Der Bericht beruht noch auf einem Treffen in Wellington zwei Tage vor der Weltpremiere:
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/armitage-great-reboot-hobbit-dward-king-article-1.1216994Zitat:
Blessed with leading-man looks and a stage pedigree, “The Hobbit” trilogy could do for Armitage’s career what “300” did for Gerard Butler’s.
Zitat:
“It’s strange, because in real life he’s so quiet, and he’s very unassuming and shy, and yet you put him in those boots and that coat and give him a sword, and he immediately assumes an incredible authority,” said Jackson. “He always walked like Thorin on set, and when he’s Richard, he walks in a completely different way.”
-------------------------------------------------------
Der gesamte Text:
Zitat:
On 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,' Richard Armitage steps into big shoes as dwarf ruler Thorin Oakenshield
British actor met the challenge of elaborate costume and makeup in Peter Jackson's new Tolkien trilogy
By Ethan Sacks / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Tuesday, December 11, 2012, 6:00 AM
Updated: Tuesday, December 11, 2012, 6:00 AM
WELLINGTON, New Zealand – It wasn’t exactly what Richard Armitage had in mind when he was told to report to boot camp.
Playing Thorin Oakenshield, a dwarf king in exile in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” which opens Friday, the British actor figured he would be learning how to fight like a medieval warrior. Instead, he had to learn how to walk in a pair of boots.
“On day 3, I think these massive boots showed up that we were all going to be wearing,” said Armitage. “Because Tolkien describes the ironclad boots of the dwarfs very specifically, so they're like a boot that fits around a normal foot — so they’re huge. So we all had to learn how to walk in them, and it was very informative because a dwarf is a very heavy being.
“Their bones are denser and they’re heavier and their center of gravity is lower, so we had to work on all that kind of stuff. And also, when you have those big boots on, you sort of walk like you're wearing a diaper. So we had to de-diaperize ourselves.”
Those are big shoes for the 41-year-old actor to fill.
Not only is Thorin one of the most important characters in Peter Jackson’s prequel trilogy to his ultra-successful movie adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings,” Armitage agrees the role is the biggest of his career. Well known to British audiences from the BBC spy drama “Spooks,” he introduced himself to Americans with a part in “Captain America: The First Avenger.”
Blessed with leading-man looks and a stage pedigree, “The Hobbit” trilogy could do for Armitage’s career what “300” did for Gerard Butler’s.
Meeting up with the Daily News two days before the world premiere with the movie in Wellington — a town blanketed in “Hobbit” posters and banners — the British actor was relishing what relative anonymity he had left.
“I’m standing at a bus stop next to a massive flag of Thorin, and I’m standing there thinking, ‘Everyone’s looking at this flag and yeah, you don’t realize that the man on that flag is standing in the bus stop with you,’ ” he said with a grin.
“The fact that we’re on a New Zealand stamp, so someone’s licking the back of Thorin’s head and sticking on the back of an envelope. I think that’s amazing.”
The lifelong Tolkien fan has been amazed by the whole experience since his agent called to tell him there was interest in casting him. “Of course, I laughed and I was like, ‘I’m 6-foot-21/2,’ never in my life would I be cast as a dwarf,” said Armitage.
Underneath all the humility, beats the heart of a warrior, if you ask Jackson.
“It’s strange, because in real life he’s so quiet, and he’s very unassuming and shy, and yet you put him in those boots and that coat and give him a sword, and he immediately assumes an incredible authority,” said Jackson. “He always walked like Thorin on set, and when he’s Richard, he walks in a completely different way.”
It took a few weeks on the set for Armitage to get used to the physical transformation that came with his three hours daily in the makeup chair (see sidebar).
“Literally like the costume, the body of the character, the skeleton of the character was different, so you feel somehow buried deep inside of there,” he said. “But slowly you find your way through it and you can’t function without it then. When sometimes we had to go down and rehearse not in costume, I struggled.
“I couldn’t do it without the huge boots.