Thursday 2 February 2012

The challenge continues...

11. A habit of his which I find endearing.
I like the way he holds a coffee cup (or a tea cup), it always makes me smile because I tend to do the same thing. Mugs don't need handles, I don't use them anyway! I first noticed it in John Thornton, but I figured it was specific to the character. Imagine my surprise when Lucas North turned out to have the same habit! 
Richard as John Thornton in the BBC's adaptation of Elisabeth Gaskell's North & South

There are so many great pictures of RA with coffee cups/mugs, I had a really hard time selecting just a few to illustrate this question. These are my favourite Lucas-North-with-coffee moments from seasons 7, 8 and 9 of Spooks:






12. Something about him I don’t like.
Oh my. This is a difficult one. After careful consideration, I would have to say that the one thing I don't like about him is that he's neglecting his other artistic talents. As a dancer, I know how difficult it is to maintain a certain level of technical dancing skills and I'm sure he's not considering that a priority.
He's admitted to neglecting his music. I personally love the cello and I couldn't believe it when I heard that this beautiful man plays this beautiful instrument!
Luckily, he has been training his singing voice for The Hobbit and I still can't get over how good he sounds in the very first official trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey:



13. A favourite character quote
I'm staying with Lucas North for a little while longer. The first episodes of Richard as Lucas were very intense. Bring someone back from 8 years of torture in a Russian prison and he'll have a hard time putting his life, and himself back together again. He's confused about who he is and what he's supposed to do with the rest of his life. But the one thing he was never in doubt or unsure about was his loyalty to his country, Harry Pearce and MI-5. I can only imagine that it must feel like you're being stabbed through the heart when the people you trusted to bring you home, don't trust your loyalty.
Lucas North to Harry Pearce:

“Home isn't where you live. It's where people understand you. If I don't have trust from MI-5, from you, then I'll never really be home. I'll just be back in England.”



14. A favourite personal quote
Although I love to see Richard as himself in interviews, photoshoots or at award ceremonies, I thoroughly respect him for not participating in reality TV, celebrity competitions or other stupid things that exploit his celebrity and have nothing to do with his job as a professional actor. That's why I love this quote from an interview in the Daily Mail.
“One thing I can promise you is that you'll never see Richard Armitage on Strictly Come Dancing.”
Why?
“Because Richard Armitage will never appear as Richard Armitage on TV.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1218824/Me-sex-god-Spooks-star-Richard-Armitage-army-female-fans.html

Richard Armitage as himself, or not?
From the July 2011 photo and video shoot for Project magazine


15. A role I would love to see him in.
I am, of course, looking forward to seeing Richard as Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit.
Richard as Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain
I would love to see him make a dream come true (for himself as well as for many of his fans) playing king Richard III in his own production of the real story of the life of this tragic English king.
I would love to see him on stage, that would definitely be a dream come true for me.
If I had to pick one role that would be perfect for him, I would want Richard to play Raskolnikov in a film based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel Crime and Punishment.

16. A role I would not want him to do.
James Bond. And Batman, or any other superhero for that matter.
Oh, and romantic comedy.
Richard, please stay away from Comic Books, cheap Hollywood fluff and million dollar franchises. Thank you!

17. My favourite romantic pairing.
This was a beautiful couple. They had an amazing on-screen chemistry together and, of course, the beautiful storyline made them into the perfect romantic couple. 
Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe
in the BBC's adaptation of Elisabeth Gaskell's
North & South


18. My favourite platonic pairing.
Back to Spooks. The perfect team: Lucas North and Ros Myers!
Richard Armitage and Hermione Norris as Lucas North and Ros Myers in Spooks

19. My favourite bromance.
OK, these two were funny together! Level-headed killing machine John Porter and mentally fragile computer hacker Gerald Baxter are my favourite bromance!
Richard Armitage and Ewen Bremner
as John Porter and Gerry Baxter in episode 6 of
Chris Ryan's Strike Back


20. Something I would say to him if I met him
That's easy: “Thank you!”

6 comments:

  1. Gosh, Inge!
    I love all of your choices! Well done.
    Cheers! Grati ;->

    P.S. I especially love your treatment of RA holding cups to drink. His hands are so large that he literally engulfs the ceramic vessels. Ha!

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    1. Thanks Grati!
      And the way he holds his coffee cup gives us a good look at those beautiful hands!!

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  2. Just discovered your blog. (ALWAYS behind the times :( ) Great choices. Maybe all that caffeine contributed to John Bateman? No, Bateman was a writer's aberration!

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    1. John Bateman? Sorry, I'm still in denial... he'll always be Lucas North to me!
      Thanks for your comment fitzg!

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  3. Great choices, Inge! I've always wondered if he holds his mugs like that because his hands are so large and don't fit the handles well...just a thought.

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    1. I think you're right - I often have trouble fitting my long fingers into the handles of small cups as well. And it just looks weird... :-)

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