No Higher Praise

While trying to make sense out of my million and one bookmarks, I came across a Tumblr post from mezzmerized by richard from The Hobbit press conference in Tokyo. Martin says some nice words about Richard, as an actor and as a person:

“What Pete said about what he brings to Thorin, is partly what he brings just as a person, which is: he has a quiet determination. He respects himself and others, respects other’s way of working, but he holds on to that very strong core of himself.

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He’s about the least arrogant person you could wish to meet. He’s very self-depreciating, and he’s always up for what you’re going to bring to the scene.

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I went to the gym with him once and there were a few of us there. We had to do these circuits around the gym with this insane psychopath of a gym trainer. I was busy dying about halfway around, and I nearly did pass out, I genuinely nearly–it was only a sports drink that stopped me falling to the floor. I looked up, and Richard had sort of quietly completed the entire circuit, slightly breaking a sweat. He sort of admitted that he was–you know, he found it hard and he was tired. but what I really admired about that, was that he wasn’t being macho or butch, he just quietly got on with it.

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And that’s kind of how he treated the 18 months of the job, really. All the trials and tribulations that inevitably come with just the day to day making of the film–it’s tiring, you miss home, etc. He was very stoical about it.

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I think there was a good marriage of Richard and Thorin there; I enjoyed working with him very much. What I always think about Richard is that, essentially, he is a decent person and I can have no higher praises. I think he’s a good human being; I like being around him.”

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(I condensed the run on sentences and tweaked the punctuation to suit me)

A Gentle Reminder

I’ve been turning to this passage from one of Richard’s messages a lot lately, in conversations with others and with myself as well. I don’t think we can be reminded of it enough:

So please, once more, let me implore you to put your grievances aside and enjoy the fun. If it stops being fun, then it must stop altogether. I am really proud to have such a united fan base[…]if it all falls apart because the ‘foundations are cracked’, it would be such a great shame[…]

I get quite a few very personal letters telling me how this community has helped them through difficult times or given them a great hobby, so I suppose the letters which tell me how upset the community has made them, is all part of the ebb and flow. I just ask you to look after each other, thats all. There are quite a few sensitive souls lingering out there which need protecting not to mention the younger members who are looking at you as role models. This angst goes against everything I believe in, I think you know that.

“To live and let live, without clamour for distinction or recognition; to wait on divine love; to write truth first on the tablet of one’s own heart – this is the sanity and perfection of living.”
~ Mary Baker Eddy

[…]

Much Love
Keep up the good work and SHINE
RA

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Where People Understand You

Alphabet Movie challenge: day 17

Quote that inspires

“Home isn’t where you live. It’s where people understand you. If I don’t have trust from MI-5…then I’ll never really be home. I’ll just be back in England.”

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I don’t live close to where I grew up and where the majority of my relatives are. I don’t have the connections for myself or my children that one gets when living among relatives and all that is familiar. I visit often but once you leave, it’s never really the same again. This quote from Lucas resonates with me because of that. “Home” is where you make it and “Family” doesn’t have to be biological.

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non-Armitage answer: from The Shawshank Redemption

“There’s something inside they can’t get to, that they can’t touch.

That’s yours. Hope.”

Contemplative

Last week, during the Pinter-Proust extravaganza that came before and after Richard’s participation in the dramatic reading,

photo by Chrissy Lampard
photo by Chrissy Lampard

MorrighansMuse posted about the Proust Questionnaire. While trying to answer the questions honestly myself, I sailed along with no problem through the first few but they soon became more difficult.

*I have no faults...questionnaire over!*
I have no faults…questionnaire over!

I enjoyed filling it all in because it forced me to really stop and think about what I like, instead of just answering by rote.

*the answers are: C...C...C...*
the answers are: C…C…C…

So here are my likes and dislikes:

Q: your favorite virtue?

A: Patience

I need to work on this one...
I need to work on this one…

Q: your favorite qualities in a man?

A: Humor and Compassion

Q: your favorite qualities in a woman?

A: Spontaneity and Kindness

just because you have a plan, doesn't mean it's a good one
just because you have a plan, doesn’t mean it’s a good one

Q: your chief characteristic?

A: Compromise

Q: what you appreciate most in your friends?

A: Levelheadedness

not that my friends possess that quality but if they did, I'd appreciate it!
not that my friends possess that quality but if they did, I’d appreciate it!

Q: your main fault?

A: Quick to Judge

Q: your favorite occupation?

A: Acting

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Q: your idea of happiness?

A: Feeling Content with What I Have

Q: your idea of misery?

A: Being Forced to Ignore Personal Principals

*I refused those Cumber-Bitches, because I'm loyal to you!*
I refused those Cumber-Bitches, because I’m loyal to you!

Q: if not yourself, who would you be?

A: Someone Who Enjoyed Being Athletic

Q: where would you live?

A: the Mountains

Q: your favorite color?

A: Blue

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Q: your favorite flower?

A: Carnation

Q: your favorite bird?

A: Cardinal

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Q: your favorite prose authors?

A: W. Somerset Maugham, John Steinbeck

A man so painfully in love is capable of self-torture beyond belief” ~John Steinbeck

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Q: your favorite poets?

A: Pablo Neruda

“I want to eat the sunbeam flaring in your lovely body, the sovereign nose of your arrogant face, I want to eat the fleeting shade of your lashes” ~Pablo Neruda

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Q: your favorite heroes in fiction?

A: Jamie Fraser (Outlander), Harry Potter

this is what "getting the girl" looks like Richard, pay attention!
this is what “getting the girl” looks like Richard, pay attention!

Q: your favorite heroines in fiction?

A: Claire Randall (Outlander), Hester Prynne (The Scarlet Letter)

Q: your favorite composers?

A: Bach, Chopin

Q: your favorite painters?

A: Monet

this was my favorite at 15 years old, long before Richard portrayed Monet.
this was my favorite at 15 years old, long before Richard portrayed Monet.

Q: your real life heroes?

A: My Parents

they survived this
they survived this

Q: your favorite heroes in history?

A: Abraham Lincoln

“A woman is the only thing I am afraid of that I know will not hurt me” ~Abraham Lincoln

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Q: your favorite names?

A: James and Anne

Q: what you hate the most?

A: Prejudice

Q: historical figures that you despise the most?

A: Hitler

Q: military event that I admire the most?

A: the Invasion of Normandy on D-day, WWII

There is no such thing as bravery; only degrees of fear“~John Wainwright

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Q: natural talent I would like to have?

A: Dance

Q: how I wish to die?

A: with Someone Holding My Hand

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Q: present state of mind?

A: Contemplative

Q: what fault of yours that you are most tolerant?

A: Procrastination

Q: your favorite motto?

A: Always Be Yourself

it saves so much trouble in the long run...
it saves so much trouble in the long run…

 

She Visits Me

I’ve been watching episodes of Robin Hood while I try to shake this cold that’s been plaguing me for days. So here’s some tragic Guy:

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“You know the worst crime a man can commit? Betrayal”

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“You have been constantly in my thoughts. Without you, I no longer feel quite whole.”

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“We should be spending more time together, so that we can understand each other better. I want to know you.”

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“So tired. Every time I close my eyes, they come…demons. Clawing at my brain. How can I get some peace?”

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“Do it! End it, please!…I live in Hell.”

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“I loved her as you loved her! I’ll never ask for your forgiveness. I can’t forgive myself.”

(pictures courtesy of Richard Armitage Central)