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?



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.

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?

The countdown has begun!

Only a few hours ago, Peter Jackson posted this picture on his Facebook page. It's the very first official poster for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. I call this the official start of the countdown to the release of the film. I can't wait!

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is set to hit cinemas in Belgium (where I live) on Wednesday, 11 December 2013 (12 December in New Zealand, 13 December in the UK and the US). More release dates are listed on the film's IMDb page.

More good news: on Tuesday, 11 June at 19:00 Belgian time, a teaser trailer for the film will be revealed. The trailer will be shown in cinemas with the film 'Man of Steel', which hits cinemas in Belgium on 12 June.

Only 185 more days to go!!

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.

 

 

 

Gone in 60 seconds

Two brilliant new interviews: one in which Martin Freeman interviews Richard Armitage and one where Richard interviews Martin. Funny, adorable, sexy (that voice!)... these guys are so funny together!

What I've learned:
- There's somebody out there who is even worse at telling jokes than I am :-)

- RA prefers wine to beer... As I'm belgian, it would be almost sacrilege for me not to like beer at all, but I have a definite preference for wine. My new favourite is a Sauvignon Blanc from the Stoneleigh vinyards in New Zealand ;-)

- RA had a 'relationship' with his horse - Good to hear that he got along with HER after his rather 'difficult' relationship with Richie, his horse for Robin Hood... :-§

- He trusts the judgement of a stylist to make him look good. Now, I know we agree that this man would look good wearing a plastic bag (and not much else, winkwink), but he's right that his stylist for the press tour for The Hobbit has made him look absolutely gorgeous (Best dressed list gorgeous, that is!). Can I get a big round of applause for Miss Ilaria Urbinati?

- RA is a bit of a fitness freak... lifting weights because he "would not want to be a fat dude". I love people who like to suffer the pain of sports, and appreciate the incredible feeling you get when you've put your body through an extensive workout :-)

- He's sticking to his guns (!) about social media, but he prefers making that perfect shot with a bow and arrow... good, I don't like guns anyway, unless we're referring to a specific part of RA's body; in that case: I love guns! ;-)

Oh, and can I just bring everybody's attention back to that voice... That's dip-me-in-chocolate, tingles-down-my-spine, rich velvet voice? Not even Thorin's voice can top the real thing! Enjoy!!

MAX 60 Seconds with Richard Armitage - Thank you Cinemax!!




And MAX 60 Seconds with Martin Freeman:

Dwarven fun with the merry men

This is hilarious! IGN (www.ign.com) submits the dwarves to questions on all things Hobbit. So, have our dwarves done their homework? Have they checked the facts and checked them twice? Have they read and studied all things Middle Earth?
Well...not exactly :-)

Prepare yourself to meet the newest members of the company of dwarves: Milli and Vanilli. Also, we find out that there is a connection between Bilbo Baggins and Star Trek's Spock, that it's not easy to remember exact dates when you're travelling halfway around the world and that Cate Blanchett is actually a sword... :-)

But, most of all, we get to see how these 12 men from different countries, different backgrounds and different ages have really become a band of 'merry men', and friends for life, I'm sure!
It's a shame, though, that dwarf number 13 (or is that number 1?) is missing...

A little gem of an RA interview

This interview is brilliant - had me laughing out loud!! :-)

There will be more in-depth analysis of the film and the previous weeks and days very soon, but as it's already 01:40am here, I need to get some sleep first. Or maybe I'll just quickly watch this interview again... ;-)



Richard Armitage on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight- Toronto, Canada
Video shared on Youtube by TheHour

Thirty Days to Thorin - It is done...

It is done. I have just seen The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 48fps 3D. My hands are actually shaking while I write this. I wanted to describe the experience, but I seem to be unable to string a few words together to form a decent sentence...

The film

I am in awe of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and I am extremely grateful for their interpretation of Tolkien's 'children's book'. They do the story so much justice and they treat it with nothing but love and respect. Their knowledge of the details of Tolkien's world is so very evident throughout the film...
I expected the return to Middle-Earth to be a wonderful experience, but nothing could have prepared me for this!

The story

Sir Peter and his team remained extremely loyal to Tolkien, whenever they could. So much so that much of the dialogue comes directly from the novel which is just what the fans want. Whenever they do stray from the original storyline, it is because some things simply do not translate well to the silver screen. Even Tolkien, the great storyteller, would have agreed with that because he would have understood that the success of a story depends as much on the vehicle you use (film, in this case) as on what you describe. Even though I've heard certain people in the media say that "Tolkien would be turning in his grave" if he could see what PJ has done to his story, I firmly believe that he would be proud to have this story interpreted the way Sir Peter has.

The 48fps

Oh my world! The 48fps makes everything so very clear. Every hair on Balin's beard, every piece of Thorin's battle robes, every wrinkle in Gandalf's face, every piece of gold in the Lonely Mountain...it's all there, right at your fingertips. This is setting a new standard for film in the future, and it really makes this specific film an extraordinary experience. I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I can't go into too much detail now, but I just want to say this: if you have a chance to go and see it in 48fps 3D, do yourself a favour and do it - you will not be disappointed.

 

Richard Armitage

Fans of Richard Armitage, look around you. Once this film is released to audiences across the globe in the days to come, there will be many more in RA's "little group of friends".

He took my breath away! The regal authority, the gravitas, the depth and the sense of purpose he brings to Thorin are undescribable; I was literally moved to tears. Such wonderfully detailed acting: the eyes, the hands (although they're not his own elegantly beautiful hands) the posture, the voice... I'm sure that voice will haunt me in my dreams tonight and possibly for many nights to come. That was SO good!

I don't think I'll manage to sleep tonight, but I'd better try anyway - long day at work ahead of me...
But for now, with Thorin's voice in my head, all I can really think about is: When can I go see this film again?

Thirty Days to Thorin (26) - Finding Thorin's confidence

This is an exerpt from the London press conference posted on Youtube by RedCarpetNewsTV. Richard talks about finding the confidence to commandeer his 'merry men' of dwarves and about venting his inner anger through Thorin.

I'm always fascinated when Richard speaks about his process of becoming a character. Without knowing it, he has taught me so much about acting and there are so many little things that I now do when I go on stage just because he has spoken about how they help him do a better job. So, thank you, Mr. A!

Thirty Days to Thorin (25) - Looking good in a red chair

Feast your eyes (and ears) on this!

Just a small fragment of Richard Armitage's appearance on Strombo - The George Strombopolous show when he was promoting The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in Toronto, Canada last week. (clip from Youtube shared by @RA_Central on Twitter)

Thirty Days to Thorin (24) - Exclusive!

It's exactly 01:00 on Wednesday, 12 December 2012. It's officially Hobbit Day - I will only have to wait hours instead of days, weeks or months before I get to see Thorin, and the full film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The midnight screening here in Belgium is going on as we speak. At 20:45 today, I will be watching the film in high frame rate 3D and I can't wait! By the way: does that mean I will be watching the film at the exact same time that Richard will be watching it at the premiere in London? Well, that's almost as good as watching it together with him, right?! Oh, if only...

In the meantime, enjoy an exclusive scene from the film - The Misty Mountains song, delivered by Thorin and the company of dwarves in Bag End, while Bilbo and Gandalf contemplate the journey that lies ahead...

Thirty Days to Thorin (23) - Best of both worlds

This picture left me completely speechless... It's one of those rare pictures of Richard Armitage dressed as one of the characters he's portraying, but not 'in character'.

Being the kind of actor that he is, he usually keeps himself and the character separate. When it comes to Thorin, Richard has said that he got more and more into character while the prosthetics, the body suit, the hair and the costume were being applied every morning. I think it's extraordinary that we get to see Richard here, dressed as Thorin, but as himself. And, trust me, that smile is all Richard!! :-)



Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield) meets LEGO-Thorin (and presumably takes him home!) on the last day of filming in New Zealand
Image shared by www.richardarmitagenet.com

Thirty Days to Thorin (21) - Warrior voice

OK, so yesterday was the premiere of The Hobbit:An Unexpected Journey in New York. Can I just say that Richard looked absolutely amazing!! There will be more about the fashion of the premieres soon, but I wanted to share this "Soundbites" video with you first.

In this video, Richard talks about Thorin, about Thorin's reasons for going on the quest to reclaim Erebor and about how safe he feels in the hands of Peter Jackson who "has the entire film in his head" and "knows this character better than I do".

The content of this interview is really nothing new: over the last week or so, we've seen more interviews with RA than we had in the last 2 years, so all of these questions have come up at some point. But this video is still very much worth watching - or rather, it's very much worth listening to.

As you can see, this was taped while filming for The Hobbit was still ongoing - hence the beard (by the way, I still love that beard, even though RA looks stunning without it). And I think Richard is still very much in Thorin-mode here: his voice is very deep, he speaks very slowly and deliberately - this is not Richard! No, I honestly think we are looking at Thorin, dressed up as Richard.

In the beginning of this video, although you can't hear the question, it's obviously "tell me about your character in this film" or something like that. I can almost see a look of frustration on RAs face. It's as if he's offended because some 'human' has basically said "who the hell are you?" and is not giving the King Under The Mountain the proper greeting and acknowledgements. When you get as immersed into a character as RA usually does, it must be very difficult to remind yourself who you really are, especially when you're asked to do interviews in between shoots.
He's talked before about how difficult it was for him to be friendly to fans when he was on his way to set to film a scene for Robin Hood. He would be so deep into the evil Guy of Gisbourne, that it was almost impossible to quickly become Richard again and smile and sign autographs. So now that he's been living as Thorin for the last 18 months, it must have been quite a recovery process to find the real Richard again.

Anyway, watch the video here. I would love to hear if you see what I see!