Wouldn't it be great if he got to number 1? I know Richard probably couldn't care less about his rank, as it's a popularity contest of the purest form and he has no interest in being popular whatsoever.
Richard Armitage promotes The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in Toronto, Canada on 3 December 2012
But still, as a fan, I would love to see my favourite man in the top spot. And, as it's so easy to make it happen, why not?
All you need to do is get as many different people as possible to go to the IMDb website and visit pages related to Richard Armitage. Not only his profile page, but also the pages of the projects he's been involved in: Spooks, Captain America, North and South, The Hobbit, Chris Ryan's Strike Back, Black Sky, The Phantom Menace, Robin Hood - it all counts.
So let's all do this and show our man that he is our number 1!
This post is part of FanstRAvaganza 3, a week of blogging fun to honour our favourite Brit, Richard Armitage. Also posting in the The Hobbit chain today (Day 3) is Ana Cris at La Loba. More info about previous and upcoming posts in this chain can be found at the bottom of this page.
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Since Peter Jackson decided to direct The Hobbit, he has expressed his concern about the fact that there are 13 dwarves in this story. Besides Thorin and a few others, the dwarves are not really that important in the original story and most of them don't even have anything to say. Imagine how difficult it must have been for Peter Jackson to create 13 different, interesting characters with so little information from the story to help him! How can he make sure that the audience identifies with the dwarves and doesn't spend the entire film thinking "was that Fili, or Bombur, or was it Gloin after all?"
On the other hand, the lack of information does give him enough freedom to create the dwarf characters from scratch and make them work well in the films. I thought he would definitely use the one clue that Tolkien's story does offer: the fact that the dwarves all wear coloured hoods. Surely that must give him a starting point for their specific characters. But...apparently not. Looking at the pictures of the dwarves that were recently released, the colours are not there. Only Thorin's sky-blue is obvious, although not in a hood, but in his armour. Is Peter Jackson colourblind?
Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, King Under The Mountain, in The Hobbit
Let's go back to Tolkien's The Hobbit and take a look at the coloured hoods that the dwarves are wearing when they arrive at Bilbo's Hobbit hole. In order of their arrival:
Dwalin: Dark green Balin: Scarlet red Fili: Blue Kili: Blue Dori: Purple Nori: Purple Ori: Grey Oin: Brown Gloin: White Bifur: Yellow Bofur: Yellow Bombur: Pale green Thorin: Sky blue with a long silver tassel
These are mainly informed guesses. Tolkien doesn't specify exactly which dwarf wears which hood after the first few have arrived, but he lets Bilbo tell us about the hoods that are hanging on the pegs, every time another group of dwarves has stepped through his door. Now what can these colours tell us about the characters of the dwarves?
Thirteen dwarves, quite a challenge for Peter Jackson, director of The Hobbit
GREEN (Dwalin and Bombur) Green is a relaxing colour, it's easy on the eyes. It reduces stress and brings a feeling of tranquility. It represents fertility and balance. Wearing it inspires harmony in others and restores your energy. Green symbolised faithfulness, unity and hope, dependability and tactfulness. People wearing green are quick to help others, even at their own expense.
RED (Balin) Red is the colour of love: it stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It makes someone wearing red look heavier. Because it is such an extreme colour, it won't help you in negotiations or confrontations. Red things are popular targets for thieves.
BLUE (Fili, Kili and Thorin) Blue is the colour of the sky and the ocean and it causes the opposite reaction as red. Peaceful blue colours cause the body to produce calming chemicals so people wearing blue are calm and level-headed. Blue symbolises loyalty, productivity and strength.
PURPLE (Dori and Nori) Purple is the colour of royalty. It symbolises luxury, wealth and sophistication. It is also considered feminine and romantic. On the other hand, because it is only rarely found in nature, purple is also often regarded as fake or untrue.
GREY (Ori) Grey is a combination of black and white and it's the most neutral of all colours. People who wear grey are conservative and prefer to fade into the background. They are neutral about life and like to protect themselves from the hectic world outside. They prefer a secure, safe and balanced existence.
BROWN (Oin) Solid and reliable brown is the colour of the earth. Light brown implies genuineness while dark brown is similar to wood or leather and represents durability. It is considered a masculine colour and can also be seen as sad or wistful.
WHITE (Gloin) White represents innocence and purity, even sterility. People who like white tend to be neat and immaculate in their homes and clothing. They are cautious buyers and shrewd business-people. People wearing white are considered critical and fussy but the colour also represents youth and simplicity.
YELLOW (Bifur and Bofur) Yellow is a sunny and reflective colour. It grabs the attention. People wearing yellow are considered to be positive and optimistic but they tend to have explosive characters. Yellow can be overpowering next to other colours. It enhances concentration and speeds the metabolism.
And what about Thorin's silver tassel? Silver is associated with prestige and science. It represents intuition, imagination and illusion. People wearing silver are considered to be sophisticated and wealthy but also cold and balanced. Wearing silver shows that you have a need for truth, honesty and a clear understanding of your purpose in life.
There you go. I hope this was useful and at least slightly entertaining.
And, Peter Jackson, if you're reading this: You're welcome!!! :-)
... for neglecting my blog for so very long! Don't worry, I'll make it up to you in the coming days, I promise! Starting today with the final part of the 30-day Richard Armitage Challenge. My replies to questions 21 to 30. As always, pictures were taken from http://www.richardarmitagenet.com/ and videos from http://www.youtube.com/
21.A role of his I haven’t seen, but would like to.
I would have loved to see Richard when he was in Cats, just because it would have been so wonderful to see him dance!!
22.Your least favourite photo.
The suit is wrong. The hair is wrong. The shoes are wrong. The moves are wrong. So not him.
Yes, I know I just said that I would love to see him dance. But not like this. Please.
23.A confession.
I love Lucas North. Can’t help it. Gisborne, Porter, Thorin, Ricky, Harry, Standring, Thornton. I love them all, but I absolutely LOVE Lucas North.
24.A cameo role you would like to see.
If they ever make a film of Spooks, I hope there will be a flashback to Lucas North. I love Lucas North. Did I say that before? J
25.An audio book you would like him to record.
The Hobbit, LOTR, North & South (of course!), anything by Jane Austen, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, one of Mo Hayder’s thrillers.
Listen to Richard read a tiny part of the proposal scene in North & South.
Check the ‘blogs I love section’ on the right-hand side for more fantastic blogs!
27.Your favourite gif(s).
Go to Bccmee’s Richard Armitage Vid’s & graphics page for original GIFs, and other fabulously designed graphics work! Don’t ask me to select a favourite, I simply can’t…
Guy of Gisborne in leather… of course! Especially in Season 2 of Robin Hood.
The belt, the gloves, the Guyliner, the boots, the spurs, the hair, the eyes… indeed, Gizzy looks pretty good!!
29.Your favourite personal look.
Richard tends to dress like the character that he’s playing. We’ve recognised Lucas North’s jeans and shirts in TV interviews and Porter’s leather jacket has also made an appearance.
The discussions about the hair and especially the beard continue with every new picture that is released. I personally like the beard a lot. And the short hair. And I think Richard looks completely adorable in this screencap from Peter Jackson’s videoblog from the set of The Hobbit. So this is my favourite personal look.
30.Your favourite picture.
This is so difficult! I love so many pictures for so many different reasons.
Here’s one that literally took my breath away when I first saw it. It's from the photo and video shoot for Project Magazine.
This is the 30 day Richard Armitage Challenge created by http://recycledvinyl.tumblr.com/.
Thanks to Delia for sharing the challenge on Facebook.
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to post one answer per day, so I’m cheating and providing my answers to all questions in 3 parts. Of course, that should not stop you from coming back to my blog every day to read one answer at a time J
The first ten questions and answers are below. Here we go!
1. The first role I saw him in.
I first saw Richard Armitage as John Thornton in the BBC’s adaptation of Elisabeth Gaskell’s North & South. A beautiful story, beautifully portrayed. For some reason, Richard caught my attention.
Richard as John Thornton in North & South
2. The role which made me fall for him.
After North & South, I started looking at other things he had done.
This one sealed the deal for me. Sparkhouse is seen as a modern Wuthering Heights, although I think there are too many differences between the stories for that comparison to make sense. The book features prominently in the series and that basically creates the link between the two, but putting Sparkhouse on the same level as Wuthering Heights would be giving it too much credit.
What Richard did with John Standring is remarkable. For that reason only, I would recommend it.
Richard as John Standring in Sparkhouse
3. My favourite character.
That’s a difficult one.Lucas North (Spooks) is definitely a favourite, but I also love watching Guy of Gisborne (Robin Hood) and John Porter (Chris Ryan’s Strike Back) but I can’t really say I prefer on character over another. At this particular moment in time, I have to say my favourite is probably Robert Lovelace as voiced by Richard in the BBC Radio play Clarissa, the History of a Young Lady.
Richard as Sir Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood, as Lucas North in Spooks and as John Porter in Chris Ryan's Strike Back
4. My least favourite character.
The Captain doesn’t do anything for me… I don't like the show, don't like the character.
Richard as Captain Ian Macalwain in Ultimate Force
5. My favourite photoshoot.
2011 Project Magazine photo and video shoot. I especially love this one…
6. My favourite interview.
Definitely one of my favourites is this interview for Series 9 of Spooks.
Richard looks great as Lucas North with the black hair, the sideburns and the 5 o’clock shadow. He speaks so passionately about his work in series 9 in which he was faced with the great challenge of making a very difficult and even contradictory storyline look believable.
And, what can I say: I can't resist a man who speaks with his hands…
7. A scene of his which made me laugh.
The proposal scene in The Vicar of Dibley, The Handsome Stranger. It had me literally crying with laughter!!
8. A scene of his which made me cry.
It takes an extremely gripping story to make me cry, so that very rarely happens, but this scene is very powerful. The proposal and rejection scene in North & South. I 've included the extended version that never made it into the final film, but it touches my heart every time I watch it...There must be a hopeless romantic inside me somewhere!
The fact that this is unedited footage without music, makes it even more powerful...
9. My favourite character pics.
Oh, there are so many favourites!! Today, I would say it's these:
Richard as John Porter in the promo pictures for Chris Ryan's Strike Back
10. My favourite body part(s).
His hands, no doubt.
But I also have to add his back. He used to be a dancer and that shows in his posture, as you can clearly see in this picture from Captain America.
