Who's Richard Armitage?
By Esther Ng
The New Paper
Sunday, Dec 23, 2012

Who's that guy?

Like most British actors, Richard Armitage, 41, started his career in theatre, performing in shows like the musical Cats, as well as theatre productions Macbeth and Hamlet, before moving on to television and film.

Where have you seen him?

He plays Lucas North, a spy in the acclaimed British espionage series Spooks from 2008 to 2010. Last year, he played a German spy, Heinz Kruger, a character in Captain America: The First Avenger.

Why him?

Peter Jackson, director of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, described Armitage as a "powerful actor with a wide range".

Considering the sum total of all the parts he has played in television and film - Cold Feet (comedy), Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (action, sci-fi), North And South (drama) - plus he plays the cello, the flute, and sings, you would agree with Jackson.

What's new?

Armitage hopes investors will come forward to fund the filming of Richard III, a project that he has been working to get off the ground for a few years.

Armitage intends to play the 15th century English king who was believed to have murdered his nephews in a bid to grab the throne. Richard III was the last English king to be killed in battle on English soil.

Incidentally, Armitage was named Richard as he was born on the anniversary of Richard III's death on Aug 22.

Quoted

On his character Thorin, in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

"I think he's a good dwarf. He has nobility and honour. However, his susceptibility to gold will drive him insane. He knows that and that's what redeems him."

On playing a dwarf when he stands at a towering 1.87m

"I've always been tall, so the chance to look up at people was interesting. "But we spent the entire shoot as bigger versions of ourselves - I actually had lifts in my shoes - because when the computer 'shrinks' a person, it has a tendency to make him look like a miniature. They wanted the dwarfs to look more like creatures instead.

On reading the part for Thorin

"I always feel that the very first impression you get from reading a script is very important.

I have to read it at one go, and I have to scribble notes because you get these first impressions that you'll never get again."