Firth was clueless about George VI before The King's Speech

London: British actor Colin Firth knew nothing about the life of King George VI before playing the royal in "The King's Speech" because he always despised the British establishment.

The actor is tipped to be nominated for an Oscar at this year's Academy Awards for his portrayal of the stammering monarch, the father of Britain's current ruler Queen Elizabeth II.

The first day of filming came as a shock to Firth, because he had no clue the late Queen Mother was his character's wife, insisting he has always purposefully ignored the lives of the royals, reports thesun.co.uk.

"I knew nothing about it. I knew that he existed. I knew about the abdication crisis that led to him becoming king, but I wasn't even quite sure whether he was George V or George VI. I remember my mother telling me that she had great sympathy for him because of the stammer. I knew he died relatively young and that the Queen came to the throne very young," he said.

"We all know that because that was 1952 and she's still here. I couldn't have told you the date that it all happened. I don't think I even knew that our Queen Mother was his wife. I should have - I mean it made sense - but I'm not a royal watcher."

"Anything that felt like Establishment or authority was not my friend as a kid. The monarchy simply had no interest for me. It's just some people are royal watchers. Some people love it. I'm not one of those people. I'm not that kind of patriot at all," he added.