Hold on to your smelling salts
Dominic Cooper is the new Colin Firth
With his period drama pedigree, darkly handsome looks and washboard abs (all the better for those wet shirt moments), it’s no wonder that British actor Dominic Cooper is being touted as the new Colin Firth. Ladies, hold on to your smelling salts.
While he hasn’t hit leading man status yet, you’ve no doubt seen Dominic smoulder onscreen. He played wisecracking, flirtatious Dakin in The History Boys (a role he originated onstage), Willoughby in the BBC miniseries Sense and Sensibility and most recently, Amanda Seyfried’s spunky fiancé Sky in Mamma Mia!. If you haven’t caught sight of him yet, check out The Duchess – in cinemas now – where he plays Keira Knightley’s true love. Swoon.
I chatted with Dominic earlier this month – and despite our scratchy phone connection, an eleven hour time difference and numerous pleas from his PR agent for us to ‘please hang up now’, I’m pleased to announce that the Colin Firth comparisons are spot on. Charming? Yes. Flirtatious? You betcha. Witty? Darn tootin’. Got a crush? Who, me?
Mamma Mia! is chock-full of stars – Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan – was it intimidating to turn up to the set?
You’d think it would be intimidating, yes, but to be honest, we all just had so much fun. Meryl was the most passionate actor. She’s really dedicated and energetic, and that really came through in the film.
Yeah, it looked like a great film to work on. Kissing the gorgeous Amanda Seyfried, hanging out in the Greek Islands, singing all day long…
You could tell how much fun we were all having, couldn’t you? I pretty much spent all day drinking beer, singing and riding around on jet-skis. And occasionally, I’d film a scene.
And how about the singing? Were you worried about that?
I was initially. And then I started to remember that I’d actually done quite a lot of singing. In fact, I was in a goth-punk band during high school...and I once had a girlfriend who used to dress me up in her mum’s clothes and make me sing ABBA songs. True story. So…I wasn’t entirely new to it.
Wow. What a confession. Do you have a favourite ABBA song, then?
Mmm…they’re all pretty catchy. It really is the perfect pop music. I think I’d have to choose 'Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)'.
It’s great music, but did it all get a bit much? Do you find yourself never wanting to listen to ABBA again?
Ah, yeah. No, just kidding – it’s good stuff. But Colin Firth and I would meet for breakfast while we were filming [Ed’s note: Sigh] and we’d both be singing the song we filmed the previous day. So it really does get into your head.
Ah, Colin Firth – I’ve heard lots of people compare you to him. What do you think?
Well, I think that’s very flattering, obviously, but…it’s probably a very inflated comparison to make!
Mamma Mia! is out on DVD now.
The Duchess is currently in cinemas.
ABBA fans across Australia can sing and dance along with dozens of classic tracks, thanks to SingStar: ABBA. Including 'Mamma Mia', 'Dancing Queen', ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) and many more. Available on both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2.