Colin Firth is a one-night Romeo, worried family man and insane executive... but only for new photo series exploring art of acting

PUBLISHED: 17:58 EST, 17 October 2013 | UPDATED: 00:17 EST, 18 October 2013

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He has played a number of diverse roles in his career, including King George VI in The King's Speech, Mr Darcy in the BBC television adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, and Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer in film Girl With A Pearl Earring.

And Colin Firth is showing off his diverse acting talent yet again this time via via photographs in new book Caught In The Act: Actors Acting.

The book, by award-winning photographer Howard Schatz sees the 53-year-old actor play a womaniser who can't remember the name of his latest conquest and a concerned father who just heard gunshots while at the mall with his family.

Colin Firth's instructions in Caught in the Act: 'You're a bipolar creative director of an ad agency, off your meds...'

Caught in the Act: Colin Firth poses for a collection of snapshots in new photography book Caught In The Act

He's also a mad ad man who has neglected to take his medication in the book which sees actors asked to showcase their talents in a series of photos that capture their transformation into different characters.

Firth was given three radically different scenarios and asked to inhabit the characters while photographer Schatz snapped the picture.

In one of the photographs in the series, Firth was given the following rather precise instruction: 'You're a bipolar creative director of an ad agency, off your meds and trying to sell some McDonald executives on the idea of Photoshopping a Big Mac into a Rembrandt self-portrait, for a campaign you're calling "Going Dutch/Burgers and Burghers".'

In the photo, the actor goes wild eyed, staring directly at the camera with his mouth agape, giving the handsome distinguished actor a look of lunacy.

Firth transformers into a one-night Romeo with the following instruction: 'You're a one-night-stand specialist seeing a woman you slept with the week before whose name you can't remember...'

In another photo, Firth shifts gears into a swarthy lothario who runs into his latest conquest after he is given the following instruction: 'You're a one-night-stand specialist seeing a woman you slept with the week before whose name you can't remember: 'Hello...you?''

With a devilish look in his eye, the former Mr Darcy is replaced by a cheeky ladies' man, who points to his latest victim in an effort to recall the poor girl's name.

In a third image, Firth because a family man with a look of concern as he is given the following direction: 'You're at a mall with your wife and three kids; you're at a photo kiosk, they're at the food court, and you hear gun shots from that direction.'

Firth as a concerned family man: 'You're at a mall with your wife and three kids; you're at a photo kiosk, they're at the food court, and you hear gun shots from that direction'

The actor glances over his shoulder in horror, checking on his imaginary family. His eyes are filled with worry and mouth is slightly ajar with shock as he hopes for the best.

Other actors featured in the Schatz' book include Pierce Brosnan, Michael Douglas, Michael C. Hall, Hugh Laurie, John Malkovich, Amy Poehler and Geoffrey Rush.

'Through formal portraits and interviews, we searched for the secrets of 85 of these talented shape-shifters looking for both visual and personal truths,' says Schatz.

'And by suggesting to them situations and characters, in the time-honored exercise of improvisation, we provided the catalysts for the creation of a wonderful cast of instantly invented people.'

The book is available through Glitterati Incorporated.

Iconic roles: Colin as Mr Darcy alongside Jennifer Ehle's Elizabeth Bennet in the acclaimed BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and as Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones's Diary

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akf2000, London, United Kingdom, 38 minutes ago

I'm a straight guy and he's pretty damn awesome

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akf2000, London, United Kingdom, 38 minutes ago

I'm a straight guy and he's pretty damn awesome

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me, Denmark, 2 hours ago

he is dashing

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didsey, leeds, United Kingdom, 3 hours ago

just soooooooooooooooooooooo beautiful i could look at him all day

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RahRah86, Cheshire, United Kingdom, 4 hours ago

Yes, simply just yes! YES YES YES! (and no, I am not recreating 'When Harry Met Sally')

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Innocuous, Irrelevant-Western Civ., 5 hours ago

I wish Colin Firth was a Kardashian b/c then the DM would do stories & print pictures of him EVERYDAY!!! And that would actually make your readers happy!!!