Colin Firth didn't impress in-laws

Colin Firth didn't impress his wife's parents when they first met.

The 'King's Speech' star married film producer Livia Giuggioli - with who he has sons Luca, nine, and Matteo, seven - in 1997 and admits one of the main reasons why he learned to speak her native Italian was a desperate bid to win over her mother and father.

Speaking on CNN's 'Piers Morgan Tonight', Colin - who also has a 20-year-old son Will with his ex-girlfriend Meg Tilly - said: "Her parents warmed up. I mean, taking a stab at their language, you know, I had to do an awful lot to convince them that I was good material for their daughter. Because I had a lot of strikes against me. I was 10 years older nearly, English, didn't speak the language. Already had a child. I was an actor.

I mean, the list really does get very, very bad so I had to fix the language. It was one thing I could deal with and, you know, there's nothing like communicating with people in their own tongue."

The 50-year-old actor is also under no illusions as to who has the upper hand in his and Livia's relationship.

When quizzed on the dynamic of their marriage, he joked: "I'm afraid she's the ball breaker and the brains - which leaves me taking out the trash!"