Data: Richard Armitage “I” statements, part 2 (2004)

[On this same subject, I keep forgetting to mention something follow on Twitter if you haven’t already: quotes from Mr. Armitage at @RCAQuotes .]

Part 1 was here.

In chronological order as far as I can determine them. These are statements in which Richard Armitage uses the first person singular (or the second person singular if he may be considered to be describing his own experiences, or the first person plural, if he uses it in an inclusive sense) to describe himself, his attitudes, his opinions, or his activities or behaviors, or describes his attitudes, opinions, activities or behaviors in other terms. Note that these are only first-person statements made by Mr. Armitage; I am not including in this discussion attributions of opinion or attitude or descriptions of him made by interviewers or others. This collection also does not exclude the possibility of misquotes by interviewers. A star is included when something about the quote suggests that it is not necessarily to be taken literally (humor, sarcasm, irony, etc.)

Obviously this collection — and this blog, quite frankly — would have been impossible without the efforts and good offices of RichardArmitageOnline.com and Richard Armitage Central. I make no claim to comprehensiveness and may eventually add more materials to each section.

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My favorite picture of Richard Armitage from 2004. Source: RichardArmitageNet.com

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Time Out London, Nov 3-10, 2004:

• [re: method acting]: “I researched cotton milling and the industry, but I didn’t need to research the kicking. Did you like that?”
• [re: casting in N&S]: “I was the first person and the last person as well because they went off on a totally different tangent searching for him [the actor to play Thornton]. I’d written it off. I just thought: maybe I’m not in the running anymore.”
• “I’m a bit of a risk because I’m not particularly well known. It’s a big role — the role of a lifetime — and it’s crucial that the two main characters are totally right.”
• [re Malice Aforethought]: “I play a misogynist cad, despicable.”
• “I think I’ve got a demonic streak in me which you’re not allowed to have in real life. Otherwise you’d just be hated by everyone. Anyway, they’re always the most interesting parts to play, aren’t they?”

The Independent, November 10, 2004:

• “Something great happened when I read with Daniela. Something clicked.”

The Independent, December 2, 2004:

• [re smouldering]: “you look at the person, think of them in the most desirable way you can and then suppress the desire to do anything about it. There are many ways to smoulder. You can smoulder with your back.”
• “I’d like to think it [life on other planets] is out there; it would be useful to compare notes.” *
• [re an actor’s life]: “You’ve got to have patience and be able to find contentment inside discontentment. You encounter a lot of frustration. When you watch a performance back, you’re never happy, but you’ve got to be able to find some contentment with what you’ve done, or you wouldn’t be able to go on.”
• [re: taking a historical figure out for a drink]: “[Lucretia Borgia] was dark and powerful, and had no boundaries. I’d like to find out what makes such people tick.”
• “I’ve lived in the south for a long time, but my family is from the north and I feel most at home among northerners, because they say it like it is. And the rugged landscape – such as the Yorkshire moors – sets my heart racing.”
• [re: men and makeup]: “Only if they’re in drag. However, as an actor, make-up can help you get into a role. If you don’t recognise yourself in the mirror, it can give you instant access to the character you’re playing. At drama school, I played a female brothel-keeper and a bald wig helped me to do that.”
• [bustles vs. bodices dilemma]: “Definitely bodices. They are restraining garments and there is something waiting to burst out. Bustles look like deformed backsides. They are not sexy.”
• “One of my earliest memories is of falling into my neighbour’s pond in my pushchair. I was under the water for quite a while. Ever since, I’ve had a problem with deep, dark water.”
• [re his capacity to spell]: “I’m not bad, although I have problems with the ‘i before e’ rule. I think that spelling’s important. I try to write hand-written letters to my close friends, and I really appreciate receiving letters where the words have been carefully chosen.”
• [re: permanence of love]: “I’m counting on it. But, as yet, I cannot confirm it one way or the other.” *

Sunday Sun, December 6, 2004:

• [re: North & South]: “I have made a point of not reading any reviews. My experience making North and South was so good I don’t want it tainted. I don’t know what to say. I will read it all eventually, but I think I’d better wait until the fuss dies down.”
• [being single]: “There is no-one interested as far as I am aware”
• “extremely flattered by all the attention.”
• [re Thornton]: “”He isn’t me. … I can see his appeal for women. He is courageous. He has suffered great tragedy in his life and kept his family together. He has this reputation that precedes him, based on his ruthlessness with his workers, and I think that’s quite an exciting dynamic to start with. But during the course of the story his layers get peeled back and he reveals somebody else inside who is actually quite sensitive and lonely. He needs a lot and he finds it through Margaret. That dichotomy between the powerful, almost monstrous, entrepreneur and this kind of vulnerable boy is really exciting to look at.”
• “I just couldn’t get this part out of my head and I kept reading the book. I tortured myself with thinking I hadn’t got the part. I was one of the first people they saw – and one of the last. They went off in all sorts of directions looking for the character but then it came back around and they decided to go with me, which was great.”
• “My father’s family were weavers and spinners. It [the industrial North of England] is where I came from and it was exciting to think I could be a part of it. I’ve also worked in the North a lot, more than anywhere else. My mill was in Keighley where I really found the character.”
• “Most of my roles have tended to be contrasting. I’m sort of there in the background.”

~ by Servetus on October 12, 2012.