive changes to the the present system. But figures from The Refugee Council reveal that the UK detains more asylum seekers than any other country in Europe without judicial review. "It is shameful that a country calling itself civilised detains hundreds of people a year coming here in search of liberty," said Firth, who helped to extend a paper chain - made from 800 pledges of support - around the grounds [below].

1999 he was much engaged in the controversial british immigration and asylum debate; as a protest against the planned withdrawal of benefits for asylum-seekers and their replacement with a voucher scheme, Colin Firth joined Tony Booth (the Prime Minister's father-in-law) and comedian Mark Thomas, to test the voucher scheme in a London supermarket on June 9 [pictures below]. They concluded it would restrict the freedom of refugees. The protest, organised by the Big Issue, aimed to persuade MPs to vote against the third reading of the immigration and asylum bill. Read more about it at The Guardian online site here.

From Empire Online 10/04/2001: Be still the palpitating hearts of the female half of the nation - Empire Online has just received news that Mark Darcy (aka Mr Colin Firth) will be attending a charity screening of Bridget Jones's Diary in London in just under a fortnight. The kindly Mr Firth has offered his services to the charity Survival International, and will be introducing a special screening of Bridget Jones's Diary at the Odeon West End in London's Leicester Square on 26 April 2001. All profits from the screening will go to Survival's urgent work with threatened tribal peoples.

Empire Online, 27/04/2001: Firth's Mad Dash
A predominantly female crowd gathered in London last night for a special charity screening of Bridget Jones's Diary which offered the promise of a foreword by Bridget star Colin Firth. Appearing slightly late and frazzled, Firth explained to the crowd that he'd been delayed by extended filming on The Importance of Being Earnest; 'I've just had a singularly exciting ride through London on the back of a motorcycle, to get me here in time.'
The event was in aid of the charity Survival International which works to protect the rights of tribal peoples - a cause Firth has espoused for many years. But even Firth had problems linking the cause to the evening's main event; 'Let me tell you I've got myself into knots trying to find any conceivable link between the plight of the bushmen of Botswana and Bridget Jones's Diary...take my word for it - it's not there.'

Colin is also the patron of Friend of Out of the Blue - a non-profit young peoples theatre company in Dorset. Colin writes online: "We at Out of the Blue believe theatre to be one of the most important and useful mediums for the development and unification of a community. We are therefore dedicated to bringing opportunity to all members of our society, especially those who previously would never have considered performance a possibility." Read the full text here.