Colin Firth started rumours that he was the next James Bond

ONE NEWS NEW ZEALAND
Published: 12:01PM Saturday January 31, 2015 Source: BANG Showbiz



Colin Firth used to start rumours that he was going to be the next James Bond.

The 54-year-old actor has joked that while he's now too old to take on the iconic role, he doesn't think he was ever in the running, apart from when he tried to spark some speculation himself.

When asked how he feels about never having played the suave spy, he said: "I suppose this has got to be it for me in a way, I suppose. I think it would never have happened. I remember lists being around of speculation ... never from the Bond people, just lists ... in my handwriting."

The star plays secret agent Harry Hart in 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' and he was delighted his role drew comparisons between himself and British sitcom 'Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em' funnyman Frank Spencer because he did his own stunts in the movie.

Speaking on London Live, he added: "That's a huge honour. I remember thinking actually that there was nothing cooler in the world than a courageous, athletic, dynamic man pretending to be a complete klutz and loser. I thought that was absolutely wonderful.

"The fact he was Superman pretending to be Clark Kent effectively."

READ MORE HERE: http://tvnz.co.nz/entertainment-news/colin-firth-started-rumours-he-next-james-bond-6226460

Judi Dench and Downton Abbey stars lobby politicians over dog meat trade

NEW MAGAZINE
January 29, 2015



DAME JUDI DENCH joined DOWNTON ABBEY stars LESLEY NICOL and PETER EGAN at the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday (28Jan15) to urge officials to do more to stop the dog meat trade in Asia.

The veteran actress attended a briefing for Members of Parliament (MPs) alongside Nicol and her co-star Egan, who plays Hugh 'Shrimpy' MacClare in the hit period drama, to support a campaign to change animal rights legislation in countries such as China and Thailand.

Long time animal welfare campaigner Egan made a speech to politicians, and fought back tears as he made an impassioned plea to end the suffering of animals in Asia.

He told the meeting, "It's such a cruel trade... and I will dedicate the rest of my life to trying to get it stopped... I hope our MPs here and their colleagues in the Foreign Office and embassies will have these animal welfare discussions with their counterparts in Asia... so the dog meat trade in particular can be put to an end."


READ MORE HERE: http://www.new-magazine.co.uk/latestnews/view/66794/Judi-Dench-and-Downton-Abbey-stars-lobby-politicians-over-dog-meat-trade/

‘Downton Abbey' To End This Year After Six Series As Cast Go Job-Hunting In The US

HUFF POST ENTERTAINMENT UK
The Huffington Post UK |  BY Matt Bagwell
Posted: 29/01/2015 07:20 GMT Updated: 29/01/2015 07:59 GMT



The next series of ‘Downton Abbey’ will be the last, according to reports.

The ITV period drama, which stars Hugh Bonneville and Dame Maggie Smith, will end after the sixth series airs later this year.

The final installment is set to be filmed over the spring and summer and will hit our screens in September.

Writer Julian Fellowes is set to begin working on a brand new series, ‘The Gilded Age’, about 19th century New York, whilst agents for the cast are already in talks to find them new roles.

A source told The Mirror: “It’s an open secret that Downton is ending this year.

"Some of the actors are keen to let it be known they will be available for work after the summer. Some are interested in the US, where Downton is as popular as it is in the UK.

“Joanne Froggatt, Laura Carmichael and Allen Leech were in Los Angeles for the [SAG] awards last week and there were several meetings about both TV and film roles.”

Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary, has spoken in the past about working in America.

She said: “It feels as though there are more opportunities for us over there. “I love spending time there.”


READ MORE HERE: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/01/29/downton-abbey-ending_n_6568420.html

Keira Knightley Keeps Her Baby Bump All Bundled Up During London Outing—See the Pic!

E!
by LILY HARRISON
January 29, 2015



Keira Knightley is taking a well-deserved break from all the hullabaloo of awards season to spend some quality time at home in London with her hubby James Righton.

The Imitation Game stunner was spotted on a midday stroll earlier today, doing her best to stay warm and keep her baby bump all covered up in an oversized shearling coat.

And before you go criticizing the Oscar nominees casual ensemble, we'd like to point out that Knightley herself just explained in Elle U.K.'s March issue that she isn't one to follow fashion trends too strictly.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.eonline.com/news/619995/keira-knightley-keeps-her-baby-bump-all-bundled-up-during-london-outing-see-the-pic

First look pictures of Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson and Matthew Macfadyen in The Enfield Haunting

RADIO TIMES
By Ben Dowell
Friday 30 January 2015 at 08:00AM



Here is the first spooky glimpse of the cast of Sky’s new drama about the ghostly goings on in a north London house in the late 1970s.

Timothy Spall, Matthew Macfadyen and Juliet Stevenson star in The Enfield Haunting which tells the story of events purported to have happened in a house in Enfield in autumn 1977 - one of the most documented accounts of poltergeist activity in British history.

Timothy Spall stars as Maurice Grosse, a rookie paranormal researcher drawn to the house on Green Street in Enfield after a recent tragedy in his life. He is joined in his quest to investigate the strange incidents at the address by his wife Betty, played by Bafta nominated actress Juliet Stevenson.

Ripper Street's Matthew Macfadyen plays Guy Lyon Playfair, a sceptical but experienced investigator who helps Maurice and Betty.

The drama is adapted from Lyon Playfair's book, This House is Haunted which draws on extensive witness statements, recordings and documentation from the time.

READ MORE HERE:  http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-01-30/first-look-pictures-of-timothy-spall-juliet-stevenson-and-matthew-macfadyen-in-the-enfield-haunting

12 Characters Benedict Cumberbatch Could Have Played In 'Harry Potter,' Because He Would Have Fit Right In At Hogwarts

BUSTLE
 ALANNA BENNETT
@ALANNABENNETT
2 HOURS AGO


GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images

It’s a thing now, guys: Benedict Cumberbatch is everywhere. He’s been all up in the buzzy bits of the Internet for a long while now, but his meme potential has never lessened. The Cumberbatch obsession may have begun with the fervent exchange of Sherlock gifs on Tumblr, but it’s evolved since then to the wider world, who has gleefully embracing all of the possible mashups his name allows (Cumberbaby! Blunderbatch!) in addition to mercilessly mocking him for being in absolutely everything. Lovingly, though, of course. Most recently, even former Luna Lovegood Evanna Lynch joined the Benedict Cumberbatch obsession, and tweeted an image of Cumberbatch alongside the most amazing caption known to man (at least, for today): ”Crumplehorned Snorkack is my favourite actor. #sorrynotsorry #thankstumblr.”

It was some classic, Cumberbatch-inspired humor (Cumberhumor?), but it also reminded me of another important Cumberissue: We haven’t talked nearly enough about who he should have played in Harry Potter.

I mean, it’s not that farfetched a question: If you squint, you can see half the population of Britain’s actors passing through the Harry Potter movies at one point or another, and yet Cumberbatch was nowhere to be found. This Cumberloss is understandable, but it also seems like a bit of a missed opportunity! So, with Lynch’s tweet as an excuse, let’s combine nostalgia for the first series of films and hope for an eventual reboot: Let’s fancast Benedict Cumberbatch in Harry Potter. Dude’s got range, the options are nearly endless!

Here are some characters he could have played:

Severus Snape

We already know about his Alan Rickman impression, and he’s actually a much more suitable age to play someone from the immediately-pre-Harry generation. Plus, you know…he could pull off intimidating and mysterious well. (However, I don’t know how I’d feel about being inexplicably attracted to Severus Snape.)

Dobby

He’s already proven his ability to play CGI’d characters, why not give him the chance to play this self-sacrificing house elf?

James Potter



A character who did not get nearly enough page- or screen-time. He’s got the dark hair, and could totally help inspire audience waterworks as a spirit guiding his son.

All Of the Marauders At Once

He could really play all of them. James? Yeah! Remus? Hell yeah! Sirius Black? With the right costuming! Peter? Sure, I guess! Give him a chance to really challenge himself with one Cumberbatch mega-movie extravaganza.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.bustle.com/articles/61366-12-characters-benedict-cumberbatch-could-have-played-in-harry-potter-because-he-would-have-fit-right

James McAvoy is magnetic in caustic class comedy

DIGITAL SPY
By Kate GoodacreWednesday,
Jan 28 2015, 7:01pm EST

Serena Evans as Lady Claire, James McAvoy as Jack and Kathryn Drysdale as Grace

Originally penned in an era between the Profumo and Jellicoe political scandals, Peter Barnes's The Ruling Class is a caustic, uncompromising and deeply underrated character study. Anyone who may have feared that its notions of rigid hierarchy, polite expectation, jumped-up patriotism and reactionary politics would be outdated in the 21st century need not worry.

Trafalgar Transformed's artistic director Jamie Lloyd has reunited with James McAvoy for The Ruling Class following their successful reinterpretation of Macbeth at Trafalgar Studios in early 2013, and McAvoy's troubled Jack - who becomes the 14th Earl of Gurney after his father dies in an unusual accident - is a supremely skilled orator.

Diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, the 14th Earl believes he is another kind of Lord entirely, returning to the family seat after seven years away proclaiming himself to be the resurrection and the life. Jack argues his case with the skill and duplicity - deliberate or otherwise - of a politician on the Radio 4 Today program, most notably when he's trying to convince his family that his fictional wife actually exists in a bid to avoid being married off.

McAvoy clearly relishes the opportunity to work with a surreal script packed with puns, innuendo and intricate wordplay, and his silver-tongued delivery and performance oozes with the kind of easy charm that these days wins votes and election to the seat of power. He breaks the fourth wall at regular intervals with a glint in his eye, at one point quipping: "What a lovely crowd. God bless you."

Mental illness doesn't care for class or background or breeding, and for all of the mania so skilfully and physically portrayed by McAvoy, it's the quieter moments that leave the greatest impact.

When Jack laments that his greatest regret is his "many wasted years", it's sentiment that may well resonate with many who have experienced the black dog's indiscriminate grip first-hand. The 14th Earl's quiet crisis at the end of the first act as all his safety mechanisms collapse around him, his responsibilities as a husband and father really hit home, and the brutal, real world around him reveals itself, is utterly chilling. You can't help but feel for him in that moment.

Elsewhere Joshua McGuire - recently seen as John Ruskin in Mike Leigh's Mr Turner - is note-perfect as simpering, snivelling, self-serving Conservative politician Dinsdale, Jack's cousin, while Anthony O'Donnell (as communist Gurney family butler Daniel Tucker) and Elliot Levey (Jack's psychiatrist Dr Herder) also turn in magnificent performances.


Read more: http://www.digitalspy.com/celebrity/review/a624851/the-ruling-class-review-james-mcavoy-is-magnetic-in-caustic-class-comedy.html#~p2NjOlEBkshhBH#ixzz3QFSgP7fd 
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Charlie Hunnam: I don't party

BELFAST TELEGRAPH
January 29, 2015



Charlie Hunnam hates small talk and socialising with strangers.

The British actor began his career in his home country but has since made it in America, taking the lead in TV show Sons of Anarchy and scoring movie roles. Many would presume he’s living the dream, but there are some aspects of his career which don’t sit so well with the star.

“My social anxiety,” he told Women’s Health magazine, when asked what he’s most insecure about. “I hate going to parties, I hate small talk, and I hate socialising with people I don’t know. I feel horribly awkward in those situations. If I have to go to a party, my whole day is ruined worrying about it.”

And that’s not the only thing which has been playing on the star’s mind. He shot into the limelight in 2013 when he was announced to be playing raunchy businessman Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey adaptation, although he pulled out of the picture not long afterwards and was replaced by Jamie Dornan.

Charlie is in a long-term relationship with jewellery designer Morgana McNelis and said that friendship is always the best basis for a romance. He likes to treat the lady in his life when he can, and has a healthy sense of his own best assets.

“F**k you’re getting old. But you still look good,” he laughed, when asked what he thinks when he looks in the mirror.


READ MORE HERE: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/charlie-hunnam-i-dont-party-30947602.html

Benedict Cumberbatch controversy is ridiculous, says Selma star David Oyelowo

BBC NEWS
By Natalie Jamieson
Newsbeat entertainment reporter

David Oyelowo has defended fellow British actor and friend, Benedict Cumberbatch, for using the term "coloured" during an interview.

Cumberbatch has apologised and said he was "devastated to have caused offence" after using the word on a US TV show to describe black actors.

"I think it's ridiculous," Selma star Oyelowo told Newsbeat.

"When you look at what he was actually saying it's clear that he's a huge supporter of black performers."

David Oyelowo was speaking at the UK premiere of Selma, in which he stars as 1960s civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr.

Cumberbatch mentioned David Oyelowo and Chiwetel Ejiofor as part of a wider discussion with US talk show host Tavis Smiley about diversity in the film industry.

"To attack him for a term, as opposed to what he was actually saying, I think is very disingenuous and is indicative of the age we live in where people are looking for sound bites as opposed to substance."

The actor also said he had spoken to Cumberbatch about the controversy that flared up online over the past few days.

"I reached out to him in support and said I think it's ridiculous," he said.

When asked if he felt Hollywood and the film industry had an issue with diversity, Oyelowo replied with a resounding "absolutely".

"You can see that in the fact every time a film of this size and stature comes up.

"We're talking about diversity again and that's because there isn't enough of it."

READ MORE HERE:http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/30996686

Benedict Cumberbatch apologises after calling black actors 'coloured'

THE GUARDIAN
 Lanre Bakare

January 27, 2015

Benedict Cumberbatch on the Tavis Smiley talkshow, when he referred to people of colour as ‘coloured’. Photograph: PBS

 Benedict Cumberbatch has apologised after referring to black actors as “coloured” during an interview on US television, saying he is “devastated” to have caused offence.

The Sherlock actor said he was “an idiot” after he used the phrase during a debate, ironically about the diversity problems that black British actors face in the UK compared to the US, which he argued has been more open to casting them.

Talking on the Tavis Smiley show on PBS, Cumberbatch said: “I think as far as coloured actors go, it gets really different in the UK, and a lot of my friends have had more opportunities here [in America] than in the UK, and that’s something that needs to change.”

Reaction was mixed after the actor – who has been nominated for an Oscar for his role in The Imitation Game – used the outdated term, with many praising the sentiment of his argument but lamenting his poor choice of words.

 Benedict Cumberbatch has apologised. Photograph: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images

A spokesperson for the anti-racism charity Show Racism the Red Card, told the Independent: “Benedict Cumberbatch has highlighted a very important issue within the entertainment industry and within society. In doing so, he has also inadvertently highlighted the issue of appropriate terminology and the evolution of language.”

They added that the organisation feels the term “has the potential to cause offence due to the connotations associated with the term and its historical usage”.

In a statement Cumberbatch said: “I’m devastated to have caused offence by using this outmoded terminology. I offer my sincere apologies. I make no excuse for my being an idiot and know the damage is done.”

READ MORE HERE: http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/jan/26/benedict-cumberbatch-apologises-after-calling-black-actors-coloured

'DOWNTON ABBEY' SEASON 5, EPISODE 4 FASHION RECAP: LADY MARY WINS EVERYTHING

FASHIONISTA
CHERYL WISCHHOVER 12 HOURS AGO

Spoilers.

This episode of "Downton Abbey" marks the halfway point of the season, and it really should just be called "There's Something About Mary" now, because she is winning everything in the show.  Including all the fake fashion awards in my head.

HOW TO WEAR A RED HAT



In this episode, Lady Mary totally schools us in red hat-wearing. The key? Keep it in the jewel-tone family. If this was the InStyle feature which teaches you how to style weird colors like mustard (which is one of my favorite columns in that mag), I'd call the plum coat and red hat a "wild card pairing."

LADY EDITH BLENDS IN

I was really struck by how often Edith's wardrobe makes her blend into the background. First, she was totally camouflaged by the red velvet couch in the library, then she matched the fence while trying to spy on her daughter. Come on, writers, Lady Edith really needs her triumphant moment.

THE "DRESS SHOW"

"Aunt Rosamund's taking me to a dress show." --Lady Mary

"It's good to know you've got your priorities straight." --Lord Grantham

Honestly, could a "Downton Abbey" fashion recapper ask for anything more glorious than AN ACTUAL FASHION SHOW on the show? No. I can now die happy. That androgynous number on the far left (Mary's reaction: "Golly!") looks like something Miuccia would create.

THE BOHO MISS LANE FOX

In case you'd forgotten (I did, and had to consult the Downtonpedia), Miss Lane Fox was formerly engaged to Tony Gillingham, who then broke off the engagement to pursue Mary. Ouch. Anyway, her style looks rather boho. She's the Drew Barrymore of Downton.

BITCH, PLEASE




READ MORE HERE: http://popist.com/s/500f789/

Colin Firth video on Jonathan Ross

Keeley Hawes: There is life in TV for mature women

THE TELEGRAPH
By Patrick Sawer and Hannah Furness
8:00AM GMT 25 Jan 2015



Keeley Hawes is a woman whose time has come. Or to put it less dramatically, the actress who starred in Ashes to Ashes, Line of Duty and Upstairs Downstairs has come of age.

This might seem a strange thing to say, given that she has been on our screens since her mid-teens, when she appeared in the likes of Dennis Potter’s Karaoke. But as Hawes herself points out, there has never been a better time to be an actress of certain years.

Hawes, who turns 39 next month, said: “I think that you only have to look at our TV screens at the moment to see maybe there is a change happening, with Olivia Colman in Broadchurch, Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Honourable Woman and Gillian Anderson in The Fall. These aren’t 20-year-olds. These are women with a bit of life experience.”

Her success in roles more suited to mature women than flighty teenagers or sultry twentysomethings – such as the hard-bitten and explosively violent policewoman Detective Inspector Lindsay Denton in BBC2’s Line of Duty – means she is less minded to complain about the parts offered to older actresses.

In an interview in next week’s Stella magazine, she says: “It would be an odd thing for me to bitch about, to be honest. And if that makes me not very feminist…”

But, she adds quickly: “I am a feminist, but I can’t bitch about something that I haven’t directly experienced. Of course, there are a lot of window-dressing roles and you make the best of what you can out of that. You are not going to turn work down when you have a family, when you have bills to pay, and you have to work. It would be all well and good to say, 'I’m not going to work unless it’s some big meaty part,’ but you would sit there for ever. You would be down the dole office.”

Her ability to accept “window-dressing roles” with grace, while excelling in more demanding parts, has made her one of the industry’s most appreciated figures, with fellow actors, directors and producers describing her as friendly, professional and modest.

It also means Hawes has been happy to play parts that do not call for a waif-like physique yet require some dressing down on the part of a naturally striking woman, such as the frumpy DI Denton.

“I’m not a size eight. I never have been,” she says. “In my youth I was somebody who didn’t leave home without a bit of mascara. That’s all out the window now; I am not that person. I’ve got three children and I really don’t care.”

Her ability to immerse herself in the decidedly unglamorous aspect of her roles can take those behind the camera by surprise.

She said: “I was asked to do a role once where I would have had to have worn really bad false teeth. The director literally couldn’t believe that I wouldn’t get there on the day and say, 'No, actually, forget it.’ But I couldn’t wait to not have any make-up. My vanity left me a long time ago.”


READ MORE HERE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11367885/Keeley-Hawes-There-is-life-in-TV-for-mature-women.html