•Colin Firth and Ben Barnes are a fun double act. When the cameras are rolling, as they were the day I visited Ealing Studios to observe them shooting director Oliver Parker's film of Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray, they are, of course, totally professional.
Once they leave the set, though, they banter like old friends, which is what they've become, having first worked together on the hilarious film comedy Easy Virtue. You sense that Firth is often bemused by the younger actor's witty asides and when Firth is before the cameras, Barnes watches him like a hawk.
Barnes and Firth: Buddies
'Colin's got an effortlessness I admire,' Barnes told me. Parker's film of Dorian Gray is a gothic tale about a young man (Barnes) obsessed with his youth and celebrity. Although it's a period film, Parker and producer Barnaby Thompson have assembled a crew to give the film a modern sensibility.
We chatted about the success of Mamma Mia! the movie (it has taken over half a billion bucks worldwide) and Barnes announces that he likes Firth's dancing in the final credit sequence. 'I used a body double for that,' Firth joked.
He added seriously: 'If you want to explain the success of Mama Mia!, half of it is the credit crunch. When people are freaking out about war or their finances, it's like a virtual holiday.' Barnes films the next Chronicles Of Narnia movie next year, having starred as Prince Caspian this summer. This week he opened in Bigga Than Ben.
Meanwhile, Easy Virtue has a London Film Festival screening on October 28 - and Firth also stars in Michael Winterbottom's film Genova on October 22.
For film festival booking and info, visit www.bfi.org.uk/lff or call 020 7928 3232