Sunday 17 November 2013

Richard Armitage, your fans are the best!

My goodness, I have not been here since Richard's 42nd birthday in August. I had no idea that it had been that long! *hangs head in shame*

For the last few months, I have been forced to take a step away from my blog. I'm sure we've all been there: real life tends to take over now and then, taking our attention away from what's fun and exciting, and making us focus on what's really important for a while. My time, my mind (and my sleep) have been monopolised by other things and that has not done my inspiration any favours.

So, for a while now, I've had to watch Mr. Armitage and my fellow fans from afar and the distance has given me great insights. The most important one is this: Richard Armitage has got the absolute greatest fans. If I were in his shoes (or should I say 'boots'?), I would thank my lucky stars every single day for their unrelenting love and support. honestly, we're the best! :-)

Allow me to illustrate that point with 2 examples.

We love you when you're ugly
In these digital times, you can't always control which pictures of yourself appear online. A friend might snap a shot of you at a party and post it on Facebook and you 'll be horrified to discover it the next day because your hair, clothes or face didn't look great in the picture. That's how I think RA must have felt when this picture was released onto the world.

Picture taken from the Richard Armitage France page on Facebook

Personally, I think it's not the best shot of him. But, great fans that we are, we loved it! The beard, the boots, the long legs, the thighs, the glimpse of chest hair (which I don't like, by the way), the iPad (don't pretend you're not on the internet, dear Richard, even you couldn't resist a peek at what people are saying about you and about your version of Thorin forever), the jacket, the jeans... they were all discussed in the most meticulous detail and it was quickly proclaimed to be the new favourite picture of the fandom. You do ugly well, Richard, you do tired and dishevelled well, Richard. And the fans love it!

Our loyalty is as fierce as Thorin's majesty
Let's be honest, dearest Richard, you haven't exactly done much work lately (that we know of). We haven't exactly been spoiled with new examples of your excellent acting talents for about a year or so. Yes, we love Thorin and we can't wait to see more of him very soon. And it looks like Into The Storm will finally be released next August, which will be almost 2 years after you worked on it. I look forward to finally meeting your Gary Morris. But we are still here.

Beautiful new poster for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,
starring Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield


In the meantime, Aneurin Barnard got to play the dream role of Richard III and Batman went to Ben Affleck (I'm sure you were in the running for that role at some point, although I think you're capable of so much more than a rehash of a vintage superhero) and there's competition everywhere. Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston, just to name a few other excellent actors who have been churning out the films and the stunning performances like a well-oiled machine.

It would have been so easy to forget all about Richard Crispin Armitage and be mesmerised by one of your enchanting colleagues. But I don't think you've lost a single fan to any of them. On the contrary! I personally have never even been tempted by them. Fassbender amazed me with his portrayal of Bobby Sands, I love Benedict's brilliant Sherlock Holmes and Tom gave us an excellent Loki, but none of that has made me want to join the Cumberbitches or make this blog about Tom Hiddleston instead.  

Our loyalty is as fierce as Thorin's majesty. And that is not about to change. 

7 comments:

  1. Love this post, Inge. A much needed shot of positivity. :) And I'm convinced that he's checking his schedule at RANet.com in that shot up there.

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    1. Ha, maybe he is indeed! :-) Thanks for your comment!

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  2. Welcome back! Great essay! And I concur about my fan loyalty to Richard Armitage. Although Hiddleslton's Loki turn at Comic Con was fab! Ha!

    And I wouldn't say RA is "ugly" in that first photo with him schlumping in his chair. Does he ever not slouch in a chair? Ha! He just needs a freshening up--to the showers to make him pop. Ha!

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    1. Oh my, I laughed so hard seeing Tom H. as Loki at Comic Con.What a wonderful thing to do for the fans!

      Can I be first in line to help RA freshen up? Pretty please? ;-)

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  3. Welcome back, Inge! :)

    Fassbender as Bobby Sands was MINDBLOWING. Really a stunning performance! As for Cumberbatch, when he was on the Graham Norton show promoting the Star Trek film ... he heard how a fan had travelled from a different country just to be there in the audience and see him, he got up from his seat, went over to where she was in the audience and spontaneously hugged the girl! And when there were more who had travelled from abroad, they too got hugs! Chris Pine had to get up and give a few fans hugs as well simply because it would look bad in comparison if he didn't. I saw that and was amazed, and even though I'm not a "Cumberbitch", I thought "wow, what an amazing guy!" and was really thrilled for the fans in the audience. What a brilliant thing to do! :)

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    1. Thank you, Traxy, it's so good to be back!

      I did see Benedict in the Graham Norton show... he was so sweet!! :-)

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