Forces of Nature: The Exquisitely Talented British Actor Richard Crispin Armitage and his Searing Character Portrayals, 8/28/11 (post #3)

Good Morning!

The recent tornadoes, earthquakes, and now the hurricane are all examples of forces of nature that are beyond our power to control.  And just as with nature, I think some of us would agree that our fascination with, admiration of, and adoration for one Mr. Richard Crispin Armitage are beyond our power to control.  Well, that’s just a little dramatic, but hyperbole seems apropos this morning.   Ha!

Mr. Richard Crispin Armitage is an exquisitely talented and versatile chameleon like British actor.  Since appearing for BBC television in Sparkhouse in 2002 as John Standring–and then momentously as the leads in 2004 as John Thornton in Elizabeth Gaskell’s North & South, as Dawn French’s love interest Harry Kennedy  in The Vicar of Dibley in 2006 (a rare but delightful comedic portrayal for Richard), as Claude Monet in The Impressionists in 2006, as Sir Guy of Gisborne in the three series run of Robin Hood from 2007 to 2009, as Lucas North in series seven through nine of Spooks from 2008 to 2010, and as John Porter in the first Strike Back series among his many other roles–he has claimed the hearts of women around the world for his searingly authentic character portrayals, for his humble handsomeness (although smoulder is often used to describe his laser like gaze, as illustrated in the first and last pictures of him in this post from the Project Magazine July 2011 issue as provided by RANet), and for his gentlemanly demeanor in his own persona as illustrated via his interviews and his letters to fans.  And Mr. Armitage is also esteemed as a “man’s man” with his various action adventure heroic character portrayals in Robin Hood (well, anti hero), Spooks, and Strike Back on television and now in his upcoming film roles, etc.

    
Sparkhouse                              North & South                     The Impressionists  Vicar of Dibley

     
Robin Hood                                Spooks                                           Strike Back

As we’ve experienced thus far, Mr. Armitage is a focused and dedicated actor, filmmaker, and storyteller whose prolific work in recent years also encompasses the mediums of documentaries, audio books (his five hour audio book voicing of Venetia by Georgette Heyer was up for an award and a sample audio can be listened to at this link, http://www.naxosaudiobooks.com/437912.htm  ), advertisements, and other voice over work–such as for the Olympics coverage in Britain.  Mr. Armitage’s velvety baritone voice and his craft were honed by training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and a stint at the Royal Shakespeare Company early in his career.  Few actors of Mr. Armitage’s generation can boast of the range and depth of subtle performance artistry that are the hallmarks of Mr. Armitage’s storytelling gifts to his audiences.

More recently, in July 2011 Mr. Armitage attended the premiere of his new film Captain America:  The First Avenger in which he portrays the villain Heinz Kruger.  Mr. Armitage is currently filming the lead role of Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit films in New Zealand.  These much anticipated movie releases–“An Unexpected Journey” in 2012 and “There and Back Again” in 2013–will further cement and expand Mr. Armitage’s recognition as one of the esteemed actors of his generation.  International filmmaking stardom beckons for Mr. Armitage–and his admirers around the world couldn’t be happier for him and the expanded artistic opportunities that this much deserved recognition will afford him.  For more information about The Hobbit filming, visit TORN  at www.theonering.net.

                      
Captain America & NYC Premiere        The Hobbit                             Proj. Mag.

In the coming weeks and months, I will share more of my specific opinions about Mr. Armitage’s various roles.  But for now, let us appreciate the man, the myth, the magnificence that is Richard Crispin Armitage.  Hey, I like alliteration and I’ve already introduced the hyperbole “card” in this blog post.  Ha!   For more information about Mr. Armitage’s career, visit http://www.richardarmitagenet.com/biog.html.

In closing, I linked Angie K Long’s upbeat video to this blog–“I Feel the Earth Move”:  “Reel” RA (Richard Armitage Fan Vid)–because it is perfect to start us off today when forces of nature are on our mind:

And this video is even more sweet because it is dedicated to our mutual dear friend Callie whom we hope is on the mend soon.  So, while we send our thoughts and prayers to those in harm’s way of Hurricane Irene this morning–not to be confused with another friend, the sweet Irene H.–please feel free to share your thoughts about “Himmicane” Richard, a true artistic force of nature if ever there was one.

Have a great day!  Cheers!  GratianaDS90  ;->

P.S.  It only took me a few days to ease into sharing a blog post about my script writing muse, Mr. Richard Crispin Armitage.  Ha!  My  great appreciation to  Alicat at RANet (www.richard armitagenet.com) for her wonderfully complete and well organized media resources pertaining to Mr. Armitage and his career.  All images shared within this blog post are courtesy of RANet, unless otherwise noted.  Thanks also to TORN (www.theonering.net) for keeping us up to date on The Hobbit filming news as well as the intricacies of the storytelling plots, characters, and symbolism within The Hobbit.