Once I had made the decision to find out more about this Richard Armitage fellow and looked up his mini-bio and list of film works on IMDb, I turned to Google. First, to figure out how the heck to pronounce Leicester, then to find a decent fan-site that would hopefully tell me the kinds of things I wanted to know.
I clicked on RichardArmitageNet and was hit full force with loads of helpful information!
Photo galleries, Print and Video archives, Audio extracts and downloads, Previews of his film work; OH MY! I’m a visual person (shocking, I know! ) so my first stop was the Photo Gallery. I skipped over the individual film projects, since I had no idea what any of them were yet, and focused on the Photoshoots.
As I browsed, I found some that have become lasting favorites
While others, I would just have to come around to.
Next I moved on to the Print archives. This is my favorite way to become familiar with an actor. You can watch them grow and progress as a person, and track their career as it unfolds before them. I found an interview from the North & South era, that fit what I was looking for. It told me he was Modest. It told me he was Polite.
It told me he was Self-Depreciating, Considerate, Solitary, Introspective, Valued his Roots, and Always wanted to Put his Best Foot Forward.
To say I was intrigued by this point was an understatement. I then hunted down a few Video interviews. Instantly I latched on to this one:
I admired his poise and focus, and the way he seemed to sift through his mind to find the answer he was searching for and showing us clearly the moment he had found it. When he gave the little quip about practicing his horse riding skills with the action figure, I knew I was hooked! An unassuming dry sense of humor will win a place in my heart every time.
This North & South video interview was next:
When Richard talked about his research, and the importance of costumes and their biographies, it became clear to me that he shared my passion for giving good stories the respect they deserve.
Then came CBeebies. He reads bedtime stories to kids?!
This endeared him to me straight away. I then moved on to the Audio section.
I picked A War Less Ordinary. When I heard Code Poem for the French Resistance, I wept real tears. So Beautiful. The poem, his enunciation, the VOICE! It wasn’t a superficial physical reaction I was having towards Richard Armitage; I was learning him from the inside out.
The chase had officially begun.
Nowhere in Particular RA 