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EXCLUSIVE - Richard Armitage chats with TheOneRing.net

News from Bree
spymaster@theonering.net

Apr 14 2014, 11:05am

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EXCLUSIVE - Richard Armitage chats with TheOneRing.net Can't Post

With the Home Video release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (which becomes available this week in Australia, Brazil and parts of Europe), Richard Armitage has been busy giving interviews, as we've been posting over the past week or so. He found time to sit down again with staffer greendragon, and they chatted about finding Thorin's voice one last time, what he's working on now, and what it was like to fill (literally!) those mighty dwarven boots... Here's what he had to say:

greendragon: Congrats on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug's win [for Best SciFi/Fantasy movie] at the Empire Awards!

Richard Armitage: I know! It was funny when they were saying "Scifi/Fantasy". Â I think it was SciFi OR Fantasy - I was like, "Are we Science Fiction? I don't remember any spaceships in The Hobbit!" [laughs]

GD: They just lump it all together! It was nice to see that some of you were gathered at the Awards, and it looked like everyone was having a great time. James Nesbitt did a great job of hosting.

RA: Yeah it was really good to see everybody. I think Luke [Evans] came, but he had to disappear because he was doing some reshoots so I didn't manage to catch up with him¦
.

GD: So we're all excited for the Home Video release of The Desolation of Smaug; and then with convention season kicking off, everything's gearing up for the final film. How does it feel to be moving in to the final leg of this epic journey you've all been on?

RA: Well, I know for sure that we're not going to be filming any more material for the third film. That was something which was a bit up in the air; but there is a bit of sound work to do - a bit of ADR post production voice stuff, which I'm really looking forward to doing, and to seeing the cut of the film. You know, it's been a while since we were in New Zealand, so I've kind of forgotten what we did - so it will be nice to go back and see how that's shaping up. But I think it will be quite a nostalgic event. It's probably going to be the last time that Middle-earth is seen on the big screen. Peter's intention to have six films which sit all along side each other will be contained in that one event at the end of the year - so it wouldn't surprise me if we see some old faces back on the red carpet, in celebration of fifteen years of Peter's work!

GD: It certainly feels like a big deal for the fans - as you say, fifteen years of Middle-earth as Peter Jackson has envisaged it. People are going to be quite sad, I think, to feel that things are coming to an end.

RA: Yes! I mean, what are you guys going to write about when there's nothing Middle-earth to talk about?! [laughs]

GD: You know, there's always something! We might end up seeing a Hobbit symphony, like The Lord of the Rings symphony! There are always events popping up. Tolkien hasn't been around for a while and we're still talking about him!

RA: Maybe there'll be a Silmarillion as well, who knows?

GD: Who knows what might happen? Is it going to be quite strange, though, to come back to doing Thorin's voice again for the ADR work? As you say, it's been a while; in some ways, presumably, you must have moved on from the role, with other projects in mind and other things going on in your life!

RA: Yeah. It's interesting because I did a certain regime of voice work to try and find Thorin's voice, which I'm really pleased that I did, because now I can go back to my tapes and repeat that work, and hope that Thorin's voice comes out. It's not so different from my own voice, but there's a certain pitch and gravel to it that I'll need. It takes a while to get back in to; but hopefully I'll be able to do it!

GD: When you do move on from this role, when it is all over with The Hobbit films, what do you think will stay with you from this, both in terms of your life experience, and in terms of aspects of the character? What do you think will be with you in twenty years?

RA: I think the actual memory of filming it; going to the other side of the world for such a long time! I mean, I still wake up and think that I'm in the house that I stayed at in New Zealand, and that I can hear the sea! Everything about it - it was such a sensory experience. Walking through the studio gates at 4am when it was dark, and leaving when it was dark; seeing all the new sets; every time we walked on set! I just don't think it will ever leave me. And you know, the process of getting into the character, and putting on the prosthetics; it's deeply embedded in me, because we repeated it so many times. Putting on the boots and walking as Thorin! I kind of wish I had those boots, I wish I'd kept them!

GD: Do you feel an ownership of the role? If you were reading The Hobbit, would you sort of feel, "Oh, that's me I'm reading about"?


RA: You know what, I feel like there is a sort of nod [in the films] to the character in Tolkien's book - but my very first impression of The Hobbit [book] probably hasn't changed. The version that we played of Thorin is very much about Philippa Boyens' brilliant screenplay; so it sits somewhere between the two. I will probably pick up Tolkien and be reminded of what Philippa, Fran and Pete did with it; which I think is great, because their job is not just to put the book on screen, but to develop all of those ideas and take us into another world.

GD: Talking of ownership of the role - what do you think about the fans who do such amazing cosplay, where they dress up as the characters? I know one lady who does an absolutely brilliant Thorin; I wondered what you think when you see these folks with incredible costumes on which they have lavished hours of work, and they come out as dead ringers for the characters.

RA: I know! And a lot of them are women - and they're growing their own beards and everything! It's kind of amazing that they can do that! [laughs] No, I've seen a few bearded ladies - I think it's brilliant. I'm always immensely impressed at the workmanship, and the way that they've looked at the costumes and copied them - I think it's pretty amazing. And I'm sure it's one of the reasons why the costume design is so detailed - because they know that people will look at it in that kind of detail, and study it.

GD: With regard to what's next: each time we've spoken, you've had various potential irons in the fire but nothing that's grabbed you as being the next big project for you. Do you have anything coming up which you can tell us about?

RA: I'm doing a British independent film at the moment, which is called Urban and the Shed Crew, which is based on a book written in 2005 about an ex social worker who is having trouble with his own life, and spiralling into drink and drugs, and he befriends a little eleven year old street kid, and they have this journey together. It's a really beautiful story, and it ticks a few boxes for me: it's based on a really interesting piece of literature, but also based on living people, who have been working with us on set. I don't know what the movie will be - it may just end up at the festivals - but I'm having a great time making it, and I get to play opposite a really brilliant eleven year old kid, who is teaching me how to act!

GD: Kids often have a natural instinct for it, don't you find? They don't overthink it!

RA: Well sometimes they do; sometimes kids are highly coached. But this little boy is very, very natural and really instinctive, and it's great - it's like a little "back to school" for me!

GD: Are we likely to see you at any conventions this year? I'm hoping we can persuade you to come to DragonCon in Atlanta!

RA: Well I have to find out when they are - I haven't heard of anything in the imminent future. I think we're definitely going to go to [San Diego] ComicCon; we're definitely going to be there this year.

GD: Thinking about going forward - having had this experience of being in a huge franchise with an enormous fan base, would you be reluctant to undertake a project again which has such a following already in place, or has it been an experience that you would enjoy repeating?

RA: Oh yeah - I would do it again in a heartbeat! It's so exciting to be part of something; especially when it's one character playing - I mean, I think this is quite a unique experience, that it's one character over three films, but playing through one journey. I think that's quite remarkable. Yeah, I'd love to do another big franchise like this.

GD: Good - I'm glad we haven't scared you away!

RA: No way! No way!

GD: One of the fans asked me to say to you how proud they all are of the work that everybody has done. I certainly know that many of the fans feel a kind of ownership of what Peter Jackson and all of you have created in Tolkien's realm; there's a great deal of love for it, and many people have said to me, "I just want an opportunity to tell them how proud we are of what they've done!"

RA: Oh good. I mean, that's very heartwarming - because they're the people that we know will be watching in so much more detail than everybody else. You've got to play and create your character in that much detail, because I know that people will be seeing it like that, and seeing it again and again! With the DVD release, they can watch it to their heart's content! And I know they will; so it's good to know that it's being seen and appreciated.

GD: One last thing I'm interested to ask you about - I keep reading about your fascination with Richard III, and that you have interest in making a film about him. I just wondered what truth there is in any of that?

RA: It was an idea that I had a while back. But my interest in it is really a hobby, of reading biographies, and I was once working with a script writer on something. I don't know whether a documentary would be of interest - it's difficult, finding something which is going to be commercially interesting, and for an audience - I don't know how many people would be that excited about him! My interest in him doesn't necessarily have to manifest itself in a piece of work. Even if it's me going back on stage and playing him; it's purely a hobby for me.

GD: It's a fascinating topic - particularly when you consider how Shakespeare has painted him into one particular corner!

RA: Yeah, I mean Shakespeare really created a bit of a pantomime and put him at the centre of it. It's a brilliant thriller, but I don't know how biased Shakespeare was~ Well, I do know how biased he was, because he was writing for a Tudor monarch! But I think there's a tale to tell. I think the BBC maybe are investigating doing a project about Richard, but we'll see. I think there's always room for a new take on it; and there's plenty of literature out there. The Daughter of Time [Josephine Tey] is such an interesting book, and that would be worth exploring.

GD: Well, thanks Richard - it's always good to chat. Hopefully we'll talk again around the release of The Hobbit: There and Back Again.

RA: I'm sure we will see each other sometime in November, on our vast press tour! Take care!

(This post was edited by entmaiden on Apr 14 2014, 5:29pm)


Ataahua
Forum Admin / Moderator


Apr 14 2014, 7:13pm

Post #2 of 11 (458 views)
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This bit... [In reply to] Can't Post


In Reply To
I still wake up and think that I'm in the house that I stayed at in New Zealand, and that I can hear the sea! Everything about it - it was such a sensory experience.


...sounds like he was living in Valinor. :)

Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."

"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.


Ataahua's stories


Donry
Tol Eressea


Apr 14 2014, 9:40pm

Post #3 of 11 (424 views)
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Great little read.... [In reply to] Can't Post

Amazing to me how big all the 'fandoms' out there have become. Also, how much access there is to all these stars via twitter, youtube and websites such as this one. The 'online' world has become so massive and yet, the folks who worked on these projects (the LOTR and HOBBIT) can give the fandom such 'ownership' of it all. I am a big Kevin Smith fan, and it would be easy to become engrossed in his 'online' world...his own personal stuff and the twitter/facebook/youtube/podcasts of the folks that work with/for him. There is so much there. As there is here for the Lord of the Rings. I've dipped both feet in the Star Wars universe as well. Needless to say, I don't have the time to fully submerge myself in any one of them....but the potential is totally there! There is a endless amount of info out there, and yet one can feel like they are of a limited number of fans peering in on these 'worlds'. Can I use these '' anymore? Sheesh.

What's the matter, James? No glib remark? No pithy comeback?"

@DonryFetor


Glorfindela
Valinor


Apr 14 2014, 11:25pm

Post #4 of 11 (432 views)
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This is all good, except for: [In reply to] Can't Post

'it wouldn't surprise me if we see some old faces back on the red carpet, in celebration of fifteen years of Peter's work'

I have no particular wish to see, for example, the Hobbit actors from LotR, e.g. the Merry or Pippin actors. (In fact only Ian Holme bore any resemblance to Tolkien's Hobbits in LotR, and the acting of some of the LotR cast was really rather embarrassingly poor.)

I would rather the filmmakers focused on TABA and made sure it is a brilliant film. LotR was filmed 10–13 years ago, and The Hobbit trilogy is very different from the LotR films, and should stand on its own. It's as if the filmmakers feel the need to 'hide' behind LotR, instead of letting The Hobbit be its own animal. There really was no need to try to link the two trilogies. In fact, The Hobbit would have been better without much of the 'linking' material, which appears somewhat forced and quite alien, probably because it doesn't originate from Tolkien. (In my opinion, of course.)


MirielCelebel
Rivendell


Apr 15 2014, 2:51pm

Post #5 of 11 (379 views)
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Yeah but [In reply to] Can't Post

Elijah Wood and Sean Astin have made several appearances so far on the red carpet and you don't hear much from them. They're just gonna make a big deal about this movie because it's the last one. And the last one to ever be made. It's kind of a big deal. I'm not a fan of Merry and Pippin either but it will be nice to have one big happy reunion before it all goes away forever :(

"The Road goes ever on..."

Writing Bliss


Otaku-sempai
Immortal


Apr 15 2014, 3:06pm

Post #6 of 11 (376 views)
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I wouldn't be so sure of that. [In reply to] Can't Post


In Reply To
Elijah Wood and Sean Astin have made several appearances so far on the red carpet and you don't hear much from them. They're just gonna make a big deal about this movie because it's the last one. And the last one to ever be made. It's kind of a big deal. I'm not a fan of Merry and Pippin either but it will be nice to have one big happy reunion before it all goes away forever :(



This is probably the last Middle-earth film with this particular cast and crew, but we still have the prospect of potential spin-offs and remakes. And sooner or later (probably later) other works by Tolkien WILL be available for film and other projects. Granted, many of us likely won't be around to see those last.

'There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.' - Gandalf the Grey, The Fellowship of the Ring


Glorfindela
Valinor


Apr 15 2014, 4:02pm

Post #7 of 11 (373 views)
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I'm not keen to see actors irrelevant to The Hobbit myself [In reply to] Can't Post

Would prefer to see people like the two Sir Ians, RA and the other Dwarf actors, and other actors who played canon characters in The Hobbit, rather than to have them in some way diluted by irrelevant actors who appeared in LotR – a very different set of films from The Hobbit trilogy.


Silverlode
Forum Admin / Moderator


Apr 15 2014, 11:36pm

Post #8 of 11 (352 views)
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How can they be "diluted"? [In reply to] Can't Post

All the Hobbit actors who can be there will be there...not sure why having a few LOTR guys come celebrate with them could take anything away. It won't interfere with them interacting with the crowd, or lessen the number of interviews they do. Every premiere of a movie in has a ton of actors who aren't in it walk down the red carpet and talk to entertainment reporters (that's where all those "what so-and-so wore to the premiere of" pictures come from), as well as plenty of people who have connections enough to get into the premiere but don't rate media coverage (they're all those nicely dressed people standing around in the background of red carpet photos).

Besides, I think it's probably considered very good publicity to have the cast of the critically acclaimed LOTR come to support and cheer on the cast of the not-quite-as-well-regarded Hobbit movies. Family solidarity and all that.

Ah well, your mileage clearly varies. Smile

Silverlode

"Dark is the water of Kheled-zâram, and cold are the springs of Kibil-nâla, and fair were the many-pillared halls of Khazad-dûm in Elder Days before the fall of mighty kings beneath the stone."



Glorfindela
Valinor


Apr 16 2014, 12:09am

Post #9 of 11 (343 views)
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Well, for me [In reply to] Can't Post

I don't like the fact that the film-makers are constantly trying to link the two trilogies – thus giving even more ammunition to those who keep comparing them.

In particular because The Hobbit is so different in visual style, and also when it comes to the acting, I feel that the two trilogies should be kept separate and that any references in The Hobbit to LotR should be kept to a minimum. For me, where the film-makers have tried to make links with LotR in The Hobbit, they have failed – those are probably my least favourite moments in the films (particularly in DoS), and I feel they mar DoS to a great extent.

And the Hobbit films are 'not so well regarded' by whom? Certainly not by me and many others I know, at least in the case of AUJ. They are just very different from LotR (the acting is actually better overall in The Hobbit than in LotR, except for in the case of the two Sir Ians, who are just as good in both trilogies), and I find it very difficult to make comparisons between them.

I absolutely would not like to see LotR actors promoting The Hobbit – I would in fact find this rather irritating. But that's just my personal opinion. Unimpressed


Kim
Valinor


Apr 16 2014, 2:22am

Post #10 of 11 (355 views)
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Great interview! [In reply to] Can't Post

I love how he's always so enthusiastic! Smile


"Jagatud rõõm on topelt rõõm - a shared joy is a double joy". ~Estonian saying


“As such, you will address His Majesty as His Majesty, the Lord of Silver Fountains, the King of Carven Stone, the King Beneath the Mountain, the Lion of Erebor, the High King of the Dwarves, the True Treasure of Erebor, the Face that Launched 10,000 Sighs, or Thorin the Majestic..."

http://newboards.theonering.net/forum/gforum/perl/gforum.cgi?post=719226;sb=post_time;so=DESC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed


dernwyn
Forum Admin / Moderator


Apr 18 2014, 6:22pm

Post #11 of 11 (316 views)
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"What are you guys going to write about when there's nothing Middle-earth to talk about?" [In reply to] Can't Post

I laughed at this, also! This is a question that comes up every now and then on TORn: what will there be to discuss, once all the movies and EEs have been done?

I think no one needs to worry about it! Tolkien's world is so rich, and Peter Jackson's creations so detailed, that there will never be an end to our explorations. Heart


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I desired dragons with a profound desire"





 
 

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