Richard Armitage Fan A to Z: G to J

/ SueBC

What a busy summer it’s been, and now the rain has finally come! I just realized that it’s been two months since I last posted about the RA Challenge! Before I get back to that, let me show you what I ordered from Etsy thanks to seeing them via Guylty’s Weekly Roundup of Tumblr posts yesterday.

Aren’t they great? If I put them on my two key rings and happen to lend them out to a co-worker or to my sons or to my hubby, will they think I’ve lost my mind? Quite likely!

And now, without further ado…

Fan Challenge 2018

G — How long have you been in the fandom, and how has your attitude to the fandom changed during that time?

I’ve never been involved in a fandom before. I’ve been a fan of singers and actors in the past, but I’ve always just enjoyed that by myself (binge-watching all the Jeff Goldblum movies I could find at the video store pre-kids, for example) or by going to movies or concerts with friends. I’d heard of formal fan clubs, of course, but I didn’t really know about internet fandom at all.

Embed from Getty Images

I saw North and South on Netflix sometime around 2011 or maybe a bit earlier, and then started becoming more interested in RA after a couple of watches. I browsed around the internet and found interviews and some blogs, but I only visited from time to time, not really ever having encountered blogs before. I borrowed MI-5 (Spooks) from the library and enjoyed that, and I remember being excited to hear that RA had landed a part in The Hobbit and mentioning it to my husband. My increasing interest in RA was a slow burn, so it took me a while to get involved in the fandom at all.

I think I probably started reading blogs semi-regularly sometime in late 2015 and then didn’t start commenting until 2016, so I’m actually a relative newcomer when it comes to the fandom itself. The first blog I ever subscribed to was Preoccupied with Armitage (so funny) in April, 2016; followed by Guylty Pleasure (loved the shrines, *oofs*, & roundups) the next month; then Me + Richard Armitage (lots of info and analysis) in June of that year.

I really enjoyed interacting with everyone that I encountered in the fandom and I found that there were topics I wanted to initiate. I suggested something I thought was kind of funny to Serv, which she kindly posted on her blog, and then there were a couple of little odes I wrote that Serv and Guylty kindly rescued from the comments (here and here). The bug bit me and I started blogging at the beginning of January, 2017.

So, how has my attitude to the fandom changed? It’s changed in that I’ve enjoyed it more and more and participated in it more fully (at least in the blogosphere). I went from being a distant observer to a fairly active commentator and then to a blogger over a period of a couple of years.

H — How has your attitude to RA changed over your time as a fan?

When I first started reading about RA and watching interviews with him, he seemed to be almost too perfect. I used to think that, compared to me, he sounded much nicer, more polite, more intellectual… I could imagine him sitting in his apartment, reading important books and playing cello. He would never be rude to anyone or smoke or swear.

Of course, then I saw roles where he did swear with ease, and I saw behind-the scenes shots where he was smoking (oh the horror!). (Check out this post at Me + Richard Armitage about RA smoking in and out of character.) I mean, I expected him to be better than me! (Yes, I swear and yes, I used to smoke long ago.)

I was also really taken aback by all of the discussion about Armitage having had a nose job. After looking at lots of pictures, I do think he must have had the bump taken off and his nose made straighter. And I’m sure that made it easier to get roles. It’s just that somehow I thought he would be less vain than that.

I suppose in my mind he came down off of his pedestal and became a real person, and that’s a good thing.

I — What made you come out as a fan and participate in the fandom online?

What finally got me to stop lurking and actually make a comment on a blog was the continuous tweet/delete behaviour by Richard Armitage in June of 2016. It was just so perplexing and infuriating that I felt I had to make this comment on a post at Me + Richard Armitage:

Ok, truly, my head is spinning! Can’t keep up with the tweet/delete routine! These last few days are the first time I’ve been watching closely enough to see the disappearing act, and really it’s pretty annoying. I’m still excited to see some of RA’s new work ( I hope), but this is all perplexing. Who knows why he deletes pretty harmless IMO tweets? But even if they’re deleted by a PR person, that person would be in his employ and so have his approval to do so. So, deleted because he chooses to, in effect. Thanks for all your interesting and insightful posts.

J — Are you outed as a fan among your family and friends?

For sure, my family — it would be pretty hard for my hubby and kids to miss it. My sisters and their daughters know and visit here now and then, as do a few friends. And there are a few trusted individuals at work who know I’m a fan, and even a few who know that I blog, although I haven’t invited them to take a look. If I do in fact start using the keychains I bought yesterday, it might become really hard to keep it a secret!

25 thoughts on “Richard Armitage Fan A to Z: G to J”

  1. Sue,
    1. So glad you bought the two keychains. They are super cute. I think I’m gonna try to get #9 too. (I know what Etsy is now.)
    2. Your 2 poems you had links for are terrific- just capture him to an T!
    3. I too had the same initial impression of Richard-too nice, too polite, to intellectual but then delving deeper into interviews and magazine articles he’s not perfect sometimes far from it (ie the infamous you know which article about bedroom activities) and that is part of the allure for me. He is aloof, mysterious and moody..
    4. I love your blog for many reasons. I find many things in common as far as movies, tv shows, theatre. I have found other shows with other actors that I admire through your blog (ie Broadchurch, Lost in Austen, Jessica Jones) and you are a very down to earth writer and observer.
    5. I don’t tweet but I share your dislike (mine is more distain) for his behavior on Twitter even on Instagram. I wish he would trust his gut more and tweet more of his convictions. He doesn’t have to be preachy to do that. His selfies I just don’t like except when he looks like he has just rolled out of bed, messy hair, messy clothes, stubble or beardy, dying for a coffee and real not glossed over with the filtering crap.
    Anyway I read back why you decided to blog and I am so happy that you did and are!!

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    • Thanks, Michele. Now I have to wait for my purchases to come! Glad you liked my little poems — the pictures provided such inspiRAtion! I kind of like that he is not perfect — and I agree that moody is somehow alluring.
      Thanks for the nice feedback on my blog. I enjoy our conversations as well.
      I also don’t tweet, although I sometimes think I should. I might be just as bad at it as him, though! I’m definitely far worse than he is at taking selfies — luckily I rarely take them!

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      • I know I suck at selfies too! I ended up getting
        keychain #4 yesterday! The seller Carla was so nice ! She emailed me to say thanks for the purchase so I emailed back that was one of my first fan items I bought outside of the Auction
        of beloved Richard!

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  3. We are so glad you came out and joined us (thanks for the link love!).

    I’d never been a conscious part of a fandom before or so heavily crushed on anyone before. I find the flaws as they’ve emerged frustrating (some more than others — I couldn’t care less if he smokes but the preaching is a serious problem, no matter how well intended). I was really primarily crushed on him because of N&S and the personal crush emerged later. I can’t say I was ever surprised he wasn’t perfect, but at times I’d hoped he’d be better than he really was.

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    • Thanks! And thank you for having been so encouraging and welcoming. It’s the community that makes this the most enjoyable.

      Oh yeah! The preaching is really annoying. At Christmas I was put off by his message. I’d like to think that I’d like him if I ever had a chance to have a real conversation with him. If he really is that much of a prig, I just don’t know. But then given that I’m not likely to ever meet him in that way, I guess focusing on what I find positive is the way to go. 🙂

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      • Sue, so I reread that Xmas message and I think he buried the lead of what he was really trying to say about the homelessness issue in Britain. Had he started off with that then went into his little montage of Unity rhymes with Community (that was sappy I thought) I think the preaching would not have been so well preachy. Prig meaning prude? I learn a new word every day. I don’t think he is a prude I think he lives in a bubble. I think he espouses all these altruistic sayings but if you are a Cyber Anti-Bullying ambassador then be proactive and advocate against it happening. It happens every day! It breaks my heart to constantly hear about teens who kill themselves over cyber bullying or people who are job shamed (ie Geoffrey Owens) or racially discriminated against (ie Kelly Marie Tran) I think he should put his money where his mouth is on that and really advocate for trying to make the social media world a more friendlier place. Maybe he was indirectly talking about his nephews when he mentioned for the younger audience but he writes in circles and ambiguously so you never really know what he is trying to say. I mean I’m old fashioned too when it comes to dating and kindness and humility but so I think are a lot of his female fans. I would hope people treat others the way they want to be treated. Is that his way of subtly saying please give to my charities?
        Don’t get me wrong, he’s got a fantastic work ethic and I think his heart is in the right place but I think he lives in a fantasy world at times, doesn’t see the reality of people struggling with trying to belong in an unkind society. He should get more involved with PSAs or community outreach or something where what he says and intends will actually be heard.

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        • Well, prig is a little different than prude. The Oxford Dictionary says, “A self-righteously moralistic person who behaves as if they are superior to others.” That is the way it struck me, but I understand that it struck other people differently. Crushes are of course based on emotions and this didn’t give me warm fuzzies. I resented that he was being prescriptive and telling us how to live. At more than 10 years older than him, that’s not what I personally am looking for. Not that he has to make me happy. If you’re interested in my initial reaction to it, here’s what I said in December. https://imfeelingthis.blog/2017/12/20/call-me-shallow-or-what-id-really-like-from-a-message/

          Of course I agree that cyber bullying is bad and can have tragic consequences. I’m glad he feels strongly about it. I’m just not sure that preaching to the converted can achieve change.

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          • Ok a lot to digest but here goes. First, thank you for the link to your Dec 2017 post response to his Xmas Message. I also read the comments afterward which I like to do bec the different and similar povs of the commenters are quite interesting and enlightening to me. I thought your writing was excellent and you would make a great lawyer bec you lay out your views quite convincingly!! I agree that I would have liked to hear more about his projects and even his reflections on his life in 2017 amidst the political, social and economic turmoil happening around the world. That would have been fascinating if he had compared his living experiences filming in Berlin vs filming O8 in NYC vs doing Audible in London. I get if his mum was declining in health that he didn’t want to publicize that but he could have advocated for the better healthcare for everyone or even gone into the immigration issue. Second, staying on the immigration topic he really needs to hang with Ashley Judd more. She has been a children’s advocate for better literacy, education, healthcare, housing foreva along with Salma Hayek (she mostly advocated for Mexico although now I’m not sure) I mean Ashley would be a world of intel for him about getting involved and really helping children’s causes esp immigration/refugees if this is an area that he takes a shine to. Third, prig is actually a great word. I hope he doesn’t devolve into one. In my opinion I think he is clueless about a lot of things but I don’t think he’s anywhere near his 2016 partner in crime MF. She is a prig! I cannot even go to her Twitter anymore because I get angry. She castigated recently the film industry (hello who pays for your jaunts around the world and Henry’s lodging) for using Styrofoam cups and plastic. Even MT jumped on her bandwagon about this (NO MINA NO!!) I admit I look at the MF IG hoping for intel on Berlin Station or glimpses of a hand, watch, thumb (one can only wish) or some iota of evidence where Richard is and what he is doing. Yes I’m super curious about his personal life as far as his interests go. I don’t want to know anything about the dating (that’s a really long separate discussion I would have privately with you) but yes I freely admit I want to know some personal stuff like his fav foods, fav books he’s reading, where he skies, what the status of his Richard III project is, what’s his fav restaurant in London and in NYC. I’m a naturally curious person. I like when commenters here open up and relate stories from their lives. Its honest and relatable and I always learn something new about the topic, about them and about me. I know he can’t share everything and doesn’t want to and that is part of the mystique about him which I am very attracted to but still..
            Finally, I’m on the fence about newsletters. My dad used to get newsletters from his Army buddies which extoled the achievements of the buddies’ kids and what the buddies were doing in retirement. My mom loved to read these I think just to read other’s peoples interests. My dad didn’t. He thought they were bragging and self-righteous and didn’t really care and he would NEVER publicize his family like that. My brother shares the same view about this topic as my dad (ie FB primarily). If I had kids and my kids were involved in ie horseback riding competitions, or gymnastics, or debate or football or hockey or baseball or computers sure I would want the world to know that bec I would be proud of their accomplishments. Where would Richard fall in on this? Anyway I know this is super long so thank you if you made it this far.

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            • The comments and conversations are always so interesting, as we all have different life experiences and frames of reference. I took my time writing that post, as I wanted to express the way the message made me feel and yet also try to find the bits that I enjoyed.

              I wonder if he knew something was up with his mum when he wrote that message — it might have been only later when he arrived home for the Xmas break.

              Ashley Judd is definitely not shy about stating her opinions and being an activist. I think that RA is very concerned about the impression he makes and about never offending anyone, which makes it hard for him to really speak out very much. And even when he does do it via Twitter, he seems to think better of it and delete it.

              MF is a good actress, but she is a bit extreme in her views and in trying to get everyone on board with them IMO. I check her IG once in a while too just to see what she’s up to and to see her various co-stars.

              As for RA’s message, I would have loved a newsy newsletter that offered us some glimpses of the man and the professional. I wouldn’t consider it bragging, but he would I think. I wonder what his message will be like this Christmas.

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              • Yes I agree with you about the newsy newsletter-I think he is too humble to do something like that. I think his Xmas message will be very somber and reflective and extol his mum which I think is proper and noble of him to do that. Its only been 4 and a bit months since her passing and I’m sure he wakes up every day thinking about her and goes to bed wishing she was still here.

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      • I just think he’s not a systematic thinker. I think he formulates an idea, often based on a strong emotion, and doesn’t think about the consequences, or what his audiences might think of it, or what objections could be. These are not required steps, naturally, but insofar as he tends to speak on weighty topics including politics they might be advisable. What I really hope is that he’s not the kind of person who constantly posts smarmy memes on his private social media, lol.

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        • That does seem to be the case, that he goes with the strong emotion at the time. And then later he thinks further along the path and maybe deletes a tweet. Do you think he posts cuddly cat videos? Or those motivational success posters!

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          • Maybe he’s better off on YT than Twitter where he can goof around or demonstrate his DIY skills or interview his celebrity pals like the 60 sec Cinemax bit with Martin Freedman awhile back.. YT seems more emotional and raw and up his alley than Twitter…..(I’m joking here by the way…)

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              • Right!! Imagine all the DIY projects he could do on YT and garner probably over 1 million YT viewers in the process. Talk about that form of self- promoting and it could get sooo popular that he gets catapulted to bigger starring roles and wouldn’t have to do so much Audio work to supplement his free time (which maybe he has too much of right now hmmm) narrating Audio books and Arden’s Wake Virtual reality things..

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    • Serv, that is so interesting to hear. I dated a smoker for 2 years and hated it. The smell, the smoke, the way he kissed after he smoked, ugh… I think the preaching is well intended but he just lives in his own little fantasy world where he thinks saying Unity rhymes with Community is like the Dalai Lama when it actually reminds me of a phrase one might find in a stale fortune cookie. I can see why some people would take that Xmas message as preachy or even as condescending. I think he started off trying to say one thing then veered off on a tangent before wrapping it up in the last paragraph. Maybe he slapped dash it together at the last minute.
      I like the mystery a lot of his personality. I just find it really sexy along with how handsome he is and you’ve seen him up close 4 times!! At LLL he didn’t do the Stage Door right? I get what he means by moody even anti-socialite although I think he’s more of a socialite than he thinks he is.

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      • I wouldn’t date or live with a chain smoker but I was successfully in a relationship with an occasional smoker for twelve years and it didn’t really affect me negatively.

        He did do stage door at LLL, but the mood was really different than at The Crucible. Not entirely due to him — the location was entirely different as well.

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