Of Lego, Belstaff and rogue locks of hair

There have been so very many new pictures and interviews and soundbites and livestreams and screencaps and other tidbits this week. I think I've now seen and read most of them, but the sheer volume of material that has been released during this week of the release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has completely overwhelmed me. But I've enjoyed every single minute of it. The second instalment in the The Hobbit trilogy will be released here in Belgium in exactly 1 day and I can't wait to finally see the film! For me, that is going to happen on Thursday evening...It will be the first of many times, there is absolutely no doubt about that!

Looking back at this crazy week or so, I have so much new info about Richard Armitage! Please don't ask me where these pieces of info come from because I couldn't even begin to try and remember what was written where or what was said in which interview.



Prosthetic hands are the cause of huge disappointment *wink*

Richard does Smaug, and quit well, I must say. *multi-talented, of course!*

He's amused by the fact that people still don't always know how to pronounce his name. *Trust me, my dear, I know how frustrating that can be. Better to laugh about all the variations than to let it get to you.*
 
Richard is not afraid to show the geek *geek is the new sexy*

I nominate Evangeline Lilly for honorary membership of the Armitage Army *after Philippa Boyens, who has been one of us since last year's release of An Unexpected Journey!*

Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel, portrait from Empire Magazine

Richard has not yet done everything he needs to do in front of the camera before going into directing or producing *yay!*

Working and living in New Zealand has been a life-changing experience... *but he's still our sweet, shy Richard... forever the gentleman, but now with a slightly more obvious, very cheeky, geeky side! :-)*

Richard loves his Belstaff jackets just as much as we love him in them ;-)

Black is still his colour, but grey is not too shabby either

LEGO! *It goes without saying*

To be able to handle Orcrist, Richard had to do a lot of training with his right arm *Oh please get your mind out of the gutter! ;-)* Orcrist makes an excellent air guitar as well:

.gif published by World of Armitage on tumblr

Peter Jackson got Richard on his knees from utter exhaustion. A minute later, he was doing another take of that same scene *Passion*

Richard is still hoping to return to the stage... and he's very well aware of the fact that the entire fandom get really excited when he mentions that in interviews... but he continues to do so...and he still hasn't found the right play for his return to the theatre. :-(  *He's such a tease!*

Richard would have loved to take home the chair from Beorn's house... but Mikael Persbrandt got it instead... *OK, I guess it makes sense that Beorn got first dibs on his own furniture*

Richard Armitage in Beorn's chair with interviewer David Weiner
Picture from www.richardarmitagenet.com
 

Richard is still an incorrigible flirt *And it manages to wake up the butterflies in my stomach every time!* :-)
 
The rogue lock of hair strikes again! :-O

Richard at the premiere for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in Berlin (9 December)
Picture from RAVietnam Facebook page

Bombur's BBQ Chicken is to die for! *Stephen Hunter rocks! #TeamBombur*

Ed Sheeran wrote "I See Fire" from Thorin's perspective. Good to see that Ed recognises who the main character of this film really is.



Richard and friends dressed up to go and see one of the Lord Of The Rings films. Richard wore elven ears. *such a lovely thing to imagine*

On some days during production of The Hobbit, Richard had to get up at 3am to be ready for the start of filming at 8am. *Tough job*

Richard is on Warner Brothers' list of people for the Academy to consider for an Oscar nomination in the category 'Best Supporting Actor'. *fingers crossed*

Richard is a sock thief! He took home every single pair of costume socks he was given - and they got a new pair every day, for 18 months - he could probably open his very own sock shop!! *Such an adorably geeky thing to do*

Richard is planning to retire in New Zealand... someday *but not too soon, please!*


What have you learned this week?



Enter the dragon!

10 days to go before the release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in Belgium (on 11/12/13!!)

And isn't it about time we got to see the dragon? Yes. And we did, in the most fierce way possible!

"He was a fire drake from the North" ...and he flew Air New Zealand!!

Ladies and gentlemen...I give you: Smaug the Stupendous!!

Images taken from the Air New Zealand Twitter page

Random thoughts: I hope you dance

 

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder

 

You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger

May you never take one single breath for granted

 

God forbid love ever leave you empty handed

 

 

I hope you still feel small when you stand by the ocean

 

 

Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens

 

 

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance

 

 

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance

 

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance

 

Never settle for the path of least resistance

 

Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking

Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth making

Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter

When you come close to selling out, reconsider

Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance

 

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance

 

 

 

Pictures taken from www.richardarmitagenet.com and www.richardarmitageonline.com

Dancing Thorin taken from AnUnexpectedDwarf on Tumblr

Lyrics from the song 'I hope you dance' by Lee Ann Womack

 

 

This new Thorin poster is not good

DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU'RE AVOIDING SPOILERS FOR THE NEXT HOBBIT MOVIE!!







So, everyone seems to be getting excited about a new poster for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Great! Let's have a look! I'm sure it's beautiful and majestic and fierce and wonderful and...wait - what!?

No no no, this poster is not good at all. Yes, it's a perfect design, as usual and the detail of Thorin's armour is impressive and all that. But what I really see is the Prince of Durin, the next King Under The Mountain, the rightful ruler of Erebor, overcome by the horrible disease that plagued his grandfather and that made Erebor an easy target for Smaug The Terrible.

All I see is dragon sickness.
And that is not good.

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. 

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 !!

Gaubdûkhimâ gagin yâkùlib Mahal, King Thorin!*

* “May we meet again with the grace of Mahal, Thorin!”
(a formal goodbye in Khuzdul, the secret language of the dwarves of Middle-Earth)

“Roads go ever ever on,
Under cloud and under star.
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.”

 

(From ‘Roads go ever on’ by JRR Tolkien)

I’m sure you’re all aware that filming for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy has now completely wrapped. If not, take a look at Mr. Jackson’s official Facebook page, where he has been live blogging the last day of shooting on Friday.

Of course, this also means that Richard Armitage is now finally allowed to really let go of Thorin Oakenshield. As he’s lived with this character for about 2,5 years, that can’t be an easy thing to do.

There are a few things Richard could do to ease the Thorin/Richard break-up. I have a few suggestions:

1. I hate to say it, but he could get rid of the beard. Apparently, Dean O’Gorman couldn’t wait to shave off his beard after wrapping his scenes as Fili, he even posted a picture on Twitter!

"I'm wrapped, and so is the beard!" says Dean O'Gorman as he prepares to say goodbye to the Fili beard

Here's a scary thought: Could this really be the very last picture of Richard Armitage rocking the beard? (For the record: I hope it's not!)



Picture tweeted by Graham McTavish: "Some very tired and emotional dwarves last night..."
Left to right: Richard Armitage (Thorin), Mark Hadlow (Dori), Graham McTavish (Dwalin), Jed Brophy (Nori), Peter Hambleton (Gloin)

 2. Richard needs to get away from everything that reminds him of Thorin. In other words, he needs to get out of Middle-Earth/New-Zealand. Like Stephen Hunter, who has already left. He shared a lovely goodbye message on Vine:

A change of scenery is perfect for a new start, preferably somewhere that is completely different from New-Zealand. Well, how about New York City? It seems, Richard has just bought a very nice apartment in Greenwich Village. This could just be the perfect place to drop off the grid for a while…

http://realestalker.blogspot.in/2013/07/julian-casablancas-of-strokes-sells.html


3. The best way to step away from Thorin Oakenshield, must be to get involved in a new project. Batman? Some vampire? A King from days gone by? The new Doctor in Doctor Who? Rumours are flying and I’m sure Richard can now afford the luxury of picking the roles that he really believes in.

Well, my vote goes to none of the above. I’m crossing my fingers for the lead in a play in London’s West End. Now that would be a dream come true for me! So, Richard, I hope you’re paying attention!

Any more suggestions?

I love a naughty dwarf! :-)

Have you ever wondered why I am so fascinated by Richard Armitage?
Well, I guess some of you have questioned my sanity on a very regular basis...

The video below shows everything I love about him. This was filmed at a screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey a few weeks ago which included a live Q&A with Richard.

I love his acting skills, his attention to detail, his lust for life, his love for his craft and so much more. If you watch it, you will understand (or maybe not, but I still love this man to death!)

I'm honestly amazed at how much of himself Richard is now willing to show in public. I guess, as long as he's talking about the characters and the craft, he's fine with just being himself, not necessarily always the dedicated professional. He's content, he's having fun, and I'm delighted to be able to see that!!

And... "Dwarves Illustrated 2012"? It was a present for Peter Jackson's 50th birthday.
Well, we know Richard was on the calendar for the month December.
We know he was sitting backwards on a chair throwing his long Thorin hair backwards.
There was a hairdryer involved. And I imagine that he had his eyes closed.
Not sure about wheter or not there was a strategically placed piece of oak! ;-)

So, it could have looked something like this: (notice the strategically placed Orcrist ;-))

Original image found here:
http://willowmansdaughter.tumblr.com/post/46803709584/badbalrog-so-i-added-orcrist

I'm sure you can imagine the rest :-)


Enjoy the interview:

Richard does Gandalf!

Another lovely video interview that surfaced today... probably filmed on the same day as the Twitter Q&A for @TheHobbitMovie, judging by the fact that Richard is still suffering from the sniffles. Bless him!

Why should you watch this one?

- the cutest Gandalf impersonation
- an architect? Of course!
- That's quite a grin for a bad-tempered Thorin!
- It's not difficult to learn your lines with this simple tip from Richard!

And the word "blue" *sigh*

Enjoy!!

Bin Weevils interviews Richard Armitage - Thorin from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Published on YouTube on 28 March

FanstRA 4 - Dixit RA

I would like to share my 3 favourite quotes from Richard Armitage since the World Premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on 28 November 2012. I don't necessarily remember where or when he said this, but for some reason, I did remember what he said.

“I’m standing at a bus stop next to a massive flag of Thorin, and I’m standing there thinking, ‘Everyone’s looking at this flag and yeah, you don’t realize that the man on that flag is standing in the bus stop with you,’ ” he said with a grin.

Why I love this quote: Richard’s such a modest man. He’s not in this acting game for the fame, but simply because it’s the only thing that could ever really make him happy and satisfied. He’s still hoping that people will not recognize him as Thorin and that he can go on leading his anonymous life in the real world. I honestly hope he will succeed!! (I am secretly very protective of him and I’d love to just keep him to myself, although he absolutely deserves all of the acknowledgements that he’s been getting lately) Although with 3 films, people have time to get to know his face, so I sincerely doubt he’ll be able to remain anonymous for more than another year or so…

Your face on a flag, your face on a stamp? Nothing says "You've made it big" like your face on a plane!

“The fact that we’re on a New Zealand stamp, so someone’s licking the back of Thorin’s head and sticking on the back of an envelope. I think that’s amazing.”

Why I love this quote: When you’ve made it onto a stamp, you’ve really made it big!
When I read this quote, the first thought that went through my mind was: “Everyone will be thinking of licking the back of Richard’s head, not Thorin’s head…” ;-) Richard has said before that he believes that the fans really love the characters, not him as a person. But the more we know about this man behind the characters, this lovely, sweet, shy, caring man (with a propensity for a bad temper, but that’s what makes him human) we love him more and more. We support him because of the lovely work he has done and because of the wonderful characters he has portrayed so brilliantly, but it’s really the actor, the master of the craft whom we support, not his characters.

Walking in Dwarf boots. The heirs of Durin show us how it's done! (And not a diaper in sight!)

 

 “And also, when you have those big boots on, you sort of walk like you're wearing a diaper. So we had to de-diaperize ourselves.”

Why I love this quote: I just think it’s really funny. Richard seems to make links between the most random things, and the weird thing is that those comparisons actually work. Everyone understands exactly what he trying to say, how it feels to walk around in those big boots. The man has a great way with words and he proves himself to be a true storyteller in the way he describes the world around him. For a language addict like myself, there’s nothing sexier than an intelligent man who appreciates the art of storytelling.

 

What's your favourite RA quote?

 

Want to know more about FanstRAvaganza 4?
Check out the official FanstRAvaganza website where you'll find a list of all paticipating blogs: http://fanstravaganza.com/2013-event/participants/
If you have a Twitter account, follow @FanstRAvaganza where tweets about new posts will appear. Like the Facebook page to stay in touch:
https://www.facebook.com/FanstRAvaganza

FanstRA4: She's in the Army now!!

This was not supposed to be my first post for FanstRAvaganza, but faith decided differently when I stumbled upon this lovely picture of Richard and Evangeline Lilly (who plays Tauriel the Elf in The Hobbit 2 and 3) shared by a fan on Evangeline's Twitter account  @EvangelineLilly . I had never seen this picture before, have you?

According to Evangeline, it was taken at a local premier that they went to in Wellington during the filming of The Hobbit. Thank you to www.richardarmitagenet.com @RAnetdotcom for finding it!

But it got me thinking about how incredibly stunned all the women around Richard are after meeting him. Apparently (SPOILER ALERT) Evangeline did not even really get to work with Richard as their characters never actually get to interact in the films. But miss Lilly could not help but be in awe of his talent... and looking at this picture: how could anyone not be impressed?

The Dwarf Prince and the Wood Elf: don't they make a lovely pair?

So, I hereby officially declare Evangeline Lilly an active member of the Armitage Army! Welcome!!

Oh, and how spoiled are we - there seem to be new pictures of Richard every single day *does happy dance* :-)

Want to know more about FanstRAvaganza 4?
Check out the official FanstRAvaganza website where you'll find a list of all paticipating blogs: http://fanstravaganza.com/2013-event/participants/
If you have a Twitter account, follow @FanstRAvaganza where tweets about new posts will appear. Like the Facebook page to stay in touch:
https://www.facebook.com/FanstRAvaganza

Mount Everest and chocolate ice cream

Today was an important day: Richard Armitage is no longer a Twitter virgin.
No, he did not get his own account (thank G-D for that!) and he was only passing through, but he come over, hung out and, most importantly, answered some questions from fans. He answered one of my questions as well, it's number 7 in the list below. I sincerely doubt that he will take up permanent residence on Twitter, but that's perfectly fine. The fact that he was willing to share a few precious moments with us was enough.

Andy Serkis (Gollum), Richard Armitage (Thorin) and James Nesbitt (Bofur) look amused and slightly overwhelmed as they make their way through the thousands of questions that were sent in by the fans

So did we learn anything new? Yes and no. Some questions were rather silly and just for fun or they repeated things we already know from previous interviews. Other answers were new and surprisingly honest. I'm sure not everyone would willingly tell the world about their fear for deep water or their propensity for a bad temper. "A propensity for a bad temper and anxiety of care" sound beautiful, doesn't it? Again, RA managed to charm us with his intelligence and wit.

I still can't get over the fact that this man continues to surprise and charm me in everything he does... even in 140 characters or less!

Here's an overview of the questions answered by Richard Armitage on Twitter today. Questions were sent to @TheHobbitMovie using the #AskThorin hashtag and these were chosen out of thousands of questions that had been flooding in since yesterday afternoon.

 

1. Would you rather fight a horse-sized duck or an army of duck-sized horse?

Richard: Horse sized duck. Good in hand-to-hand combat and (can give) a sword to the beak.

2. If you could have dinner with any 3, fictional or non-fictional, who would they be?

Richard: Richard III, John F. Kennedy, and Ian McKellen.

3. What was the scene you were most excited to shoot? And the one you were more worried about?

Richard: Thorin’s first arriving in Bag End. Because you are seeing him out of his comfort zone and starting his journey.

4. Do you like #DepecheMode? I won't believe if not, cause their songs match greatly with most of your characters

Richard: Yes. I would like to know which songs you think fit his character. Master and servant.

 5. Somewhere in the world you've always wanted to travel to, but not had the chance to yet?

Richard: Peru. I would like to climb Machu Picchu.

6. I am making hobbit feet for a Tolkien mad 9yr old...Any tips even though you were a dwarf?

Richard: Lots of talcum powder when putting them on. Use lots of hair. Stay on flat surfaces and avoid stairs.

7. Richard, what's currently n°1 on your bucket list?

Richard: Climb Everest.

8. It must be hard putting on all that makeup and costume! Which part do you dread the most?

Richard: The face because it was the most uncomfortable, it stings, and fills up with sweat.

9. What is your recipe for life? :)

10.  What's your favorite dessert?
Richard: Chocolate ice cream. Treat others as you would want to be treated. And lots of chocolate ice cream.

11. What is your favorite part of playing Thorin?
Richard: 1.) Making him fight. 2.) Trying to rationalize his madness.

12. What is a dwarve's fave type of beer? Stop via Sydney & i'll shout you one
Richard: Room temperature ale

 

13. (one) thing you are afraid of?

Richard: Deep water

14. What characteristics do you admire of Thorin and why, & what do you recognize in yourself?
Richard: His nobility and bending will to succeed. We share a propensity for a bad temper and anxiety of care.

 

Richard's parting words:

Thanks fans for supporting the film. Come back and keep watching. - Richard Armitage

 

An unexpected ending...

Major spoiler alert!!!

If you have not seen The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey yet, don't watch this clip (published on YouTube by thapetrificustotalus).

This is the final scene for the dwarves, a scene that moved me to tears... all 4 times that I have seen the film on the silver screen. Even now, I have to remind myself to breathe when I watch this clip.

And as for Thorin: all I really want is to wrap one hand around the dark strands of his hair and snuggle up against his fur-lined frame. Strange, but I always imagine him to be taller than me (about Richard's size), so I would be able to rest my head on his shoulder... ;-)

And then, he would wrap both arms around me, and smile... just like he does in this clip...

The crownless again shall be king

 

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

 

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

 

 

 

All that is gold does not glitter is a poem by J.R.R. Tolkien from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. When a friend shared it on Facebook, it immediately reminded me of this picture of prince Thorin, working in the forges of men after his people have lost Erebor to the dragon Smaug.

 

I know the poem is really about Aragorn (written by Bilbo Baggins if I remember correctly), but I think it also perfectly illustrates Thorin's quest to reclaim his home and his crown.

 

 

 

Random Thoughts: Coming clean

You may or may not have noticed that it's been rather quiet on this blog for the last month or so. That was not planned. I found myself completely overwhelmed with the constant influx of news about RA. As if there was no more room in my brain for anything creative while I was trying to absorb all the news, video, photoshoots, interviews... and of course the film: The Hobbit.  I've seen it (only) 3 times now, in 48fps 3D and I'm trying to stop myself from going to the cinema just one more time.

Promo poster for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey with Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield

The enormous media coverage has also caused an explosion of the RA fandom. The Armitage Army is no longer some marginal group of people from around the world who follow the career of some English guy that most of their friends and family have never even heard of. Our man is suddenly public property and, although it's exactly what I was expecting, it's still scary. Don't get me wrong, I welcome the change with open arms. It's so wonderful to see that Richard is finally getting the attention and appreciation that he deserves. And the more people know about him, the closer we get to convincing the entire world of Richard's extraordinary talent.

Richard Armitage in New York, at a photoshoot for Glamour Magazine

So, I don't mind sharing the fandom with the world, but the fact that the fanbase has grown exponentially has made me re-evaluate the place I want to take up in it. I feel the need to explain myself, to elaborate further on the kind of fan that I am. I don't know if that makes any sense at all, but it feels like the right thing to do. Please keep in mind that you don't have to agree with anything that I say in this blogpost. Actually, I hope you don't. Wouldn't the world be a horribly boring place if we all had similar opinions about everything? But I need to share my own opinions about certain things. I'll start by taking a stand on some of the ideas that have been going around in the fandom lately.  

Do I want Richard to play James Bond?
No. Please, no! Not that he wouldn't be a wonderful 007, but he's so much better that that. Stepping into a billion dollar franchise like James Bond would haunt him for the rest of his career. He'd be typecast for all eternity. And the interesting, challenging roles that he so desperately wants to play, would pass him by, because people would not be able to see past a certain spy... Lucas North: yes. James Bond: No.

To me, this will always be Richard's 'James Bond' picture, simply because of his casual elegance and obvious grace.
Behind the scenes at the 2009 BAFTA awards

Do I want Richard to star in a romantic comedy?
No. Please, no! Again, I'm sure he'd be wonderful at it, but there are so many more exciting roles waiting for him. Why should he waste his time on cheap, easy, romantic fluff? One book in particular seems to be circulating in the fandom these days: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer. I haven't read it, so I don't mean to judge the book or the author, but if I had anything to say about Richard's career, I would advise him not to be a part of a screen adaptation of the novel. That's just my opinion, feel free to disagree.

Do I want Richard to play Matthew Clairmont?
Honestly, I have no idea who Matthew Clairmont is. I haven't read Deborah Harkness' books and I don't want to pass judgement on them. But I do know that Matthew Clairmont is a vampire. For that simple reason, RA should stay well away from him and leave the vampires to the likes of Robert Pattinson or Stephen Moyer.

Do I want Richard to play Richard III?
Yes. Yes, please. Richard III is such an interesting character to play because there is so much we know about him but there's also so very much we don't know, leaving the details of his character and the truth about his abilities as a monarch open to creative interpretation. Now that his remains have been found and the eyes of the world are on Leicester, the challenge would be to make Richard III a real man, giving equal importance to his many wonderful accomplishments and the horrible dark truths about his reign while giving them the historical context required for us to completely understand their significance. Let me quickly add 2 things:

1. If Richard ever gets to play RichardIII, I can only hope that this film or series also pays tribute to the women in this story: Cecily Neville, Anne Neville, Isabelle Neville, Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beauchamp, Marguerite of Anjou, ...the lust goes on and on. Their significance may have been overlooked by the history books, but these women play a vital part in the story of the wars of the roses. Ah, to play Anne or even Cecily - I wouldn't even mind sinking my teeth into such a challenge myself (wishful thinking, I know!)

A facial reconstruction of Richard III. Does it look like RA? Not necessarily. Is the resemblance enough for RA to be able to play him convincingly? Without a shadow of a doubt!

2. What if RA decides, as he has often said, that by the time this project actually happens, he will be "too tall and too old" to play the role? Fine by me, as long as he gets to make the decision for himself. He'd be brilliant as Warwick the Kingmaker or even as Richard's father, the Duke of York. Alternatively, he could produce the piece and I'm sure you'll agree that his storytelling abilities would benefit very much from having him in the director's chair. Ah, such a dilemma! (sorry for going on and on about this, I should really do a separate piece about the RIII thing) 

OK, enough confessions for today. I didn't mean to just be negative and I promise to also talk about other things that I would love for Richard to get involved in. In the meantime: is there anything you want to ask me? Anything you would like me to share? Please leave a comment and I'll do my very best to answer all of your questions.