Tuesday 20 August 2013

Long live King Richard!

So, The White Queen has come to an end with the death of King Richard III.

If you've read my review of episode 1, you know that I enjoyed the beginning of the seriesvery much and that I was looking forward to the rest of it. And I was especially looking forward to seeing Richard of Gloucester become Richard III, seeing him grow from a boy into a king. And although I feel the story of Richard's reign was rushed and important details forgotten or only touched upon, I was impressed by Aneurin Barnard. His portrayal of King Richard was spot on: silent, innocent, introverted, stoic, stylish and strong. Conflicted in the right place, emotional at the right time. Truly a performance fit for a king. I hope Aneurin Barnard is extremely proud of this role and I wish him all the best for the rest of his career. He can come back to play 'our Richard' anytime! ;-)

It's almost freaky how, thanks to the discovery of King Richard's remains in Leicester and the research done by the team at Leicester University, we now know exactly how accurate his portrayal was, even though Aneurin did not know that at the time when he was filming The White Queen. He was spooked by it, and so was I! Richard III's final scene was gripping...I definitely felt a chill down my spine...

Aneurin Barnard - remember that name!

But let me take you back to the main subject of this blog: have you noticed how similar Aneurin Barnard and Richard Armitage are? Yes, there's a bit of an age difference, but forget about that for a moment. No wonder I would love for Richard to get a chance to play King Richard as well... Actually, I can't believe nobody has come up with some Alternate Universe story yet in which Richard III miraculously survives Bosworth and lives on!

Let's take a look at these two Richards...

They both look good in black...

Aneurin Barnard as King Richard III
Richard Armitage as Sir Guy of Gisborne
 
And they both look good in candle light... They have both mastered the look of a brooding, conflicted royal prince...


 
 
And they both have that majestic style: dark hair, pale skintone, a royal grace... and piercing blue eyes!


Someone should write a great script and put them in a film together. Now there's something I would pay money to watch!!

Did you watch The White Queen? Or maybe you're watching it in the USA where it has only just started? What do you think?


4 comments:

  1. I so would love RA to do it, I know it has been a dream of his to do Richard III

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that that dream will become a reality some day!

      Delete
  2. What an excellent post I have to agree with everything you say. I for one have enjoyed The White Queen although I think some parts were a bit rushed. I would love Richard to play Richard 111 although as he has said he may be a little too old now. But that didn't stop a 6ft 2" man playing a dwarf did it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment! I agree, some part were rushed, but I guess that leaves enough material for another series or film that focused completely on Richard (and Anne)! All it takes is some clever filmmaker (with a budget!) to see the possibilities... :-)

      Delete