a frequently irreverent and occasionally cerebral feuilleton of richard armitage studies
Armitage flens? or, how I love a guy who can cry
I think I mentioned that this was my favorite picture from this week.
*** Richard Armitage in costume as Thorin Oakenshield on the last day of principal photography for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, saying how much he’s looking forward to returning to New Zealand to see everyone again, in A Hobbit’s Tale: The Journey Begins. Source: Heirs of Durin
London premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, December 12, 2012, at 11:55:
“This is [the premiere] I was nervous about, because I thought I might step onto the carpet and start crying. And I had a dream last night that I got lost outside the cinema and I couldn’t find my way in. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. But it’s so great to come to London and [pauses] bring it home.”
***
Are there other such statements in interviews?
And was he getting teary on the last day of shooting? Who would blame him? Watch the vid here, at about 9:02 and decide for yourself.
***
In a week where it was really hard to respect my own emotions, when I would have preferred to pretend I didn’t have any, it was unbelievably fortuitous to have the reminder of my crush revealing himself as leading with the feelings.
I often feel these photos pop up just when I need to see them. This was a picture I needed to see, and reflect on, this week in particular.
32 Responses to “Armitage flens? or, how I love a guy who can cry”
I have enormous respect for men who are unashamed to cry. It breaks my heart to see my husband shed tears and yet I love him all the more for it.
I wondered,too, if RA was on the verge of getting choked up after his little speech. I LOVE that picture, too. Pure Armitage in Thorin guise.Gets ME a little choked up, too.
I do think he was on the brink of tears on that first day during the welcoming ceremony–so much excitement, anticipation and nerves (he had to give that speech in Maori, after all) building up inside. At long last–the day was finally there. It was real, not just a dream. 😀
I lead with my feelings, too, and it’s one of the things I love about him.
Definitely choked up at the Hobbit wrap. There is subtle but discernible emotion in his voice. And then right after there is this bashful, apologizing glimpse at the camera, checking whether they caught him out. – I very much appreciate it when men spill tears because it is *still* such a taboo. Hits me in the feels really badly – and does not look like a sign of weakness to me at all. Tears are always cathartic, I think, and there is a reason why our body has been made that way to show grief, sadness or sentimentality. Sure, it can never be wrong to express feelings. I enjoy crying and I hope that Armitage does, too.
That’s true. Heck, *I* have cried from anger and frustration more than once myself. The whole Comic-Con debacle had elements of those emotions, too.;) I figure our tear ducts are there for a good reason.
Yes, tear ducts are there for multiple reasons: to lubricate and moisten the surface of the eye; to flood away bits of foreign material that may get caught between the lid and the eyeball; to react to pain and emotion in a recognizable way; and as a side effect, to cause clearing of the sinuses. The tear ducts benefit from the occasional healthy workout. Real men can cry with the understanding that it is not a sign of weakness.
Without knowing anything about the physiological facts here, I am wondering whether there is also something chemical about crying. What I mean is – are there substances in tears, hormones or whatever, that are released when we cry, literally cleansing agents? Just from own experience I often have that feeling that it was actually good to get the tears out – as if they flush out the “poison” that was threatening to kill my body. – Doesn’t quite apply to happy tears, however…
As far as I know, and my studies ended in the 1990s, tears were simply a mild saline solution with a neutral pH, but it would not surprise me if tears were also a way to excrete the byproduct(s) of hormone produced during stress. Stress can be the result of happiness (“eustress”) as well as painful emotions.
Isn’t it just? There are so many ways that it functions that we have yet to understand, and it’s really a very compact package for the range of functions it has. Some functions are distributed, and others not, but they all interconnect. Every time I think that eyes are really naked parts of the brain, almost like its flowers, I am amazed all over again.
I’m almost sure he was crying, he surely cried when alone. Just look at the different behavior of RA and Martin Freeman: the opposite. They have very different souls, very different reactions, joy and triumph are on MF’s face when rising his Bilbo’s fabric seat-back, there are tears and gratefulness in RA’s voice and eyes, a commotion beyond reasoning for he quite don’t realize how this incredible thing happened to him. He’s like a child disbelieving to be deserving full merit for his actions. There is gratitude for something he knows will never happen again (let’s hope the contrary) – he always says that The Hobbit is the greatest thing ever happened to him and remarks that nothing will compare to this. He didn’t accepted new works, he is concentrated on the next 10 weeks of shooting The Hobbit final scenes in NZ. This last scene in A Hobbit tale melt my hearth and confirmed every single idea I had about him: he is a precious human being. Even his handsomeness vanishes in front of this.
This is why is such a good actor and why I admire him as an actor and person, he puts so mutch emotion in his acting. It’s his passion and maybe the most important thing in his life. Maybe that is why he is not in a serious relationship, just a thought.
And I love this picture, it really looks like he is getting a bit teary. You can see how mutch it ment to him to do this movie. That makes me even more happy for him. It’s such a waist both for him and us to have him working in a warehouse.
I am crying right now. There is a tag on my Tumblr called ‘Our lovely man’, It exists for precisely that reason: he is a sentimental man. That is one of the reasons I am sure he suffered growing up when his peers mocked him for being ‘tall and gangly’ and for having a large nose. I can almost see him coming home to hide in his room and cry, and his mother coming in to comfort him. Of course, being a musician, dancer, actor, singer and writer would tend to make him more susceptible to his environment and to the moods of those around him. I can very well picture how mortified he was when the first girl with whom he laid went out and told everyone the next day. He mentioned that although she didn’t mock him, she didn’t compliment him either. I bet he did cry over that, even if he didn’t love her, just from the humiliation of having everyone comment about it around him.
To me, his hypersensitivity and propensity to cry without shame (good for him for being a confident and honest man!) are the reasons he feels that he has to stay in character when he is involved in a new acting project. This, of course, is a double-edged sword because it allows the emotions to consume him and makes it hard to switch them off at the end of the day, not to mention how it drains a person of their energy. Still, that is his process and it obviously works very well. It is who he is, to the benefit of us all. We most certainly reap the rewards when we see the transformations on screen. Maybe therein lies part of the mystery of the pull he has on us.
Beautifully said! He seems to be a sensitive man. And when he is working, no doubt he finds it hard to switch off his emotions at the end of the day. But we don’t really know that. And we don’t really know who he is when he’s not working. Maybe he tries not to have feelings. But who knows. I agree that we reap the rewards of his process. Yes indeed!!
Thank you for your post. I think that it is something that many boys are taught that they should not cry. But yet there are people ( male and female) that emotion does not come easy for them so they do not cry. My oldest son is like this and it is hard on me to see not be able to release that emotion. Son 2 is a warm tender heart, that is full of emotion, and can show all his emotions well. Just his mom, I cry very easy, I can think of something sad and cry.
I just finished up my homework, we had to do research on 3 important concepts of nonverbal communication. As I was going though and finding what I wanted to write about, the facial expression caught my eye and that fact that showing grief or sorrow is something that most American men hide. It also talked about culture and how it gives us a guideline on how we see it. It said nothing about the UK, but I would think it would be about the same. I have learned that subculture also has a big impacted on how we see it also.
[…] written about Richard Armitage as someone who admits crying before (although now I think the Latin should be oculis flentis and not flens), and in that post, I cited […]
I have enormous respect for men who are unashamed to cry. It breaks my heart to see my husband shed tears and yet I love him all the more for it.
I wondered,too, if RA was on the verge of getting choked up after his little speech. I LOVE that picture, too. Pure Armitage in Thorin guise.Gets ME a little choked up, too.
I do think he was on the brink of tears on that first day during the welcoming ceremony–so much excitement, anticipation and nerves (he had to give that speech in Maori, after all) building up inside. At long last–the day was finally there. It was real, not just a dream. 😀
I lead with my feelings, too, and it’s one of the things I love about him.
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fedoralady said this on March 23, 2013 at 1:40 am |
usually you can tell a little bit by the timbre of his voice, but that wasn’t quite so apparent in this excerpt.
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Servetus said this on March 23, 2013 at 6:53 pm |
Definitely choked up at the Hobbit wrap. There is subtle but discernible emotion in his voice. And then right after there is this bashful, apologizing glimpse at the camera, checking whether they caught him out. – I very much appreciate it when men spill tears because it is *still* such a taboo. Hits me in the feels really badly – and does not look like a sign of weakness to me at all. Tears are always cathartic, I think, and there is a reason why our body has been made that way to show grief, sadness or sentimentality. Sure, it can never be wrong to express feelings. I enjoy crying and I hope that Armitage does, too.
LikeLike
guylty said this on March 23, 2013 at 1:56 am |
Exactly. It’s a part of being human, the tears that come with joy and sweetness as well as grief and sorrow. Nothing to be ashamed of at all.
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fedoralady said this on March 23, 2013 at 2:07 am |
Completely agree with you, Fedoralady. However, I have also seen men cry with anger and frustration. It is, as you say, part of being human.
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Leigh said this on March 23, 2013 at 11:50 am |
That’s true. Heck, *I* have cried from anger and frustration more than once myself. The whole Comic-Con debacle had elements of those emotions, too.;) I figure our tear ducts are there for a good reason.
LikeLike
fedoralady said this on March 23, 2013 at 12:47 pm |
Yes, tear ducts are there for multiple reasons: to lubricate and moisten the surface of the eye; to flood away bits of foreign material that may get caught between the lid and the eyeball; to react to pain and emotion in a recognizable way; and as a side effect, to cause clearing of the sinuses. The tear ducts benefit from the occasional healthy workout. Real men can cry with the understanding that it is not a sign of weakness.
LikeLike
Leigh said this on March 23, 2013 at 3:15 pm |
Without knowing anything about the physiological facts here, I am wondering whether there is also something chemical about crying. What I mean is – are there substances in tears, hormones or whatever, that are released when we cry, literally cleansing agents? Just from own experience I often have that feeling that it was actually good to get the tears out – as if they flush out the “poison” that was threatening to kill my body. – Doesn’t quite apply to happy tears, however…
LikeLike
guylty said this on March 23, 2013 at 4:31 pm |
As far as I know, and my studies ended in the 1990s, tears were simply a mild saline solution with a neutral pH, but it would not surprise me if tears were also a way to excrete the byproduct(s) of hormone produced during stress. Stress can be the result of happiness (“eustress”) as well as painful emotions.
LikeLike
Leigh said this on March 23, 2013 at 8:25 pm |
Thanks for clarifying that, Leigh – very interesting, especially the point about eustress. The human body is just amazing.
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guylty said this on March 24, 2013 at 1:36 pm |
Isn’t it just? There are so many ways that it functions that we have yet to understand, and it’s really a very compact package for the range of functions it has. Some functions are distributed, and others not, but they all interconnect. Every time I think that eyes are really naked parts of the brain, almost like its flowers, I am amazed all over again.
LikeLike
Leigh said this on March 24, 2013 at 2:11 pm |
This is my favourite bit of the whole feature, another case of just when I didn’t think I could love him more for me. Or respect him more.
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Mezz said this on March 23, 2013 at 3:33 am |
yeah, me too — it’s a bit strange, how my appreciation for him continues to grow. Long live Armitage!
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Servetus said this on March 23, 2013 at 6:54 pm |
Richard Armitage touched our hearts all over again with his heartfelt words. A lovely post. Thanks for sharing.
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Gratiana Lovelace said this on March 23, 2013 at 4:41 am |
Definite proof that you don’t have to be flowery — heartfelt simplicity is also extremely effective.
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Servetus said this on March 23, 2013 at 6:54 pm |
Humans who feel, cry – male or female. Superimposed social stigmas are repressive.
I love to know he’s real and has deep emotions.
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Trudy said this on March 23, 2013 at 4:50 am |
cultural norms — gender tropes — it’s all so tiring. Love this!
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Servetus said this on March 23, 2013 at 6:55 pm |
I’m almost sure he was crying, he surely cried when alone. Just look at the different behavior of RA and Martin Freeman: the opposite. They have very different souls, very different reactions, joy and triumph are on MF’s face when rising his Bilbo’s fabric seat-back, there are tears and gratefulness in RA’s voice and eyes, a commotion beyond reasoning for he quite don’t realize how this incredible thing happened to him. He’s like a child disbelieving to be deserving full merit for his actions. There is gratitude for something he knows will never happen again (let’s hope the contrary) – he always says that The Hobbit is the greatest thing ever happened to him and remarks that nothing will compare to this. He didn’t accepted new works, he is concentrated on the next 10 weeks of shooting The Hobbit final scenes in NZ. This last scene in A Hobbit tale melt my hearth and confirmed every single idea I had about him: he is a precious human being. Even his handsomeness vanishes in front of this.
LikeLike
micra1 said this on March 23, 2013 at 7:06 am |
yeah, the more I see MF during all of this, the greater my appreciation for Armitage’s depth and sensitivity.
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Servetus said this on March 23, 2013 at 6:55 pm |
This is why is such a good actor and why I admire him as an actor and person, he puts so mutch emotion in his acting. It’s his passion and maybe the most important thing in his life. Maybe that is why he is not in a serious relationship, just a thought.
And I love this picture, it really looks like he is getting a bit teary. You can see how mutch it ment to him to do this movie. That makes me even more happy for him. It’s such a waist both for him and us to have him working in a warehouse.
LikeLike
Thora said this on March 23, 2013 at 11:08 am |
I’m sure G-d would have found other things for him to do, had he continued w/the warehouse — but I’m glad that he didn’t have to.
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Servetus said this on March 23, 2013 at 6:56 pm |
One of my most favorite RA moments too. I just want to give him a BIG HUG! Among other things. 🙂 What a man.
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marieastra8 said this on March 23, 2013 at 12:16 pm |
LOL 🙂
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Servetus said this on March 23, 2013 at 6:56 pm |
I am crying right now. There is a tag on my Tumblr called ‘Our lovely man’, It exists for precisely that reason: he is a sentimental man. That is one of the reasons I am sure he suffered growing up when his peers mocked him for being ‘tall and gangly’ and for having a large nose. I can almost see him coming home to hide in his room and cry, and his mother coming in to comfort him. Of course, being a musician, dancer, actor, singer and writer would tend to make him more susceptible to his environment and to the moods of those around him. I can very well picture how mortified he was when the first girl with whom he laid went out and told everyone the next day. He mentioned that although she didn’t mock him, she didn’t compliment him either. I bet he did cry over that, even if he didn’t love her, just from the humiliation of having everyone comment about it around him.
To me, his hypersensitivity and propensity to cry without shame (good for him for being a confident and honest man!) are the reasons he feels that he has to stay in character when he is involved in a new acting project. This, of course, is a double-edged sword because it allows the emotions to consume him and makes it hard to switch them off at the end of the day, not to mention how it drains a person of their energy. Still, that is his process and it obviously works very well. It is who he is, to the benefit of us all. We most certainly reap the rewards when we see the transformations on screen. Maybe therein lies part of the mystery of the pull he has on us.
LikeLike
mujertropical said this on March 23, 2013 at 2:40 pm |
Beautifully said! He seems to be a sensitive man. And when he is working, no doubt he finds it hard to switch off his emotions at the end of the day. But we don’t really know that. And we don’t really know who he is when he’s not working. Maybe he tries not to have feelings. But who knows. I agree that we reap the rewards of his process. Yes indeed!!
LikeLike
marieastra8 said this on March 23, 2013 at 2:59 pm |
Thank you for your post. I think that it is something that many boys are taught that they should not cry. But yet there are people ( male and female) that emotion does not come easy for them so they do not cry. My oldest son is like this and it is hard on me to see not be able to release that emotion. Son 2 is a warm tender heart, that is full of emotion, and can show all his emotions well. Just his mom, I cry very easy, I can think of something sad and cry.
LikeLike
katie70 said this on March 23, 2013 at 9:36 pm |
boys get that message from their peers, too, that it’s not okay.
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Servetus said this on March 24, 2013 at 4:15 am |
I just finished up my homework, we had to do research on 3 important concepts of nonverbal communication. As I was going though and finding what I wanted to write about, the facial expression caught my eye and that fact that showing grief or sorrow is something that most American men hide. It also talked about culture and how it gives us a guideline on how we see it. It said nothing about the UK, but I would think it would be about the same. I have learned that subculture also has a big impacted on how we see it also.
LikeLike
katie70 said this on March 24, 2013 at 6:03 pm |
[…] written about Richard Armitage as someone who admits crying before (although now I think the Latin should be oculis flentis and not flens), and in that post, I cited […]
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Lucas North unconsoled, Richard Armitage uncivilized | Me + Richard Armitage said this on September 12, 2013 at 4:57 am |
He starts to choke up during that interview on the London red carpet when he says that this is where he lived and worked for so long.
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ricardiana said this on September 12, 2013 at 6:55 am |
Thanks for the comment, ricardiana — will have to add that to my list.
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Servetus said this on September 15, 2013 at 6:12 pm |
[…] Circumventing water hazards. It made him cry. So I hope for no aqua aerobics or fire extinguishing or submarines or barrel […]
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Top 10 job skills Richard Armitage should not need to use in Mid Life Crisis | Me + Richard Armitage said this on June 17, 2016 at 5:42 am |