Born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England. Boyish, innocent-looking leading man of British stage, TV, and films. On television children's programs from age 15, he rose to prominence in 1973 on the strength of his performance in the National Theatre production of Equus. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for repeating the role in the 1977 screen version. Firth has appeared onscreen fairly regularly since then, most notably in the well-received but scarcely seen LETTER TO BRESHNEV (1985) and the smash hit THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (1990). Other notable credits include FRATELLO SOLE, SORELLA LUNA / BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON (1972), TESS and WHEN YOU COMIN' BACK, RED RYDER? (both 1979), SHADOWLANDS (1993), AMISTAD (1997), MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1998), CHILL FACTOR (1999), PEARL HARBOR (2001), and THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED (2005). In television, Firth has appeared in multiple episodes of "The Flaxton Boys" (1969), "Disneyland" (1974), "Play for Today" and "Heartbeat" (1994); he's had recurring roles on "Total Recall 2070" (1999), "That's Life" (2000-01) and "Spooks" (2002-06).  Nominated for Supporting Actor 1977: EQUUS 1 nomination