Armitage anatomy: corrugator supercilii
Lucas North (Richard Armitage) threatens a terrorist in Spooks 9.1. Click to enlarge. Photo edited from a cap at RichardArmitageNet.com.
I love that little s-shaped crinkle at the root of his nose. I’ve been looking at this picture off and on all day, and I’m thinking of starting a new tag: “muscles that I especially like when I see Richard Armitage flexing them.”
Me + Richard Armitage 
I do love the amazing expressiveness of his face. The things he can do with that handsome mug of his . . . and I have learned a new word, too. 😀
I guess people who get Botoxed probably don’t have a well-developed currogator supercilii . . .
LikeLike
I figure since his forehead is like half the size of his face, and he’s using it all the time, we’ll see immediately if he ever botoxes.
LikeLike
Servetus,
We would know right away something was up. With some actors, you really couldn’t tell easily, as they show so little expression anyway. Interesting that muscle is tied in with suffering, as so many of his characters do just that.
Judiang, he does have an amazing set of chompers. I remember thinking in RH (the first thing I saw him in) he had some really beautiful teeth for medieval times 😉 And of course, Lucas must have had one heck of a prison dental plan in Russia LOL. . . I did like his old teeth, too, though. They had a quirky charm and his smile was still precious. But these teeth are more big screen worthy, I suppose.
LikeLike
I can’t imagine he would use botox, he seems to be such a serious actor. Not that I’d call all actors usinfg it vain and insincere, but I think men get away easier with a few crinkles. That’s what I mean, no offence to men who use it. No need for Richard anyway in my opinion, he has such fine, smooth and glowing skin that he still looks younger than forty, especially in combination with that boyish smile! 🙂 (Ok, so I am officially in love with his skin. Ohhh, stroking it just once….;-))
LikeLike
He has really good skin and I think he does take care of it (I remember some quote about the only thing he saw as metrosexual about himself was his fondness for moisturizing).
I think his lifestyle, compared to some other celebs, makes a difference, too. Partying, drugs, alcohol in excess really can age a person beyond their years.
With Richard, I think the combination of makeup, hairstyle, lighting and being clean-shaven can make him appear several years younger. The very short hair and beard in the harshness of sunlight makes him look older–still very handsome and distinguished, though.
I think the different looks he can achieve should be beneficial to his career. HIs abilities as an actor make a difference, too. I swear when he morphed from Lucas to Bateman, he seemed younger to me. And when he played Thornton, he seemed so much older than his appeared to be in his interview–he still had that boyish aura about him.
LikeLike
Angie, he certainly gives his face a workout in roles like LN and JP, and doesn’t seem to mind looking as unattractive as possible!
LikeLike
Mezz,
Absolutely! Look of some of his screencaps–in the scene with the thrashing of the employee in the mill, Thornton looks like a really pissed-off vampire, and not a romantic one a la Twilight. 😉
And some of Guy’s expressions–that face like thunder RA referred to. He is far more concerned with getting the characters right than in looking pretty doing it, that is for sure.
LikeLike
Angie, oh yes, I agree! I think RA also referred to Guy as having a face like a slapped arse. 🙂 Guy’s face in the scene where he runs from the explosion in the cave and is blown off his feet always comes to mind.
LikeLike
LOL Slapped arse. I love Richard’s sense of humor about it all. He takes the roles seriously, himself, not too much. The way Guy’s mouth is gaping open in a very unflattering way in that explosion scene–I always think Guy is thinking at that moment “Oh, sh*te!!!”
And some of his manly sniffs that are a half-sneer as he shows his utter disgust with Forest Boy. Love it. 😉
LikeLike
Personally I’m enamored of his teeth. His dentist is awesome. Look at that beautiful work.
LikeLike
There was a long discussion of his teeth somewhere on Nat’s blog. She had a regular reader who was an orthodontist, I think.
LikeLike
It’s twinkling moon; she’s a dentist.
LikeLike
Judi, I love you, but we disagree on something. : D If I have a least favorite feature of RA, it’s his teeth. They look as if he’s had work done, and that means it’s not good work if I can discern that. At least that’s how I see it. Of course least favorite on him would be excellent on most others. LOL!
LikeLike
I completely agree with you. They look fake to me. I much prefer the way they looked in N&S: Perfectly fine, but imperfect enough to look natural.
LikeLike
I feel like if he’s going to have teeth like that they have to stain them or something when appropriate — to keep them from blinding us 🙂
LikeLike
I do hope he NEVER gets a thing done to his face – I love it just the way it is with every line, wrinkle and crinkle!! 😀 I’m glad he got his teeth done for his sake as people really notice if an actors teeth don’t look good particularly in close up shots. To me it enhances that beautiful smile of his – even though he still looked great before. 🙂 And we DO want to see a lot more of him on the “big screen”! Maybe I should say, “see HIM a lot more.” That sounds more appropriate, I think! 😉
LikeLike
Personally, I would like to see him more often on the screen–and see more OF him, too. 😉 Yeah, I know, I’m shallow.
LikeLike
I think he is at a cross road right now respectively after the Hobbit and if Hollywood calls he may succumb and may succumb to botox as well, especially as he is old to hit it big time and may want to make the most of the few years he could play Hollywood leading man. He will have to compete with several British actors that are “on the brick of stardom” as well but about ten years younger. I wouldn’t vouch that he is immune to that. After all he already did several things to adapt his looks.
LikeLike
I won’t hold it against him if he botoxes. However, I imagine that that ridge in his forehead will then also lose some of that strong definition.
LikeLike
Angie and Frenz, I liked his original teeth, too. They were real. (sorry, judi, but you know I like beards, too) Pax! 😀 And perhaps the teeth-works are healthier, too…
LikeLike
I always thought that the British had a very humane attitude toward their teeth — not expecting their teeth to be superwhite the way Americans do. I’m a bit sad to see the emphasis on perfect teeth invading British society.
LikeLike
I honestly didn’t mind his original teeth, I found the crookedness of the lower ones endearing. I’m not a big fan of having teeth so perfect they look like dentures, but I do love his smile either way. Personally I don’t think he will succumb to Hollywood’s expectations of what a leading man should look like and resort to any more work other than what’s been done on his teeth. For an actor such as Richard, with his attention to detail and wholly inhabiting his role, who wants to stretch himself in character roles, botox and similar work could compromise his ability to do just that. What he does in the end is his own business, but I can’t help thinking about a question posed in an earlier post about what would turn us off Richard Armitage. Aside from the obvious murder and the like, I think I would be a little disappointed in him if he did go down that route (Can’t believe I just said that! *hands up in self-defence*) His admission he has a filthy temper didn’t put me off, but I’d hate to see him do anything to that wonderfully expressive face. I think he looks forty, a gorgeous forty, but a man entering middleage nonetheless; crinkles around the eyes, grey in the beard. To me he’s aging beautifully without the need for any artiface at all. (My apologies, I’ve really got to try to rein in the length of my comments! :S )
LikeLike
I know botox or cosmetic surgery (or abuse of steroids to gain more muscle for the matter) would be a turn off and not because I wouldn’t like the more polished but less expressive result but because I consider it cheating. As a woman I do the obvious things like dying my hair and using a bit of make up but I don’t appreciate that in a man. However I understand that to a degree a male actor has to do that to alter his looks and to look his best.
I’m fine with the dental work, here every child gets braces but he obviously didn’t, so it was only correcting later what should have been done earlier. However I’m not entirly convinced that dying his hair and removing the little bit of chesthair he has was really necessary and was glad that he stopped. And that he doesn’t do it when he’s not filming respectively completely covered with the Thorin costume. If a man does that in real life I would consider it vain and that would be a put off.
LikeLike
Jane, orthodontic work can be expensive here, so many children miss out. Veneers, whitening etc have become mainstream and are a relatively affordable way to improve one’s smile. I’m not so keen on the generic look that’s creeping in though, I like a bit of individuality.
When I said that his having work done would put me off RA, I find it difficult to explain why. I think my disappointment would come from feeling that he had “sold out” in order to conform to Hollywood’s superficial ideal of what a man should look like. I don’t know him, but it would mean my reading of him as a grounded, modest and genuine man would be totally out of whack.
LikeLike
I don’t have a problem with either botox or teeth stuff — I think the line for me would occur at anything that involves general anesthesia (face lifting or something like that). He’s endangered for that with all those wrinkles around his eyes.
LikeLike
It’s the envasive procedures that are worrying to me. Thank God he never touched the nose. I wonder–his skin is in otherwise excellent condition, did he just not wear sunglasses a lot when he was younger? Light-colored eyes are more light sensitive, as i can attest, and I squint a lot in sunshine or glare without shades.
Right now, with makeup and lighting, most of those lines can be softened (look at his appearance in Spooks). But it may become a bigger concern as he ages. I just don’t ever want him to have a wierd plastic face like Sylvester Stallone and some of the other aging actors–and I don’t think he ever would really go that route.
LikeLike
Oh Richard Dear,
Never ever feel you need to have plastic surgery on your expressive face. Your face shows character and depth and emotion inherent in your person. I love your crinkles and your smile (good teeth and all, ha). You and your crinkles have come far, don’t abandon them now. You are more handsome with your crinkles because they reflect that you have lived. So, keep right on living–crinkles and all.
Signed, a lady with a few crinkles of my own, Grati ;->
LikeLike
He has great crinkles, very expressive.
LikeLike
Rob and Gratiana,
I love his crinkles, too. They reflect a man who has smiled and laughed a lot in his forty years. At the age of 40, you should have some character in your face. When I see someone of a certain age who has perfectly smooth, crease-free skin, a red flag goes up. I am not anti envasive cosmetic procedures per se. I think of of certain older stars who have benefitted from, say, a well-done eyelift that didn’t change their appearance, but did make them appear more well-rested and more viable for roles. When you end up looking like a completely different person and/or an alien/mannequin, then there is a problem (and when they don’t know when to stop . . .)
Fitzg,
There would be a lot less need for Botox and Rejuviderm if more people just took care of what God gave them in the first place. I have been blessed with good skin and it still looks good at 51 because I have tried to care for it–moisturize, exfoliate and protect from too much sun exposure..
Richard seems to be doing the same. Poor thing, I know whatever adhesive he has to use for the Thorin prosthetics must irritate his skin. 😦
LikeLike
“Wrinkles are the roadmap of our lives.” I read that somewhere and how true it is. I find smile and laughter lines which show a sense of humour and a zest for life, attractive in a person, and RA is the perfect example.
LikeLike
Exactly, Mezz. “At 20 you have the face Nature gave you, at 30 you have the face life has given you, and at 40, you have the face you deserve.”
That’s been attributed to several different people over the years.
Someone has suggested that it should now be at 50, as life is not so harsh on our appearance as it once was (I think of those hardy pioneer women who appeared to be pushing 50 in photos but were in fact barely 30).
Anyway, at 40 I would say Mr. A must be a very deserving fellow, for he has a wonderful face. 😀
LikeLike
Jane, I think we all trust that he will not succomb – to artificial measures of any kind. I do excuse the teeth, simply because tooth alignment is healthy. (But I did rather like the individuality of the original incisors) 😀
Angie, the transluscence of that complexion is well worth preserving with moisturizer!
LikeLike
I don’t trust him, I wait and see (and hope). Many of our ideas of him are based on what he said in interviews, not on what he actually did.
LikeLike
I agree strongly with this statement — we think of him as principled, and I think he is, but I don’t know that his principles are the same as our principles 🙂
LikeLike
Jane, I do agree that there is a crossroad for the actor now, at 40. Leading man/romantic hero? Character actor? Can he manage the Colin Firth transitions? All depending, perhaps, on what he is offered after Thorin; and how The Hobbit affects his career. And what “agency” it affords.
LikeLike
And on what he chooses. I can definetely see him disappointing his fans by choosing the usual well-paid Hollywood rubbish. Many actors went down that road and fear of that is the reason why many fans weren’t comfortable with the idea of a movie career in the first place.
LikeLike
Personally, I would love to see him in a good series or mini-series (NOT Cinemax Strike Back stuff, puh-leeze!!) on Showtime or HBO. There is a new Showtime series called Homeland that is critically acclaimed, and two Brits, Damian Lewis and Brother Tuck from RH, are both in it.
These productions are never more than 13 eps, and sometimes just six to eight. Some respected movie stars (Kate Winslett, for example) have appeared in these series. Just something that has been whirring around in my head.
LikeLike
Angie, I’d like to see him working in a good balanced mix of projects each year. Maybe a series/mini-series or two as you suggest, plus a movie and theatre role (hopefully an audiobook thrown in here and there 🙂 ) A mix that is challenging, stimulating and fulfilling, one that makes him happy.
Jane, sorry, but I think you are short-changing the man. I prefer to be optimistic about the kind of career choices he makes in future.
*sigh* we can speculate all we want, only time will tell.
LikeLike
I just don’t want to share him with the whole world LOL! He’s like a delicious secret that we’ve had to ourselves all this time 🙂
LikeLike
Jane, you pessimist! (I share the fears,btw – absolutely do not wish to see a good actor “go Hollywood”). And Mezz, we all wish him success – and I don’t want to share him outside our community, either! 😀 Please let it continue as a varied career at the next level. British TV has been very good to him (RIP John Bateman – he rose to that challenge!) Angie, it’s good to have you back from cruising! And yes, “if I were RA’s agent” – sadly not, would go after HBO! TV has given us more time with the actor, and TV at its best (British or American) has been a splendid medium. Sometimes not. The Borgias didn’t overwhelm (oh shoot, that was a Canadian co-production). Oh well, it was a visual feast…a beautiful museum-worthy piece.
LikeLike
my TA from last year said he feels like it’s the age of TV. Movie filming has become so expensive that it is no longer really risky — the failure of one film can sink a whole production company. TV is more creative and can take more risks because it’s not so expensive.
LikeLike
[…] center of the forehead motion is always much more dependent on corrugator supercilii than on frontalis. This is a trait that we tend to associate with masculinity in the West, where […]
LikeLike
Armitage anatomy: occipitofrontalis in action « Me + Richard Armitage said this on October 25, 2011 at 3:00 am |
[…] corrugator supercilii is involved in both kinds of frowns, but angry, wrathful Armitage has a very active, even tense, […]
LikeLike
Armitage anatomy: depressor angulari oris « Me + Richard Armitage said this on October 29, 2011 at 3:32 am |
[…] to his apology, the exhaustion falls away just a tad and his mouth softens just a little bit as his corrugator supercilii contracts very, very slightly. Catching his breath? Sorrow? Affection for Katie? And then in the […]
LikeLike
Armitage Atonement « Me + Richard Armitage said this on November 13, 2011 at 10:14 pm |
[…] controlled, and after that he actually backs off and the viewer ends up focused on his eyebrows (corrugator supercilii motion). At 0:27 we see that very slight side motion of the jaw — this is a self-calming move […]
LikeLike
Vidding Guy of Gisborne « Me + Richard Armitage said this on November 29, 2011 at 3:35 am |
[…] which was a good choice, since if you’re Mr. Armitage’s director, you want those corrugator supercilii muscles to be able to work unimpeded, I think — or the root of his nose, but they began with […]
LikeLike
And we’ll know that it’s Richard by his nose, by his nose: or, a short prolegomenon to Armitage nose logistics « Me + Richard Armitage said this on December 5, 2011 at 1:59 am |
[…] of what Armitage would later be able to do with his forehead (see frontalis) and eyebrows (see corrugator supercilii), but it’s often Standring’s mouth and jaw that we focus […]
LikeLike
Armitage anatomy: or, masseter and friends « Me + Richard Armitage said this on January 12, 2012 at 4:56 am |
[…] moments of particularly strong emotion, as you remember, the corrugator supercilii drags his eyebrows closer together at the center of his face, pulling the skin over his eyes along […]
LikeLike
Armitage anatomy: initial notes on the supraorbital ridge « Me + Richard Armitage said this on March 31, 2012 at 3:17 am |
[…] best (in the sense of most effective) combination is probably lowered corrugator supercilii in combination with visible sclera, as toward the end of the same […]
LikeLike
Till you see the whites of Armitage’s eyes « Me + Richard Armitage said this on April 15, 2012 at 4:11 am |
[…] about the face on that figure. Stern. Cruel. They’ve caught Richard Armitage’s strong corrugator supercilii and piercing gaze, but they’ve quoted them so literally as to exaggerate their effect. And […]
LikeLike
Cathecting to Oakenshield? or, a not-so-brief etiology of Thorinmania — TWO « Me + Richard Armitage said this on September 3, 2012 at 11:16 pm |
[…] Here’s more reflection on corrugator supercilii. […]
LikeLike
Places I would like to kiss Richard Armitage: First glimpse of Red Dragon edition | Me + Richard Armitage said this on May 22, 2015 at 3:29 am |