Richard Armitage Surprise Soundbite: On Staying with the Character

In honor of Richard Armitage’s birthday on 22 August 2015, I present a surprise soundbite from Richard’s Hannibal S3 interview. There’s no other reason for it than to appreciate his talent, his craft and his thoughtfulness because they are, after all, the reason why I admire him as a person. And that is also the reason why he’s among the few actors I would sincerely wish A Very Happy Birthday and All The Best of Luck – because even if he doesn’t read it, he still deserves it.

In this soundbite, he talks about staying with his character in Hannibal, Francis Dolarhyde, which is proving to be one of his most memorable characters. The mark of a good interpretation of a certain character on screen is when it actually does leave a mark in indelible ways. I wish I could say that Dolarhyde does NOT leave a mark on my consciousness because he is truly very frightening and I could do without it, but Mr. Armitage’s version of the character is impossible to ignore, let alone forget. The image of Dolarhyde fighting the Dragon, which is to say him physically fighting himself, has been branded into my mind – a feat that I fully credit the actor for succeeding to do so. Because even if Thomas Harris wrote it and Bryan Fuller and his writers adapted it, it wouldn’t have drawn so much horror as well as sympathy at the same time if it had been performed by anyone else. As scary as that sounds, I am delighted to see such amazing work produced by Richard Armitage.

All the applause, all the awards.

 

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And a very happy birthday, sir!