RA FRIDAY - THE DIRTY TRUTH OF WAR

The RA fandom has been going crazy in the last two weeks over the massive advertising campaign hammering the airing of STRIKE BACK next Wednesday 5 May. We  have been overwhelmed by a huge quantity of new pictures, lots of interviews with the man himself (most of them definitely similar and quite monotonous, few of them fairly interesting) , articles and reviews, clips and trailers....
I've read only part  - and in a great hurry - of  the many interviews to Richard Armitage. I  am very interested in what he has to say about his characters and how he works hard to give them a backstory and credibility. Only this time I couldn't do much , though I tried hard (real life taking the upper hand!). Anyhow, I found some interesting points in the few I read:  Richard discussing the act of killing , Richard analyzing the differences between previous and current warfare, Richard making interesting considerations about Lucas North and John Porter being/or not being  similar characters... Again & again , I found clues of brain between those piercing blue eyes. I was sure of that, aware of the existence of  skills and sensitivity, I have always known that, reading his words or listening to him . It was just a confirmation of my already strong certainties.

Richard on killing ...

Richard on war films and current warfare...

(from Readers Digest May 2010)

Richard on the similarity between Lucas and John Porter

A spy in one, a soldier in another. It's a boy's dream, playing those two roles.

Yes, it is. And they're kind of similar. Lucas North is MI5, and John Porter works for a branch of MI6, but he's the antithesis of Lucas, really. Luckily they are very different, because I was worried how similar they were. If you met them together, you'd realise that they're at opposite ends of the Spectrum.

Was it a concern, that they are, in theory, so similar? Did the script persuade you to do Strike Back?

I love the idea that the script persuaded me! If only. I had three pages of it to go on, and that's when you have to make a decision. I was weary of the war genre, because we've seen it a lot. It's been done well, done badly, done in clichéd ways, and it's also broken new ground. I thought 'Is this going to another of those TV war things that just ends up on the shelf?' but then that became the challenge, to reinvent this idea of a war hero. I had to find something else in an action hero that rings different bells.

(...)

I went for the baggage he has from his past, that was the really interesting thing. I wanted to remove the character from the idea of the military and make him apply to everyone... There's this idea that he made a decision he believed to be the right one, and that had huge, catastrophic effect on his life and career. He had to go in search of atonement for that decision, still believing he made the right call, despite the fact something terrible happened as a result. I think that is a universal situation, not necessarily just war and the military. In a war genre, it becomes acutely focused, though.

(from AOL UK website)

Richard on a military career ...

Is that something you ever thought about, a dream of working in that field?

No never, I couldn't be further away from that! I'm the guy that's off painting and playing the cello. That's probably why it is kind of satisfying to do. It's a life I never would have chosen and will never choose, so that's why it's interesting to play the character, because it's quite far from my own aspirations.

(from screenrush.co.uk)

He's the guy that's off painting and playing the cello. And I definitely like that.

Is he embarassed by his towering sex-symbol status or just bored? "Baffled" , he answers and just smiles and go on enthusiastically talking about his work.

And I deeply appreciate that.

I hope I'll have some spare time to read  the rest of the huge quantity of materials published about Strike Back.

Have you read everything come out so far, instead? Have you got a favourite article/interview?

I'm longing for a TV interview. I'm fond of  watching Richard sitting and chatting on a sofa in a TV studio ... It seems he will be on GMTV (ITV1) early in the morning next Tuesday May 4th.

It was Friday when I started writing this post. It is already Saturday (1 a.m.) now. I apologize for being a bit late.

Enjoy your weekend!