Saturday 14 May 2011

Knowing or Not Wanting to Know Richard Armitage ...

Some days ago, I read an old interview with Richard Armitage I had not read so far.
It was so intimate and contained so many detail, that afterwards I wished, I had not read it, though I must admit, I read through the whole interview.
It clouded my perception of him and when I watched the last episode of Strike Back yesterday, I re-interpreted his performance due to the interview. I did not like that of me and so - what I have never done before - stopped the film before the end. (Here I must admit, I have watched it so often, that in my head it continued anyway.)

What also disturbed me the last days is, that I think John Porter will die or at least disappear in "Strike Back II". That is what was to be expected, after he is filming "The Hobbit". But I think he is not only hunted down by the Americans, the Afgans and As'sad's men, I also think his own team sends out the rescue team to eliminate him and not to rescue him from the imprisonment of the preview scene.
For his own team must think, he has killed his boss Collinson. As he is the only eye witness of the real events, he has no chance to come back to "Strike Back" again.

Today, I read on RichardArmitageNet.com, that RA had been filming in South Africa with some lovely details about him with the crew.
The wonderful artwork by bccmee also did help - this look just warms every heart!
And kadamaja's wallpapers did continue the process to bring me back to full appreciation.

This  reminded me of the key points, why I really appreciate him:
* His high-quality performances
* his absolute dedication to work
* his easy going and friendly attitude towards colleagues and co-workers.

I am not sure what really affected me most:
* That he suddenly became a real person?
* That he fell down from my imaginary pedestal? (That he did not really do or at least he climbed back onto it quite fast ;o)
* That I felt like a bit of a prude or at least very naive? But still this interview was more than I wanted to know, more than I wanted to know about a virtual stranger. (I have heard quite a lot of [even extreme] confessions in my life, but with these I felt uncomfortable.) And I must add, I am not even sure that what I read is the truth! I think it partially is a role set up to entertain the audience and keep up a certain image of attractive vulnerability.

The one thing which was not affected by reading the interview, was my writing the dream-solution for "Spooks 9". My writing it continued quite undisturbed, but I am still not very far, though the outline is finished.

You will not believe it, but I really started it (without real time for it, but I just could not resist ;o)
I reckon, I have to reveal my storyline before "Spooks 10" starts, as these 'real events' will make my phantasy sequel obsolete anyway.


Now securely back in deep RA-fandom, I will try to start posting my dream-sequence soon, to not keep you waiting for the solution of "Spooks 9" much longer ;o) 
Have fun and enjoy!

8 comments:

  1. Wow! Now I want to read this interview. I think I have read them all. I can't imagine anything that would make me like him less. That is exactly what I answered to Traxy's question on this post:
    http://thesqueee.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-would-make-you-go-off-richard.html
    I actually like the "real" Richard better than all his characters. So I am really dying to read or re-read that interview you mention!

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  2. Hello phylly3,
    Sorry for making so much fuss about an old interview. It is the one -
    Daily Mail Weekend magazine (09 Sep 2006) and is on RichardArmitageNet.com.
    I always like RA better in RL interviews than in films, though I exceedingly like his performances. The reason why I became fan indeed is one of his interviews before the airing of Spooks 7.
    I think part of the reason for my extreme reaction was, that I got angry with myself for changing my perspective. That caused me to react even more.

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  3. I do remember that interview too. You have to keep in mind that print interviews often have an "angle" and use misquotes or take things out of context. Compare the print interviews with the TV and radio interviews and there is always a difference.

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  4. @bccmee
    Thank you, bccmee, for consoling me. I had been quite sure before reading the interview, that nothing could disturb me in my fandom. That I would see the films anew afterwards was quite a revelation for me, but fortunately there are only beautiful sides to discover on RA, even under closer scrutiny.
    And fortunately, I am from the publishing business (though not newspaper or journals) and so do not believe all I read ;o)
    I had an interview for a radio report once. They interviewed me half an hour and only used half a sentence in the end and that one so out of context, that it took me a while to remember, that I had indeed said that ;o)

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  5. I can't believe I missed this. I wrestle with this question all the time. I've been firmly on the "don't want to know him" side since the end of May, but I wobble back and forth all the time. It's hard.

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  6. @servetus
    I can very much understand you, Servetus. I think I am on the "don't want to know" him side at the moment as well, though sometimes I grumble and argue with myself that this position implies, I would detect something negative in him if I indeed did know him. But I think it is part of a protection mode of me to protect my 'beautiful image' of him that I have created in my mind. (Even protect it from real-RA or more adequately from reality itself.)
    I think that interview broke through the outer walls of my created image and tried to touch it. Not that it really changed him or my perception of him, but I started to re-evaluate my image of him. Normally I have him and his picture of him in a safe place, giving him a certain space of my life and having him and his role sorted out as rescue and safety-haven in my tumultuous life.
    Reality would break that. But in some moments I would risk that, in others not - depends a bit on how brave I am in a certain situations ;o)

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  7. The Armitage fantasy got really important to me in May -- it took on a life of its own that probably has nothing to do with either characters or the "real" Armitage. I definitely fear the destruction of that for exactly the reason you state: the fantasy is so comforting and so effective.

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  8. @Servetus
    I fear, my fantasy RA did take on a life of his own as well. I also fear, if I would meet the real RA my picture of him would necessarily have to shift and adjust a bit and I could no longer 'utilize' him so comfortably. (What strange fear to meet one's idol.)
    I am quite defensive of my fantasy-man. But he helped and still helps me through my difficult time and brings sunshine in otherwise bleak and frightful situations. He is better where I might start to tumble, he helps me keep my moral high to go on, where I might lose confidence, he even brought me to stand a video recording of me in front of the camera, only because he does it, not because I can do it. I remember the films my father took when I was a child. Every step I took, how I held myself, everything was wrong. In the end I refused to be filmed at all and every time my father tried later ended in a row. So no pleasant memories here. But with him, my fantasy man at my side, I had been able to even utter some (hopefully not too nonsensical) words in front of the camera.
    So I totally agree with you, he is indeed very 'comforting and so effective'.

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