Firth, Grant duke it out in 'Bridget 2'

NEW YORK, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Colin Firth says he is amazed by people's interest in his fight scene with Hugh Grant in the upcoming romantic comedy "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason."

"That's quite extraordinary, isn't it? I was told: 'Don't say anything about the film. Don't give anything away.' They don't want you talking about it, and then, every shot that we do is followed frame by frame by the world's paparazzi and broadcast all over the world and it's in the papers the same day that we shot it and I've never worked in those circumstances before," he told UPI. "It's like doing live, unrehearsed theater in the center of London."

In the follow-up to the 2001 hit "Bridget Jones's Diary," romantic rivals Grant and Firth once again engage in fisticuffs over Renee Zellweger's character.

Asked if Grant is a good fighter, the "Love Actually" and "Girl With a Pearl Earring" actor replied, "Well, no."

"Hugh has always been a miserable fighter, and I find that he's physically deteriorated in the last three years," Firth quipped. "So, I have to be very careful and gentle with him now, and I keep finding myself saying, 'Sorry,' and calling him a nurse and giving him a pill and a blanket."