A birthday countdown in pictures (#7)

Two things made me select this picture for today.

First of all, I've been experiencing internet connection difficulties this evening. Five minutes before I was going to publish today's picture, the connection was suddenly gone! Luckily, the problem was quickly solved, but I decided to go for a different picture. This one shows my frustration about having to start again from scratch...

I've also been watching some amazing athletes at work at the London Olympics this evening (on TV, unfortunately, I wasn't actually there). So I felt like showing off Richard's amazing physical strength. Did you know that he's actually trained in advanced stage combat? I'm sure those skills were a great help to get him through dwarf bootcamp!

The picture is from Peter Jackson's very first (pre-)production video from the set of The Hobbit, so this scene must have taken place in March of 2011.

I have just two things to say:  "Nice legs, Richard!" and "Grrrrrrr......" ;-))



Richard Armitage in physical training for his role as Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit.
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 (#6)

I call these: "A portrait of the artist as a young man".

I know, I "borrowed" the title from James Joyce. It's not Joyce in this picture, though, and I see 2 artists in these pictures, in fact.

First of all, I see a young Claude Monet, a brilliant artist who made this world a more beautiful place by the lovely paintings he created.  

And secondly, I see Richard Armitage. Or actually, I don't see him at all, and the way he manages to make himself disappear into the characters he plays is exactly what makes him a brilliant artist in his own right.

The pictures show Richard Armitage as the young Claude Monet in the BBC's The Impressionists, a series in 3 parts from 2006. I am again obliged to www.richardarmitagenet.com for the screencaps from the series. Oh, and did you know that www.richardarmitagenet.com now also has a Facebook page? Show your support and 'Like' the page now!!

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 (#5)

This Sunday afternoon, we have been invited to take tea with Mr. Thornton of Marlborough Mills to discuss the arrangements for Richard's birthday celebration. :-) 

Mr. Thornton (Richard Armitage) visits the Hale family for tea in the BBC's North and South,
based on the novel by Elisabeth Gaskell

I love the way Mr. Thornton holds his teacup in this picture. In fact, I'm convinced that it's a specific characteristic that Richard added to the personality of John Thornton to show that he is not of noble birth, although he has made his business a success. And I find it absolutely endearing!

North and South was how I discovered Richard Armitage and it's this particular scene that made me sit up and take a closer look at Richard as an actor. Those long fingers combined with the most amazing blue eyes, that velvet voice and a very modest but at the same time overwhelming acting style captivated me.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

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 (#4)

This is day 4 of my countdown to 22 August. Can you believe that it's almost 1 year ago that we celebrated Richard Armitage's milestone 40th birthday? Phew, time flies!!

For some weekend fun, I would like to present a picture that I personally think is absolutely hilarious! I only discovered it today, but otherwise I would have added it to my previous post about Richard's height.

Here's Richard Armitage in the BBC's Robin Hood, episode 2 of season 2.

As always, a big THANK YOU to www.richardarmitagenet.com for the picture

Richard plays Sir Guy of Gisborne, the very tall, dark and handsome Black Knight.
Very tall indeed, 6'2.5'' to be exact. That's 189.25cm.
Next to him is Dexter Fletcher who played Count Friedrich in the episode 'Booby and the Beast'. 
Dexter is 5'6'', that's 168cm.

The camera angle of this picture captures the difference perfectly and shows off Richard's incredible physical presence. That physical presence is exactly one of the reasons why I'm eagerly looking forward to The Hobbit: his regal elegance combined which a deep, velvet voice and brooding, sorrowful blue eyes will capture the attention of audiences all over the world. And from that moment on, they will love him just as much as we already do... well, maybe not quite as much ;-)

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 (#3)

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real

The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end

And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here

What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end

And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way

Picture: Lucas North (Richard Armitage) remembers a desperate time during his years of captivity in a Russian prison when he contemplated suicide (Spooks Season 8 episode 4)

Picture courtesy of www.richardarmitagenet.com

Lyrics: "Hurt" by Johnny Cash (originally by Nine Inch Nails)

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 (#2)

Welcome to day 2 of our countdown to 22 August, when we will be celebrating Richard Armitage's 41st birthday: the day that is affectionately known as Armitage Day.

Today's picture is from Richard's first real Hollywood adventure: Captain America, The First Avenger. Thank you www.richardarmitagenet.com for the picture!



Heinz Kruger (Richard Armitage) tries to get away from Captain America in his one-man submarine

In this film, Richard played the tiny role of Heinz Kruger, the Nazi agent who infiltrated the military base where skinny Steve Rogers had just been transformed into the super soldier who would become known as Captain America.

Richard had this to say about Kruger:

"It’s great to play a bad guy. But I really tried not to see him as a bad guy. I wanted him to be human and I wanted him to be the kind of spy who had a moral conscience. So he’s not just a tool, he’s actually…he really believes he’s fighting for the fatherland. I think it’s very easy to say that most people that operated in this period didn’t really know what was going on right at the center. And that’s probably true. But I think everyone has to have a real moral compass and really desire to do the right thing for their own country. And I wanted him to be more like that than somebody who just believed he was bad."

I like this particular picture because I feel it really makes Richard look like a cartoon character. I actually had to look carefully to make sure that it was a real picture and not a drawing or a technically enhanced image of Heinz Kruger.

Richard puts a lot of effort in developing the back stories and personalities of his characters and I was amazed to hear that he did the same thing for Heinz Kruger, who IS essentially a cartoon character, but Richard made him so much more than a one-dimensional bad guy. And again, he turned to literature for character research material.

That will be the subject of a future post: The literature that Richard uses for his character development. Coming soon!

See you 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 (#1)

Today is 1 August 2012 (it actually already just after midnight here, but I'm conveniently ignoring that). Exactly 22 days from now, we will be celebrating Richard Armitage's 41st birthday, an event known in the fandom as Armitage Day.

To mark the occasion, I decided to discuss one of my favourite pictures of Richard every day, with my absolute favourite to be discussed on his birthday. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure which one that will be, but I guess I've got 22 days to make up my mind!

Unless stated otherwise, the pictures are taken from www.richardarmitagenet.com

Let's get started with this one:

Percy Courtenay (Richard Armitage) proposes to Marie Lloyd in the BBC's Miss Marie Lloyd, Queen of the Music Hall (2007)

In 2007, Richard played the role of Percy Courtenay in  Miss Marie Lloyd, Queen of the Music Hall, a BBC drama based on the life of Marie Lloyd, one of the most famous entertainers in England at the turn of the 20th century. Percy and Marie start a passionate affair and when she discovers that she's pregnant, Percy asks her to marry him by offering her a ring with the words: "You will say yes, won't you?" I love that moment, it's very sweet and filled with hope. Percy and Marie have a stormy and at times horrible marriage after that and Percy's jealousy will ultimately lead to his own downfall as well as the end of their marriage. But at the moment of this picture, that is all still far away in the future.

What do I love about this picture? Everything, really, but 4 things in particular: the shape of his nose (don't ask me why, but I do!), the hint of a smile on his slightly parted lips (extremely kissable!), the crinkles (how much more perfect can a man get if he can even make the lines in his face look sexy?) and the soft wave in his hair just above his ear (so adorable!). And, let's be honest, every picture that shows his neck is an absolute winner, right?

Come back tomorrow for another picture... and if you haven't had a chance to see Richard as Percy, you can watch the series on Youtube.


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!