{"id":88702,"date":"2014-04-14T11:40:09","date_gmt":"2014-04-14T16:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/?p=88702"},"modified":"2014-04-14T11:40:09","modified_gmt":"2014-04-14T16:40:09","slug":"exclusive-richard-armitage-chats-with-theonering-net","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2014\/04\/14\/88702-exclusive-richard-armitage-chats-with-theonering-net\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE – Richard Armitage chats with TheOneRing.net"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RA<\/a>With the Home Video release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug<\/em> (which becomes available this week in Australia, Brazil and parts of Europe), Richard Armitage has been busy giving interviews, as we’ve been posting <\/a>over the past week or so<\/a>. He found time to sit down again with staffer greendragon, and they chatted about finding Thorin’s voice one last time, what he’s working on now, and what it was like to fill (literally!) those mighty dwarven boots… Here’s what he had to say:<\/p>\n

greendragon: Congrats on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug<\/em>\u2019s win [for Best SciFi\/Fantasy movie] at the Empire Awards!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Richard Armitage: I know! It was funny when they were saying \u2018Scifi\/Fantasy\u2019. \u00a0I think it was SciFi OR Fantasy – I was like, \u2018Are we Science Fiction? I don\u2019t remember any spaceships in The Hobbit<\/em>\u2026\u2019 [laughs]<\/p>\n

GD: They just lump it all together! It was nice to see that some of you were gathered at the Awards, and it looked like everyone was having a great time. James Nesbitt did a great job of hosting.<\/strong><\/p>\n

RA: Yeah it was really good to see everybody. \u00a0I think Luke [Evans] came, but he had to disappear because he was doing some reshoots so I didn\u2019t manage to catch up with him\u2026<\/p>\n

GD: So we\u2019re all excited for the Home Video release of The Desolation of Smaug<\/em>; and then with convention season kicking off, everything\u2019s gearing up for the final film. How does it feel to be moving in to the final leg of this epic journey you\u2019ve all been on?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RA: Well, I know for sure that we\u2019re not going to be filming any more material for the third film. That was something which was a bit up in the air; but there is a bit of sound work to do – a bit of ADR post production voice stuff, which I\u2019m really looking forward to doing, and to seeing the cut of the film. You know, it\u2019s been a while since we were in New Zealand, so I\u2019ve kind of forgotten what we did – so it will be nice to go back and see how that\u2019s shaping up. But I think it will be quite a nostalgic event. It\u2019s probably going to be the last time that Middle-earth is seen on the big screen. Peter\u2019s intention to have six films which sit all along side each other will be contained in that one event at the end of the year – so it wouldn’t surprise me if we see some old faces back on the red carpet, in celebration of fifteen years of Peter\u2019s work!<\/p>\n

GD: It certainly feels like a big deal for the fans – as you say, fifteen years of Middle-earth as Peter Jackson has envisaged it. \u00a0People are going to be quite sad, I think, to feel that things are coming to an end.<\/strong><\/p>\n

RA: Yes! I mean, what are you guys going to write about when there\u2019s nothing Middle-earth to talk about?! [laughs]<\/p>\n

GD: You know, there\u2019s always something! We might end up seeing a Hobbit<\/em> symphony, like The Lord of the Rings<\/em> symphony\u2026 There are always events popping up. Tolkien hasn\u2019t been \u00a0around for a while and we\u2019re still talking about him!<\/strong><\/p>\n

RA: Maybe there\u2019ll be a Silmarillion<\/em> as well, who knows?<\/p>\n

GD: Who knows what might happen? \u00a0Is it going to be quite strange, though, to come back to doing Thorin\u2019s voice again for the ADR work? As you say, it\u2019s been a while; in some ways, presumably, you must have moved on from the role, with other projects in mind and other things going on in your life\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"300640id5b_TheHobbit_TDOS_Thorin_BusShelter_48inW_x_70inH.indd\"<\/a>RA: Yeah. \u00a0It\u2019s interesting because I did a certain regime of voice work to try and find Thorin\u2019s voice, which I\u2019m really pleased that I did, because now I can go back to my tapes and repeat that work, and hope that Thorin\u2019s voice comes out. It\u2019s not so different from my own voice, but there\u2019s a certain pitch and gravel to it that I\u2019ll need. It takes a while to get back in to; but hopefully I\u2019ll be able to do it!<\/p>\n

GD: When you do move on from this role, when it is all over with The Hobbit<\/em> films, what do you think will stay with you from this, both in terms of your life experience, and in terms of aspects of the character? What do you think will be with you in twenty years?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RA: I think the actual memory of filming it; going to the other side of the world for such a long time\u2026 I mean, I still wake up and think that I\u2019m in the house that I stayed at in New Zealand, and that I can hear the sea\u2026 Everything about it – it was such a sensory experience. \u00a0Walking through the studio gates at 4am when it was dark, and leaving when it was dark; seeing all the new sets; every time we walked on set\u2026 I just don\u2019t think it will ever leave me. And you know, the process of getting into the character, and putting on the prosthetics; it\u2019s deeply embedded in me, because we repeated it so many times. Putting on the boots and walking as Thorin\u2026 \u00a0I kind of wish I had those boots, I wish I\u2019d kept them!<\/p>\n

GD: Do you feel an ownership of the role? If you were reading The Hobbit<\/em>, would you sort of feel, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s me I\u2019m reading about\u2019? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

RA: You know what, I feel like there is a sort of nod [in the films] to the character in Tolkien\u2019s book\u2026 but my very first impression of The Hobbit<\/em> [book] probably hasn\u2019t changed. The version that we played of Thorin is very much about Philippa Boyens\u2019 brilliant screenplay; so it sits somewhere between the two. I will probably pick up Tolkien and be reminded of what Philippa, Fran and Pete did with it; which I think is great, because their job is not just to put the book on screen, but to develop all of those ideas and take us into another world.<\/p>\n

GD: Talking of ownership of the role – what do you think about the fans who do such amazing cosplay, where they dress up as the characters? I know one lady who does an absolutely brilliant Thorin; I wondered what you think when you see these folks with incredible costumes on which they have lavished hours of work, and they come out as dead ringers for the characters.<\/strong><\/p>\n

RA: I know! And a lot of them are women – and they\u2019re growing their own beards and everything! It\u2019s kind of amazing that they can do that\u2026 [laughs] No, I\u2019ve seen a few bearded ladies\u2026 I think it\u2019s brilliant. I\u2019m always immensely impressed at the workmanship, and the way that they\u2019ve looked at the costumes and copied them – I think it\u2019s pretty amazing. And I\u2019m sure it\u2019s one of the reasons why the costume design is so detailed – because they know that people will look at it in that kind of detail, and study it.<\/p>\n

GD: With regard to what’s next: each time we\u2019ve spoken, you\u2019ve had various potential irons in the fire but nothing that\u2019s grabbed you as being the next big project for you.\u00a0Do you have anything coming up which you can tell us about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Urban<\/a>RA: I\u2019m doing a British independent film at the moment, which is called Urban and the Shed Crew<\/em><\/a>, which is based on a book written in 2005 about an ex social worker who is having trouble with his own life, and spiralling into drink and drugs, and he befriends a little eleven year old street kid, and they have this journey together. It\u2019s a really beautiful story, and it ticks a few boxes for me: it\u2019s based on a really interesting piece of literature, but also based on living people, who have been working with us on set. I don\u2019t know what the movie will be – it may just end up at the festivals – but I\u2019m having a great time making it, and I get to play opposite a really brilliant eleven year old kid, who is teaching me how to act!<\/p>\n

GD: Kids often have a natural instinct for it, don\u2019t you find? They don\u2019t overthink it\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

RA: Well sometimes they do; sometimes kids are highly coached. But this little boy is very, very natural and really instinctive, and it\u2019s great – it\u2019s like a little \u2018back to school\u2019 for me!<\/p>\n

GD: Are we likely to see you at any conventions this year? I\u2019m hoping we can persuade you to come to DragonCon in Atlanta\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

RA: Well I have to find out when they are – I haven\u2019t heard of anything in the imminent future. I think we\u2019re definitely going to go to [San Diego] ComicCon; we\u2019re definitely going to be there this year.<\/p>\n

GD: Thinking about going forward – having had this experience of being in a huge franchise with an enormous fan base, would you be reluctant to undertake a project again which has such a following already in place, or has it been an experience that you would enjoy repeating?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RA: Oh yeah – I would do it again in a heartbeat! It\u2019s so exciting to be part of something; especially when it\u2019s one character playing – I mean, I think this is quite a unique experience, that it\u2019s one character over three films, but playing through one journey. I think that\u2019s quite remarkable. Yeah, I\u2019d love to do another big franchise like this.<\/p>\n

GD: Good – I\u2019m glad we haven\u2019t scared you away!<\/strong><\/p>\n

RA: No way! No way!<\/p>\n

GD: One of the fans asked me to say to you how proud they all are of the work that everybody has done. I certainly know that many of the fans feel a kind of ownership of what Peter Jackson and all of you have created in Tolkien\u2019s realm; there\u2019s a great deal of love for it, and many people have said to me, \u2018I just want an opportunity to tell them how proud we are of what they\u2019ve done!\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

RA: Oh good. I mean, that\u2019s very heartwarming – because they\u2019re the people that we know will be watching in so much more detail than everybody else. You\u2019ve got to play and create your character in that much detail, because I know that people will be seeing it like that, and seeing it again and again\u2026 With the DVD release, they can watch it to their heart\u2019s content! And I know they will; so it\u2019s good to know that it\u2019s being seen and appreciated.<\/p>\n

\"richard<\/a>GD: One last thing I\u2019m interested to ask you about – I keep reading about your fascination with Richard III, and that you have interest in making a film about him. I just wondered what truth there is in any of that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RA: It was an idea that I had a while back. But my interest in it is really a hobby, of reading biographies, and I was once working with a script writer on something. I don\u2019t know whether a documentary would be of interest\u2026 it\u2019s difficult, finding something which is going to be commercially interesting, and for an audience – I don\u2019t know how many people would be that excited about him\u2026 My interest in him doesn\u2019t necessarily have to manifest itself in a piece of work. Even if it\u2019s me going back on stage and playing him; it\u2019s purely a hobby for me.<\/p>\n

GD: It\u2019s a fascinating topic – particularly when you consider how Shakespeare has painted him into one particular corner\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

RA: Yeah, I mean Shakespeare really created a bit of a pantomime and put him at the centre of it. It\u2019s a brilliant thriller, but I don\u2019t know how biased Shakespeare was\u2026 Well, I do know how biased he was, because he was writing for a Tudor monarch! But I think there\u2019s a tale to tell. I think the BBC maybe are investigating doing a project about Richard, but we\u2019ll see. I think there\u2019s always room for a new take on it; and there\u2019s plenty of literature out there. The Daughter of Time<\/em> [Josephine Tey] is such an interesting book, and that would be worth exploring.<\/p>\n

GD: Well, thanks Richard – \u00a0it\u2019s always good to chat.\u00a0Hopefully we\u2019ll talk again around the release of The Hobbit: There and Back Again<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

RA: I\u2019m sure we will see each other sometime in November, on our vast press tour! Take care!<\/p>\n

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