42!!

Happy Birthday, Richard Armitage!!

Ah, 42, the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything!! :-)

Mr. Armitage, dear Richard, I hope you have a wonderful day with a nice bottle of red wine, lots of chocolate ice cream or birthday cake (or both!) and the very best of friends to sing "Happy Birthday" to you.

My birthday wish is that in your 43rd year on this earth, we will find you on stage in London's West End and I eagerly await the day when you will grace us with a musical performance on the cello ;-) . That would allow me to tick 2 important items off of my own bucket list! And maybe you'll get closer to the top of Mount Everest as well...

Happy Armitage Day to all !!

Thirty Days to Thorin (13) - Richard and Richard

 

For a while now, I've been wondering whether Richard Armitage is still thinking about playing King Richard III. Richard was named after the English king as he was born on 22 August, the day Richard III was killed in the battle at Bosworth Field in 1485.

A few years ago, Richard was planning to create a film to redeem the wronged King and restore his reputation. The fans loved the idea and have been rallying support for this project ever since. But with everything that has happened in Richard's career over the last few years and months, does Richard still have Richard on the brain? Or has he moved on?
Someone on that Red Carpet for The Hobbit in Wellington had obviously done their homework on Richard and asked him that very question. And I could not be happier about his reply... notice the twinkle in his eye and that small sigh of regret when he is confronted with the memory of Richard III... *runs off to watch the video again* 

Video uploaded to Youtube by Britu 21

 

Would you like to know more about King Richard III? I would recommend the excellent historical novel The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman, which was actually a great favourite of RA's father.

Would you like to support Richard and make his dream of playing Richard III a reality? Sign the petition at http://kingrichardarmitage.rgcwp.com/

My favourite picture for your birthday...

Happy Armitage Day to Richard Armitage fans across the globe...

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Richard Crispin Armitage, actor, heart-throb (yes, you, Mr. A!), dandy (very suave, when he's in the right frame of mind), circus worker (yes, he slept next to the elephants, get over it), dwarf (the tallest dwarf, in every way!), professional spy (I love Lucas North, did I mention that?), and Nazi saboteur (He's the only person who would want to make a cartoon character - Heinz Kruger in Captain America - look like more than a one-dimensional bad guy: Erich Gimpel, your biography is now on my reading list as well!)

After 21 days of counting down to this day, I owe you my favourite picture in honour of RA's birthday. so here it is:

Picture courtesy of the excellent Picture Gallery at www.richardarmitagenet.com

Why do I love this picture?

- It's Richard, as himself. No character to change his features, his voice or his actions, he's his very own, adorable self!

- His hair is short, and it's his natural colour

- The beard... what can I say? THE BEARD!! *I'm controlling the urge to run my fingers across his jaw*

- That incredible Belstaff leather jacket that fits him so very well - actually, I can't believe that the brand has not asked him to be their poster-boy (or man, I should say) because their jackets and coats look exquisite on him!

- He's talking about his role in The Hobbit and I am eagerly awaiting the day when I can finally see RA as Thorin on the big screen, in high-definition 3D!

- He's being serious: he's giving one of his incredibly intelligent, well thought-through answers to some interviewer's not-so-very-original question...

- His voice, yes his beautiful, deep, velvet, dip-me-in-chocolate, tingles-down-my-spine voice. Of course, you can't hear that voice in this picture, so I would like to share a video as well. A minute of Richard Armitage - thank you bcc mee for creating this!

I hope you've enjoyed my countdown to Armitage day and my selection of pictures. I've had a wonderful time going through the picture gallery and finding my favourites to share... Thank you all for visiting my blog, commenting on the pictures and for taking part in all the birthday fun!

Thank you Mr. A for inspiring me! Whatever you are doing to celebrate this day, I hope you enjoy it. Happy Birthday, Richard!! x

A birthday countdown in pictures (#21)

It's tomorrow: Armitage Day! I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do to celebrate, but I'm sure I'll figure something out...

And, what's more, I can't help but wonder what our dearest Mr. RC Armitage will be doing tomorrow. Is he working? Has he made his way back to London to see his family or are his friends organising a surprise party? Whatever it is, I hope he has a lot of fun and he remembers how many people will be raising their glass to toast to his health and to wish him well.

So on this last day of the countdown, these pictures soothe my soul. I call them "A Rhapsody in Blue". I like him even better in black, but the blue matches his beautiful blue eyes *blushes*...

Richard Armitage turns 41 tomorrow. These pictures are from 2008.
You can find the, as always, in the Picture Gallery of www.richardarmitagenet.com

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#20)

I'm almost at the end of the countdown to Armitage Day, the 41th birthday of my muse, Mr. Richard Crispin Armitage on 22 August.

Whenever I need to be reminded of how incredibly talented this man is, I look at the picture below. In 2002, Richard played gentle giant John Standring in the three-part drama series Sparkhouse, a modern version of Wuthering Heights.

I 'met' Richard when he played John Thornton in North & South, but it was his role as John Standring that convinced me that RA was one of the best actors of his generation. He went to the casting for this role in character, and convinced the casting directors without a fragment of doubt that he was John Standring. His performance in Sparkhouse continues to amaze me and I go back to it on a regular basis. You can see the entire series on Youtube, and you really should!

Richard Armitage as John Standring in Sparkhouse (2002)
Picture supplied by www.richardarmitagenet.com

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#19)

Richard, please forgive me if I use your birthday countdown to talk about a worthy cause...

It's exactly one year ago today that 3 men from Little Rock, Arkansas, were released from prison. They had spent 18 years in prison for a crime they did not commit and one of them had been sentenced to death. On 19 August 2011, these men agreed to take a so-called "Alford Plea" to be released from prison. The Alford Plea basically means that you plead guilty in court while you maintain your innocence.

Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Miskelley Jr. are free, but their names have not been cleared.

Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of The Rings trilogy and the upcoming The Hobbit films has been instrumental in getting these men, known as the West Memphis Three out of prison. He continues to support their case and today published a message about this case on his Facebook page.

The documentary West of Memphis, directed by Amy J. Berg and produced by Peter Jackson was shown at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

Damien Echols is an inspired writer. His story, Life After Death, will be released on 18 September 2012. See it on Amazon here. It's at the very top of my reading list.

Richard Armitage as John Porter in episode 3 of Chris Ryan's Strike Back 

Today, my thoughts go out to Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Miskelley Jr. I hope they are finally getting the chance to enjoy life, a life that was taken away from them by a failing judicial system.

My heart goes out to the families of Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore and I hope that they will someday know who is responsible for the death of their children.

"Lay beside me, tell me what they've done
Speak the words I want to hear, to make my demons run
The door is locked now, but it's open if you're true
If you can understand me, then I can understand the you"

(From The Unforgiven 2 by Metallica)

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!



A birthday countdown in pictures (#18)

“Margaret liked this smile;
it was the first thing she had admired in this new friend of her father's; and the opposition of character, shown in all these details of appearance she had just been noticing, seemed to explain the attraction they evidently felt towards each other.”

(From North & South by Elisabeth Gaskell)

What can I say? I know how she feels...

Images from a 2008 Promo shoot
Supplied by the Picture Gallery at www.richardarmitagenet.com

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!



A birthday countdown in pictures (#17)

We're at day 17. Armitage Day is almost upon us. I don't know about you, but I can't wait! I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to do on the 22th, but I'll definitely be sure to have a glass of wine to toast to the good health of a certain Brit we all know and love :-)

So why don't we take it easy for a change. We bow our head and think of all those things we love about Richard Armitage. Personally, I love him because he's genuine and humble (and incredibly talented and extremely handsome as well!). He once mentioned that he loved this song by Keane, and I love this beautiful picture - and they fit together so very well!

The originalof this picture can be found at www.richardarmitagenet.com
It's from the 2011 photoshoot for Project Magazine

I don't wanna be adored
Don't wanna be first in line
Or make myself heard
I'd like to bring a little light
To shine a light on your life
To make you feel loved

No, don't wanna be the only one you know
I wanna be the place you call home

I lay myself down
To make it so, but you don't want to know
I give much more
Than I'd ever ask for

Will you see me in the end
Or is it just a waste of time
Trying to be your friend
Just shine, shine, shine
Shine a little light
Shine a light on my life
Warm me up again

Fool, I wonder if you know yourself at all
You know that it could be so simple

I lay myself down
To make it so, but you don't want to know
You take much more
Than I'd ever ask for

Say a word or two to brighten my day
Do you think that you could see your way

To lay yourself down
And make it so, but you don't want to know
You take much more
Than I'd ever ask for

(Hamburg Song by Keane. From their 2006 album Under The Iron Sea)

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#16)

There's finally proof of Richard's return to designer stubble. The beard is indeed gone! As you all know by now, I really loved that beard. But I have to admit that it's good to see his face again. Basically, it's just good to see him: it looks like the RA drought is finally over!

As those new pictures were all over the Twitter and Facebook today, I decided not to post them here. Actually, I suddenly realised that after 16 days of this countdown, I have not posted one single picture of Richard as Guy of Gisbourne. (This one doesn't really count, right?) Shame on me!!

So, I tried to find the very best picture of Sir Guy but, as you can probably guess, that's an impossible task as almost every single one of them looks incredible.

Here's my favourite Black Knight:

One thing I've realised, looking at my selection: I like him in close-up! :-)

Whenever I think of Richard playing King Richard III, I imagine him looking like Guy of Gisbourne. That reminds me, I have a review to publish of a book about the reign of Richard III. So much to do, so little time... :-) That's coming soon!

Enjoy your Guy Day tomorrow!

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#15)

Welcome to day 15 of our countdown to the 41th birthday of one of the most talented actors of his generation: Mr. Richard Crispin Armitage. Leicester lad, professional chameleon, DIY expert and lover of literature.

I started this countdown to be able to illustrate the things I love about Richard Armitage with pictures. I've mentioned his voice, I've talked about his elegance, his talent, his beautiful blue eyes. But there's one more thing that I adore about this man: his profile!

Just look at this picture of John Porter from episode 3 of Chris Ryan's Strike Back:

Richard Armitage as John Porter in Chris Ryan's Strike Back

Could this man be any more perfect? Smooth skin, dark (short!) hair, those perfect sideburns, that designer stubble, the beautiful, long neck, the narrow lips, the hopelessly irresistible lines around his eyes, the shape of that nose... even his ears are perfect!

Or am I just biased? ;-)

One more thing: My man should wear black. That's his colour. And I adore him as the perfect embodiment of "tall, dark and handsome". But I have to admit that he looks good in this picture. The earthy sand tones suit him extremely well. And those sunglasses...P.E.R.F.E.C.T.I.O.N.



What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#14)

Let's stay with Lucas North for one more day...

Episode 3 of season 7 is my favourite episode of Spooks. It's the first episode in which we really get to see Lucas North in action. He's confident in dealing with assets and in taking decisions that could affect the lives of his colleagues. They are immediately in awe of the lanky, strong case officer who seems to have found his place in the team after 8 years of captivity in Russia. 

Richard looks great in this episode full of close-ups. Just look at those blue eyes, that intense look of concentration and determination, the sensitivity and insecurity that shines through from the depths of his soul, that hint of a smile on his lips or those seriously cute crinkles! And don't get me started on how elegant he looks in that beautiful, dark winter coat... *blush*

I really, honestly tried to find my favourite picture from this episode, but there are so many! Enjoy them, I'm sure I will... again!! ;-)

 As always, none of this would have been possible without the amazing picture gallery supplied by www.richardarmitagenet.com. Don't forget to find them on Facebook and 'Like' the page!


What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#13)

I love Lucas North. Especially in season 7 of Spooks.
That's probably not a surprise, because I think I've said it before: here, for example.

Today's picture of Lucas North is not necessarily the greatest picture. And I did not select it for this countdown because it's a picture of Richard Armitage as Lucas North. Not at all.

Lucas North (Richard Armitage) gets into a taxi in Moskow, in season 7 of Spooks
Picture from www.richardarmitagenet.com

I selected this picture because it's the perfect illustration for how I would love to meet Richard. If I could select a situation in which I could get to meet Richard Armitage, this would be it: we would accidentally end up sharing a taxi. In Moskow.

In this beautiful city that neither of us know very well and where neither of us knows anybody, we would meet in a taxi. The driver would cheat the hell out of us and we would be forced to spend hours together, trying to get back to where we wanted to be. A hotel room, the airport, some cultural sight that we wanted to see... doesn't matter, really. The fact is that we would have hours to get to know each other. And when we finally get to our destination, we would simply get out of the taxi, say goodbye, and walk away. Does that sound strange? It would be the meeting of my dreams.

And what happens in that taxi will forever be our secret...

How would you like to meet Richard?



What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#12)

If you visited this blog during FanstRAvaganza 3 last March, you have probably seen the post in which I talk about a picture of Ricky Deeming. At the time, I selected that picture because it showed so many things that I love about Richard Armitage. But today, I want to show you the pictures of Ricky that took my breath away - and they continue to do that every time I look at them...

Hey Ricky!

He still manages to blow my mind...

Richard played Ricky Deeming only once, for the pilot episode of George Gently, which was first shown in April 2007. If I've calculated this correctly, he must have been filming this during a break in the production of (Season 2 of) Robin Hood. That's probably why I see so much of Guy of Gisbourne in Ricky, and that's always a good thing!

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#11)

Emergency! Paging Doctor Track!



"Are you OK?"

Richard Armitage played Dr. Alec Track in the first (and only) season of The Golden Hour in 2005. The series wasn't exactly the greatest thing ever written, but wouldn't you love to wake up to this man taking care of you? I wouldn't mind that at all... 

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#10)

Ten days into our countdown to Armitage Day and I still have so many pictures to share!:-)

Armitage Day, on 22 August, is Richard Armitage's birthday. He'll be blowing out 41 candles this year - unless he decides to sleep through his birthday again, like he did last year!

Back to today: It's Friday night, and I've got a date with this guy (I wish!):

The pictures from this photoshoot appeared in the Sunday Times in April 2006

I love the dark green colour of Richard's suit, dark but warm at the same time. The boots are lovely, but I would change the tie, though. Or he can just do without the tie... And I want that table for my dining room (with the gorgeous man on top, if you please!)

I especially like the fact that you can clearly see that this kind of photoshoot is just not Richard's cup of tea... He tries to put on his best 'I'm too sexy for my shirt' look, but I just see right through that. Oh, he's obliging the photographer by taking on this pose and staring right at us. He knows the picture will look great, but this is clearly not Richard, it's just an act. I can't explain why that's so clear to me from this picture, but it is.

A great start of the weekend! Have a good one!

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#9)

Requiem for a beard...

It's been confirmed, The Beard is no more. In honour of the joy it has given me over the last year and a half or so, I've decided to post one of my favourite pictures earlier than planned. I love this one so very much, I was thinking of saving it for Armitage Day....

The Beard 2011-2012

This picture is from a 2011 photoshoot for the iPad-only Project Magazine. This particular picture was taken by Matt Holyoak. As always, the picture was supplied by www.richardarmitagenet.com

Let's all take a moment in silence to mourn this terrible loss...

...and then remember this: the good thing about beards is, they grow back!!! :-))

Have a great (end of) day!!

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!

A birthday countdown in pictures (#8)

Welcome to another episode in the countdown to Armitage Day, the day that we celebrate our favourite man's birthday...

Today, I wanted to share a few images from my favourite Spooks interview. Richard was interviewed by Heather Hugues of TV.com on 25 June 2010 to promote season 9 of Spooks.

Richard Armitage talks about season 9 of Spooks and reveals that Lucas North is not who we think he is... He's not even who Richard thought he was!

What I love about this interview?

1. Richard looks exceptionally good: to me, he's the perfect mix of Himself and Lucas North
2. He's relaxed and seems to be having a wonderful time
3. His answers are very intelligent, well thought-through and genuine
4. He smiles, often!
5. There's a mischievous twinkle in his eyes...
6. And those eyes are bright blue (thanks to the blue shirt and the light colour of the wall)
7. He uses his hands and (I think I've said this before) I love a man who speaks with his hands! It enhances the storytelling and illustrates his thoughts, it makes it look as if he's making an effort to give the best answer he could possibly give and it gives the entire interview a nice rhythm
8. I especially love the sound of his voice in this interview

If you want to listen to the man's beautiful velvet voice yourself, here's the video:

The video was taken from Youtube, the pictures came from my number one resource for anything related to Richard Armitage, www.richardarmitagenet.com

What's a birthday without a birthday present? But what do you get the man who's living his dream?
This year, consider donating to one of Richard's selected charities (Shelter, The Salvation Army, Childline and Barnardo's) - visit his Just Giving page. Thank you!