Richard Armitage on Game of Thrones: Hobbit star could be tempted by role in 'brilliant' show

INDEPENDENT
JESS DENHAM  Author Biography   Monday 07 April 2014



Richard Armitage has said he would be tempted by a role in Game of Thrones, should makers of the fantasy TV series express interest.

The British actor, who plays dwarf leader Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit franchise, described the US show as “brilliant” and noted its similarities to Peter Jackson’s Tolkien blockbusters

“I’ve watched a couple of episodes of Game of Thrones,” he told The Independent ahead of the DVD release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

“It’s very close to The Hobbit and quite close to [past project] Robin Hood, so I probably ought to do something more contemporary.


READ MORE HERE: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/richard-armitage-on-game-of-thrones-hobbit-star-could-be-tempted-by-role-in-brilliant-show-9239474.html

Benedict Cumberbatch to play Richard III in Neal Street's film for BBC

THE EDGE
By: Leo Barraclough
April 6, 2014



LONDON -- Benedict Cumberbatch is to play Richard III in Neal Street Productions' film for the BBC.

"Richard III" is part of a series of Shakespeare's History plays, which also includes "Henry VI" in two parts. Dominic Cook‎e, who was artistic director of the Royal Court Theater from 2007 to 2013, will direct all three films.

Cumberbatch said: "I can't wait to work with Dominic Cooke again to bring this complex, funny and dangerous character to life."

The films, which will air on BBC Two, rep Cook‎e's screen debut. The plays were adapted by Ben Power, who is associate director of the National Theater.

Neal Street, which is led by Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris and Caro Newling, also produced the first series of Shakespeare's History plays for the BBC, "The Hollow Crown," which covered "Richard II" and "Henry IV," Part One and Two, and "Henry V." Power adapted the screenplays for "Richard II" and "Henry V."

The films are co-produced by NBCUniversal's Carnival and WNET. Rupert Ryle-Hodges ("Downton Abbey") will produce. Executive producers are Mendes, Harris and Nicolas Brown for Neal Street, Gareth Neame for Carnival/NBCU, and David Horn for WNET.

Harris said: "Neal Street Productions worked with Benedict on both 'Stuart: A Life Backwards' for the BBC, and the film 'Starter for Ten.' His range and dexterity as an actor make him the perfect choice to bring one of Shakespeare's towering characters to television.


READ MORE HERE: http://bostonherald.com/entertainment/movies/movie_news/2014/04/benedict_cumberbatch_to_play_richard_iii_in_neal_streets

(video) Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton in the first seven minutes of ‘Fargo’

HERO FIX
By Kevin Melrose, Comic Book Resources   Saturday, Apr 5, 2014 3:02 PM



CBR) If, despite the stellar cast, you’re still skeptical of "Fargo," the upcoming television adaptation of Joel and Ethan Coen’s acclaimed 1996 film, then FX may have something that will ease your mind: the first seven minutes of the series.

Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/news/martin-freeman-and-billy-bob-thornton-in-the-first-seven-minutes-of-fargo#u7GEgC0ZSwTysdRd.99

(video) GAME OF THRONES - Honest Trailer!

Kevin Doyle on Downton Abbey and swapping serial killers and servants for an alpha male

RADIO TIMES
Susanna Lazarus
7:33 AM, 06 April 2014




Kevin Doyle is fed up of playing serial killers. And servants (most famously as Mr Molesley in ITV's Downton Abbey). BBC1's new WW1 drama The Crimson Field affords him the opportunity to step into some alpha male shoes as Colonel Roland Brett, and he's relishing it. "It's nice to be giving orders rather than receiving them," he told RadioTimes.com. "It took me a while to get used to being a figure of authority - to have someone with quiet authority who is rather placid."

But besides acting creepy, it turns out there are other downsides to being typecast as a murderer. "I played a killer in the Lakes a few years ago and somebody screamed at me on the tube once. I thought, 'Oh god, have I got to get used to his now?"

And when he's not giving viewers a fright, he's getting mistaken for a handyman. "I got somebody who asked me, did you do my central heating last year?" Lord Grantham would never have to put up with this...


READ MORE HERE: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-04-06/kevin-doyle-on-downton-abbey-and-swapping-serial-killers-and-servants-for-an-alpha-male