Tuesday, December 10, 2013

'The Hobbit' Star Richard Armitage Claims He Lacks Martin Freeman's Good Humour: 'I Take Myself Too Seriously'

richard armitage

HUFF POST ENTERTAINMENT
Caroline.Frost@huffingtonpost.com
Posted: 09/12/2013 16:32 GMT  |  Updated: 10/12/2013 11:21 GMT


'The Hobbit' star Richard Armitage has revealed that he lacks his co-star Martin Freeman's optimistic view of the world, and probably takes himself too seriously.

The heartthrob actor plays the troubled Dwarf Prince Thorin in the second part of 'The Hobbit' out this week, on an epic mission lightened only by Freeman's Hobbit-y happenings...


"Martin Freeman brings so much of his own personality to bear," Armitage acknowledges. "He doesn't impose humour on it, but he sees the world as quite a funny place, whereas I see the world as a serious place, and I take myself too seriously."

There's a glint in Richard Armitage's eye as he explains all this, which leaves me wondering if he and Freeman are as different off-screen as their characters are on it. It's true Armitage is invariably cast as the glowering, enigmatic hero - think Lucas North in 'Spooks', and before that troubled mill-owner Mr Thornton in period hit 'North and South' - why always so humourless?


"Once you don't smile on film, they say 'let's have that bloke who doesn't smile,'" muses Armitage - unsmilingly. "I'm probably not very good at rom-com, being funny on demand, I'll leave that to the comedians."

Armitage's permanently furrowed brow gets another outing in Peter Jackson's epic second part of the saga, when his character Prince Thorin continues his mission to reclaim his lost kingdom of Eribor. Does Armitage wish he could lighten up a little?

"I'm sure, in another life, he's a great laugh," he says of Thorin. "He's a prince waiting to be a king, do they get to have a laugh? And he's on a mission."

In between the breathtaking physical adventures Jackson has once again brought to life on the big screen - there's one scene involving beer barrels in the river which is spectacular - Armitage savours his character's return to the mountain of his clan, and the quiet scene where Thorin finally enters through the doors to his lost kingdom.

"In between the melee and the chaos, it's a quiet scene, when his dream comes true, one that he'd abandoned all hope for. It was very satisfying to do."

Armitage lived in New Zealand throughout the 18 months of filming all three films back to back, and admits it was strange coming back to normality, after flirting with the idea of making the Antipodes his permanent home.


READ MORE HERE: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/12/09/richard-armitage-interview-the-hobbit-martin-freeman_n_4413016.html

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