Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Firth said he was relieved "to be able to actually say the word 'Oscar'" because superstitious friends had spent the past few months referring to it as "the big O" or "the little golden man".

"To be able to call it what it is, which is a statue called the Oscar, is strangely refreshing," he said

Firth also said his next film would be a comedy. "I think gravitas is hugely over-rated and I just would like to do something that amuses me now. I think it's time to continue my long tradition of making a fool of myself."