How far does your dwarf desire go? or: Collateral attraction goes wild
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I loved CarlyQ’s comment here:
I’m feeling pretty relieved they are almost done shooting and will not be tweeting/talking about it anymore. I don’t know about everyone else but I’ve been feeling a bit protective about the entire group. Which means acquainting myself with their film history, reading bios, hoping they’re all happy with their screen time, still enjoying themselves, not missing their families too much, being good. Thanks to the BBC I think I’ve even seen all thirteen naked hind ends! (Just kidding.) Please, Mr. Armitage, a smaller close knit group next time. I’m exhausted.
When this started to happen to me, namely, after seeing Hermione Norris for the first time as Ros in Spooks 7.1, I termed the phenomenon “collateral attraction.” When it happened initially, it was mostly with regard to women actors. But I’ve experienced a bit of this with regard to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, as I’ve noted, for example, with Dean O’Gorman. Still, my dwarf desire is still basically Thorin-centric, and I there are a few dwarves that I’ve not developed any interest in at all. Aidan Turner / Kili would be one. (I know that makes me odd. And I have to say that had Rob Kazinsky played Fili, I’d never have gotten onto that path, either. Nothing about him seems even slightly attractive to me. Sorry, Mr. Kazinsky but thank you, Mr. O’Gorman!)
Has your heart widened from love of Thorin Oakenshield to take in more dwarves? And if so, what does loving an additional dwarf or dwarves mean to you?
I am wondering — for people who developed dwarf desire because of Thorin — has the disease spread at all?
Three poll questions follow below.
Me + Richard Armitage 
Since the Hobbit I have more friends than I’ve had in my whole life. I truly love you all.
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It is wonderful in it’s strange way!
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The same for me! RArmy and RA fans are wonderful and I’m really happy having found them 🙂
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The feeling is mutual :*
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Ahem, I was far more devastated by the death of Ros than by that Bateman character’s demise. There, I said it. If not for Mr. Armitage I would have not watched a single episode more after her funeral. Then I made myself watch season 10 just to see what happened and they killed Ruth!
After that I was ‘those *$&%(#*( writers can kiss my &^$%#*” WHY! WHY KILL RUTH! Okay, so I voted. I’m glad I’m not the only one suffering collateral damage.
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I really, really loved Ros.
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And also developed quite a love for Ruth, as well. She had some amazing moments in series 8.
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I find it difficult not to feel an attachment for all these charming men. I like them all a great deal. Was a fan of Aidan Turner from Being Human days also.
Armitage crush is of longer standing and still very strong, no comparison to the rest, but I will feel sad when the filming is over in a few weeks, but also looking forward to PR time in the fall.
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Mmm, John Mitchell. Top five favorite vampires. For sure. I should say that my dwarf err feelings are more “parental” than anything else. There like children making me proud. I like to brag about them a little to people who don’t know them, watch their shows, laugh at their jokes. Which is a little funny to me, considering the fact, I call Mr. Armitage, Mr. Armitage, and only admit any knowledge of him when asked a direct question. But in my mind I’ve given some of the others nick names. Deano, Here kitty kitty, Heman, Porno guy (not even a dwarf) the dentist….what the?
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I call Deano the same 🙂 ….the dentist?? LOL …”parental” is good.
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Ever since watching Jekyll..so creeepy…..so wonderful.
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I am thinking that Turner was probably the actor (with Armitage and Nesbitt) most likely to already be familiar to audiences, so I imagine he got less of a boost from this than someone like Dean O’Gorman did?
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My dwarf desire goes only from the top of Thorin’s silver-streaked head to his steel capped and booted toes. It has tried to escape the gravity field of perfection which surrounds Thorin, but my desire can’t achieve escape velocity to orbit around any other dwarves. Alas, I fear I am destined to die within Thorin’s gravity field of majesty. He is the earth to my moon. I accept my fate with grace.
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Guess Thorin has another moon hanging out then. Just like Luke Skywalker’s Tattoine and their two moons 😉
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Sister moons, mooning over Thorin.
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That’s it. Although I’d probably do some mooning, too.
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with a sort of slowly decaying orbit that brings you closer and closer to The Pelt 🙂
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I’m a one-dwarf woman. Thorin is the only one for me.
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Me, too. Got carried away into metaphor land. Easy to do when thinking of Thorin.
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Nah, I am in this for Thorin. The others do interest me, but certainly not on the same level as RA.
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I’m in it for Thorin, too, particularly vis a vis the non-dwarf actors. but i have gotten more interested in the others.
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Interesting question, but not sure if it is really adressed to me 🙂
I noticed the actor Richard Armitage the first time in TH, but didn’t exactly fall for him on behalf of this film. Not even after watching N+S, but ultimately and definitely after watching around a million interviews where he came across as a wonderful lovely person and a highly dedicated actor with great skills. And the bedtimestories finally did the rest.
It ist he very first time I developed this kind of crush for an actor. A person that I most certainly never ever will meet in my real life (which I should be thankful for, I am not sure if I could bear it). It still is a constant surprise for me how much interest, pleasure and joy I take in his work (and his life as far as is known, I have to admit). Surprisingly obsessed I dare say.
So, no – no other dwarfes. But also no other actors that so far had performed at his side. And also no other actors out there as well. Fangirling is a whole new experience to me. And I dedicate these feelings only to the ONE man.
*gg
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this may have been a question more directed at people who were fans of Armitage before The Hobbit.
Armitage is a first time crush for a lot of people 🙂
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I, quite simply love Thorin. That is all. As to how far it goes? *cough* I think it best I don’t answer that question without a lawyer present
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we could put one of those voice distortion machines on the blog if that would help.
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ha ha, I reckon people would still know it was me 🙂
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yeah, obsessive discussion of the pelt can be revealing 🙂 but that’s why we love you 🙂
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Thorin/RA is my main crush, but Graham McTavish/Dwalin is quite nice, too. And I love that he tweets people back! Though I haven’t asked him a question–too shy. Ha!
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Graham did respond to my tweet to him, and I was delighted. It was worth overcoming my shyness–hope you give it a try!
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I’m so glad you brought this up, Servetus, because I’ve experienced this “collateral attraction” quite a number of times with RA’s work! I thought I was the only one — so I’m glad I’m not.
With Spooks/MI5, I started watching because of RA and ended up liking so many of the other actors: Peter Firth (sigh, so magnificent), Hermione Norris (best comment I ever read about her: “She looks like an angel — one of the scary ones with a sword”) , Rupert Penry-Jones, David Oyelowo, and Nicola Walker.
With Strike Back, I really liked Andrew Lincoln. I thought he did a great job, even though his character was weak and shady. He was adorable in Love Actually.
Now, with The Hobbit, I’ve become a big fan of the main cast as a whole, including all the dwarves and particularly Graham McTavish. I really liked the idea of Thorin’s loyal lieutenant, and Graham has done a great job of bringing the character to life.
So for me, one of the pleasures of watching RA is seeing him surrounded by other actors who are fun to watch, too. One of the reasons Robin Hood never really did it for me, is that Guy of Gisborne was so much more real to me than nearly everyone else in that cast. So often it was like watching a solid person surrounded by ghosts.
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You’re definitely not the only one, Saraleee, although most of my collateral attractions have been to women actors. Come to think of it, though, I’d like to know more about David Oyelowo.
And this is a good point about RH, really. One did not really look forward to anything in that show *but* Armitage. Possibly Keith Allen.
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It’s Thorin who’s the main game for me as far as dwarves go, although I’m sure the fate of all the line of Durin will have a big impact in movie 3.
As far as actors go, of course RA reigns supreme, but I am extremely fond of them all as a group- the way they interact, the glimpses we get of the close bond they’ve built up over time. I may not want to see all their work, but I’ll definitely follow the careers of a number of the guys and wish them well in the future- Dean O’Gorman and Graham McTavish especially. I’m currently watching (and enjoying ) Dean’s TV series ‘The Almighty Johnsons’ – a quirky comedy/drama.
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That seems to be the consensus of the polls — O’Gorman and McTavish are the main beneificiaries of any spillover.
I looked at a bunch of clips from The Almighty Johnsons a few days ago — but I think I’m not in its target demographic 🙂
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How do you see it’s target audience? I’m pretty sure I fall WAY outside its parameters, but I love the quirky humour, and some of it is quite unexpectedly moving. There’s quite a lot of swearing (and casual nudity) which I don’t always like, but it just seems to fit the vibe of the show.
Apparently it’s going to be shown in the US (a first for an NZ show) and I’ll be interested to see how it’s received. Australian humour is very similar to Kiwi, but Americans may find it a little strange, even though in this case its more of a dramedy.
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The scenes I saw involved some kind of marriage with blood and runes, and then O’Gorman seems to talk about his penis a lot. I don’t know who the target demographic is but perhaps not me 🙂
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Read on PJ’s Facebook that Martin Freeman has just finished filming and only the dwarves are left. Now I’m definitely starting to feel sad- only 2 weeks to go and then it’s all done. Expect some sad dwarf tweets to come our way!
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No doubt. “wall to wall dwarves”
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I wonder if they need someone to keep the “little fellows in line.” I have some free time. You know there is going to be the “sob heard round the world” when the scene with Thorin and Bilbo comes on. Someone asked why PJ couldn’t just change the ending…as much as we’d all love that, I actually think he’s contractually bound by Christopher Tolkien not to make too many changes. You know The Hobbit was written 75 years ago. We weren’t so upset when Thorin died when we read it prior to 2012. My theory is the JRR Tolkien had known what an impact RA had as Thorin he would have never let him die. I don’t mean the “hottie impact”, I mean how many people went back and re-read the Hobbit, or read it for the first time?
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The core LOTR / Hobbit fandom would be up in arms if a plot element that significant were changed. I also think, frankly, that the poetic justice of the story demands Thorin’s death. It’s not bad when a story upsets me.
I’m sure the film sold a few more copies of the book, but then again it wasn’t suffering from reader neglect before that, either 🙂
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*cough*..I still struggle with this book..
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yeah, it’s not the most transparent read, I find.
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