A Man Apart

Have you ever noticed how many of Richard’s characters are set apart from society, in some way? Thorin, the displaced king who bares the weight of his people and family’s legacy

John Porter and his botched mission, that made him untouchable in the eyes of his colleagues and loved ones

John Standring, who was never afforded the chance to prove himself as a man, living as the perpetual fumbling boy in his small rural town

and even John Thornton, with the way he set himself apart as he tried to right his father’s wrongs while upholding his family’s standing within the community.

These thoughts seemed to solidify for me recently while browsing through some of my favorite Richard Armitage themed fanvids. There is one in particular, The Evolution of Sir Guy by 19bt80 on YouTube, that I find engaging each and every time I watch.

It starts out with Guy of Gisborne lamenting the loss of Marian and reliving what led up to the catastrophic event. As the music in the video speeds up, various scenes of Guy fighting is shown. Then Lucas North suddenly appears, mimicking similar body movements in his more modern fight scenes. Very creative elements; using the palm punch of series 7 episode 1 that always thrills me was a bonus 🙂

The video continues with scenes of Lucas in quick sequence; the scenes themselves have nothing to do with Guy of Gisborne but subtly draw parallels between the two characters. Even though Lucas and Guy are different, this aptly illustrates how alike they are as well.

After being wowed by that favorite, I was then drawn in by the Guy & Marian (my skin) video by HeathDances.

In this one, Guy of Gisborne is being haunted by Marian’s ghost. Series 3 Guy is burdened with so much guilt because of what he did to Marian, and how ruthless he was before her. I found the use of Marian’s ghost very creative, and also the excerpts from the Robin Hood Witchfinder audiobook that the video was based on.

Richard has said that he likes to show the good in the bad/the bad in the good for his characters. I wonder if he’s drawn to this type of character on a subconscious level, or if he just finds portraying the Man Apart most gratifying? Probably a bit of both; it takes one to know one 😎