Ali at RichardArmitageNet.Com has the audio from Richard Armitage’s interivew on BBC Leicester this morning.
If you don’t have time to listen, he says he’s read Philippa Langley’s screenplay and been in a contact with her for a long time, but he also mentioned he was too tall and too old to probably play Richard III. He does go on to say he wants to explore the psychological aspects of the story of Richard III. There will be more at 11:00am on Wednesday morning Leciester time when Richard will be on the Jim Davis Show. For now, this seemed to be more in the way of a teaser and possibly putting the Philippa Langley question to rest.
Too old? Too tall? No way. :D
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RAFrenzy 
NOT! Maybe he just isn’t happy with her screenplay, but I hope this isn’t the end of his Richard III aspirations.
I hope the same. Even if he doesn’t want to play RIII for whatever reasons, he could play Warwick or some other role. He’s being very cautious about what he says, isn’t he? So non-committal. Sort of keeping a distance from it all. Our enigmatic beauty. ;)
Maybe, too, something else wonderful has turned up on the horizon (or several somethings else) that he wants to explore first–wouldn’t that be lovely?
I think he’s better suited to Warwick, who is an absolutely fascinating character is his own right. I agree maybe he is also being cautious/polite because he is not thrilled with what has been written by Langley. I still also think he is interested in this story from a producer/director standpoint, so he is willing to take his time until all is to his liking.
After all, he’s had this idea in mind for a very long time, it seems. It wouldn’t be surprising if he wanted to take his time and put together the right property to fulfill what he’s looking for. I would also be very pleased to see him play Warwick.
Yes Fedoralady, he was noncommital AND distancing from Phillipa’s project. I get the sense he’s not on her bandwagon as she may want everybody to think.
Certainly vibe I got. Polite and charming as always, happy about discovery, interested in seeing a project come to fruition– but not committing himself to anything. It really makes me wonder about Phillipa and what she has said about his involvement hitherto. Did she put cart before the beautiful dark stallion? Inquiring minds want to know.
Geez. I imagine he was being kind at best. At worst, he hasn’t had interest in doing it now that he’s a star. Or he doesn’t like her script or something. It does put to rest the Richard III passion, it seems, because if he ever does R3 elsewhere, he’s going to look like a liar.
Oh, and, did he suddenly sprout to giant size? Height didn’t seem to bother him for years when he talked about his passion for doing it. Maybe they could shrink him like in The Hobbit. :)
What;s been niggling at me is–did we somehow assume he wanted to play the role all along or was it always more of a project he wanted to see happen, to possibly produce/direct and act in. but not necessarily to play starring role??
I am a tad confused, methinks.
He did mention in one of the video interviews during Comic-Con last year about being too tall to play the role, so not first time that’s come up. But I definitely feel more caution than ardor here. ???
Funny, I didn’t hear any distancing from Phillipa at all. I feel he’s in total admiration for her and what she’s achieved. If there is any distancing, it may be coming from his agent I suspect. Who knows what he is being considered/signed for. In addition, maybe for a little, he and his agent wish to avoid the historical figure typecast. Also he has never ever made any secret of the fact that as far as RIII goes (traditional or new), he would really love to be in a position to produce/direct sometime in the future.
I pretty much see it like Prue, and I think he’s vindicated Philippa Langley’s statements without committing. Smart boy. It’s best to posture with a non-answer, but the desire to explore the psychological aspect of the story makes it apparent he wants to mount a production. As for playing RIII, I certainly think he could do it, but I’ve long said I would love to see what he could produce behind the camera. So if he doesn’t play RIII, that’s fine with me.
This is what he said in one of his interviews:
“My challenge is to convince commercial producers to see beyond ‘history lesson’, but I strongly suspect that this will be a long way off, probably outside of my ability to play the role, but I wouldn’t rule out playing another role….”
http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/in-conversation-with-richard-armitage/
Another role behind the camera, perchance, or directing actors on the boards? Who knows?
Could be he’s just keeping his options open–we all know he has the chops to play the role, and I certainly don’t agree about the tall thing (or the old thing)–I just think maybe he has some other things he wants to consider. He did say very recently that he wanted to get back to doing British television. Maybe something fabulous is in the offing and they’re trying to work it out.
I still love the “Vulpes Libris” interview–I reread it from time to time because they actually treated him with respect and intelligence, which not all interviewers do.
I still think it’s entirely possible that he just wasn’t happy, either with her script or her slant on the story. I don’t see that it would make him a liar if he decided along the line to tackle the project from another direction (producer, director). I’m also sure that he’s now getting barraged with projects (I hope) he might not have had access to even a few years ago and maybe wants a little time to look into other things. It might seem like the perfect time for RIII to us, with the discovery, but Richard might have other ideas. More power to him!
We also have to remember he has a commitment for two more years to TH, in the sense that not only does he have at least 10 weeks of additional shooting in NZ this summer, he’s also got to set aside time for press junkets and red carpet appearances and DVD release promos for TWO more films now.
So he will have to work around all that when scheduling other projects,which could get complicated.
We don’t actually know how good a writer Phillipa is, either, Not saying she’s a poor one; but I suspect RA has very high standards for this dream project should it come to fruition.
Of course, it’s not unusual for more than one writer to work on a script, too. She might have a good foundation that needs some tweaking and refining,.
I just want RA to do what he really wants to do to achieve the personal and professional satisfaction he seeks. (Just don’t permanently disappear behind the camera, I beg you, RA. Too good in front of it). You go, you adorable and talented boy! :D
Completely agree, my dear–I also would hate to see him disappear behind the cameras so soon after his “Hobbit” success. And I do sincerely hope he finds a little break in there somewhere to take some time for himself after working so hard for so long. Don’t really expect him to, but it’s a nice thought. I want all good things to come his way–he certainly deserves them.
I know we have only got an extract here and so can’t hear everything RA said until Wednesday but I noticed that he referred to his father in the past tense. Any thoughts?
With the age thing, I’d say HUMBUG. That’s never stopped anyone before! Liam Neeson was 44 when he did “Michael Collins”, portraying a man who was 26-31 years old at the time in question, and that didn’t exactly made the film any less watchable. Christian McKay was 36, portraying 22-year-old Orson Welles in “Me & Orson Welles”, which I didn’t know at the time, and okay, he doesn’t exactly look 22, but it doesn’t matter, because it’s a film! :)
Thanks for sharing – will be interesting to hear what he has to say on Wednesday.
And YES, he DEFINITELY sounds as if he has a cold, poor thing!
I think it may depend on what the people that are in the end willing to produce and finance it, want. They may not want him to play RIII, but someone younger or more famous, they may not like PL’s script and just buy the idea and rewrite it. I don’t think RA and PL have enough clout to dictate conditions.
And may I add, I wouldn’t be sad if this comes to nothing. I don’t think career wise concentrating on RIII and disappearing for longer periods is very wise at this point. The time window that the Hobbit might have opened is small and I wouldn’t want him to miss it. He already hasn’t worked for half a year.
Ive spent all morning thinking about this story
Phillipa Langley should be praised for bringing this story to light.
She should have her DNA tested.
Her empathy with RichardIII is palpable
Perhap.s s..he shares his DNA.
It is inconceiveable that a man of 30 a soldier and a king should not have more than one child.
As to Richard Armitage being too old to play the king.. Realising the hard life RichardIII led
I stumbled upon this website when I was looking to find out what this manic woman has actually screen written as I could find no proof of a career other than her statement she is a Screen Writer and is writing this. I was baffled how she could bring a balanced and honest piece of work on such a complicated historical story. Richard Armitage is doing what all sane people would, distancing himself from her. This woman is nuts. Firstly she’s not a Screen Writer… she’s never written a thing that has ever been filmed it appears, you can’t call yourself that until you have. It seems anything she wrote would be heavily re written judging by the response of Armitage and others Ive seen talk about the project.
Langley’s ridiculous statement that she felt something in the car park is preposterous, she’s trying to make some sort of airy fairy mystical thing out of a research heavy find. It’s obvious from the way she presented herself in the documentary that she is obsessed with the king to the point it’s creepy – I watched as she stroked the model of his face at the unveiling – it was cringe worthy. I don’t see how anything she writes could be balanced on the subject. She’s feeding her own mad ego. Give the story to a real screen writer or author to do it justice.
Anna
Film & TV Art Director / Production Designer
A sexy Richard? I’m all for it!