Colin Firth's busy schedule

Most recently, Firth has been involved with the big screen version of children’s favourite Paddington Bear – he provides the voice of the little bear from Peru. The film reunites Firth with Kidman - just one A-lister among a very starry cast. Filming finished in December, although the animation process continues for many months to come.

The Bridget Jones actor has also been busy in the UK filming his role of Uncle Jack in The Secret Service, which wrapped at the end of January. Another stellar ensemble has been working under director Matthew Vaughn on this one, with Michael Caine and Samuel L. Jackson among the talent on board.

The film is a big screen adaptation of the Mark Millar comic book about a young kid from the street who is trained as a British secret agent and comes from Marv Films and Hollywood giant 20th Century Fox.

There have been plenty of reports suggesting what Firth has lined up next, among which is a feature film project about Donald Crowhurst, the amateur sailor who competed in the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, in a bid to win the cash prize to save his floundering business.

Crowhurst ran into difficulties early on and abandoned the event. However, he continued to make false log reports as if he was still racing which displayed his increasingly fragile mental health. His eventual death in 1969 - a suicide detailed in log books which were later recovered - ended a very sad tale.

Kate Winslet is among the names also reported to be attached to this feature, which comes from Blueprint Pictures.

Firth is also down to star in The Happy Prince, which has been in development for a while with producer Robert Fox. Very much Rupert Everett’s baby (the St Trinian’s actor will direct from his own screenplay), the film depicts the final days of Oscar Wilde.

And if you can’t wait that long to see your Mr Darcy back on the big screen, Woody Allen’s latest offering, Magic in the Moonlight, will be out later this year. It must have been a real wrench saying yes to doing this period romantic comedy – quite apart from getting to work for the renowned auteur, Firth and co-stars (including Emma Stone and Marcia Gay Harden) spent much of last summer on the Côte d’Azur dressed in beautiful 1920s and 30s clothes.

Also much-anticipated is another Firth/Kidman feature, this time the adaptation of SJ Watson's thriller, Before I Go to Sleep, shot in London in early 2013.

With plenty of other international projects in the pipeline (Untouchable, Three to Kill and Genius), West London-based Firth had better make sure his passport is up-to-date.