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Guinness. . . . . Barrault . . . . Olivier . . . . . Armitage
What does the actor Richard Armitage have in common with these greats?
Update August 26, 2010
I guess this was a boring challenge. So the answers are...Alec Guinness was the master of disguise, of quietly and anonymously sinking into a character so that nothing was left of the personality. Jean Louis Barrault was the quintessential mime, using his supple body and especially the mobile expressions of his face to convey the emotions and thoughts of a character. Olivier insisted that his was a pure technique wherein he worked on a character from the outside in- outer garments and behavioural quirks built up and defined his role.
So, the Armitage possesses the qualities of remaining hidden/invisible within a character like Guinness, excelling at mime akin to Barrault , and using certain concrete embellishments to define his role like Olivier. Plus, there is some affinity in these pix with the noses. :)
I have often thought that Richard's acting style was similar to Alec Guinness's. As well, although I haven't mentioned it yet in my blog, but I did mean to compare him sometime to Laurence Olivier. I'm not so familiar with the mime, but I certainly understand the reference.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the blog world pi! What else will Mr. Armitage inspire us to do?
@phylly3
ReplyDeleteThanks for the welcome!
Yeah, when I was watching N&S for the first time the unbidden thought was of Guinness and Olivier. And if you think about it, how often does that happen? I'm so glad that I'm not the only one who sees the Guinness comparison. Yeah, RA is prettier, but a character actor all the way. I would have loved to see him tackle the (8) roles in Kind Hearts and Coronets but, alas, this is a different century. RA truly is a throwback to another era and has the classic looks to go with it.