Welcome to RichardArmitageOnline.com

This is an unofficial website about the work of the British actor Richard Armitage, star of BBC Spooks, Robin Hood, North and South and The Vicar of Dibley.

There's information here about his television, film and theatre work, including pictures and video clips of many of his TV and film roles. You can also read his comments about his characters, taken from published interviews.

Navigate to any of his roles from the menu at the top of the page, or go to the Television Career, Film Career, Theatre Career or Voice Career pages and follow the links from there. Also see...

Richard's Just Giving pages can be found here.

News

Macbeth on Sky Arts 2 The film of the 1999 RSC production of Macbeth, in which Richard Armitage played Angus, is being shown on Sky Arts 2 on Saturday 12th May at 11.45am.

The Hobbit preview A 10 minute preview of clips from The Hobbit was screened on Tuesday 24th April at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. The film is being shot in 3D at 48 frames per second, and many who saw the preview were impressed with the quality of the picture. Rebecca Murray, of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, said that she had rapidly become completely immersed in the footage. "You can not get a more genuine, realistic viewing experience than this unless you are watching a performance live." But others found the realism too off-putting and there has been much debate about whether 48fps film is appropriate for drama.

The preview was preceded by a recorded message from Peter Jackson. Explaining his decision to shoot at 48 fps, he said, "As a filmmaker, I always want to create a strong sense of reality, to allow the audience to lose themselves in whatever the cinematic story is that I'm presenting. Shooting and projecting at 48 fps gives you the illusion that a hole has been cut in the wall of the cinema, and you're watching the story unfold with a heightened sense of reality. It's terrific for 3D; I've looked at the 48 fps dailies for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 3D for over a year now, and with the reduction in strobing and flicker, it is a much more gentle experience on your eyes. 48 fps is not just limited to 3D. A film shot in 48 fps looks fantastic when projected in 2D, and converts well to 24 fps as well."

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first major film to be shot at 48 fps.

The breakout star of The Hobbit? NextMovie.com has published an article discussing which of The Hobbit's large cast might benefit the most from the exposure that comes with being part of such an important film. The first actor on Larry D Curtis's list is Richard Armitage.

He is, says Curtis, "rich with talent, and his role as emotionally tortured dwarf Thorin Oakenshield will let him showcase his abilities. Thorin is complex and conflicted, will have his fair share of screen time and will also be the most heroic dwarf in Bilbo's company. And, as we already know from the films' single trailer, he gets to use his trademark baritone voice."

After discussing several other cast members, he concludes "In terms of skyrocketing career moves, Armitage will be the ultimate winner. Thorin will be a more important part of this film than many realize and the Shakespearian tragedy elements, with his talent and good looks, make this a perfect situation for him."

Richard Armitage at Pattison College During his teenage years, Richard studied at Pattison’s Dancing Academy in Coventry (now Pattison College). The founder of the college, Betty Pattison, died in September 2010, and the college's website carries a tribute page to Miss Pat, as she was known. It's recently been confirmed that one of the pictures at the top of the page shows the young Richard Armitage with Miss Pat.

See the Betty Pattison page for more information about Miss Pat, and the tribute to her from Richard Armitage that was played at her memorial service in Coventry Cathedral in November 2010.

New Hobbit production video Peter Jackson has released his sixth video from the set of The Hobbit - it's available to view at his Facebook page. It covers the location shooting on both the north and south islands of New Zealand during the last two months of 2011. During this time, filming passed the half-way mark - 127 days. The third block of filming is now under way back in Wellington, and is due to be completed in July.

Richard Armitage YouTube channel YouTube now has a Richard Armitage channel. It's a collection of over 3000 videos that have been posted on YouTube, including excerpts from his work, interviews and music videos made by fans.

Interview at MTV.com MTV has named Richard Armitage "One to Watch in 2012. Their website carries an interview with him, in which he talks extensively about filming The Hobbit.

Playing Thorin has made such an impression on him that he says, "It don't think it will be possible to leave it behind me. I think this is one of those characters that always stay with you because you spend so much time with him and it's such a transformation. I'm in the character every day, and I've become so familiar with him. I sort of know how he thinks. I feel really close to the character, and he will continue beyond this job."

New Hobbit production video Peter Jackson has posted the fifth Hobbit video blog on his Facebook page. It shows the recent location shooting on the film.

Hobbit teaser trailer A year before the release of the film, Warner Brothers has released a teaser trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

It can be seen online, in various formats, at the film's new official website, TheHobbit.com.

It's also being shown with some (though not all) screenings of Peter Jackson's The Adventures of Tin Tin in the USA.

There have been many reviews of the trailer. Empire magazine describes one scene thus, "In the lush, wooded glen of Trollshaws, Bilbo unsheathes the recently discovered Sting, a moment cross-cut with Armitage’s increasingly impressive Thorin whispering to Gandalf that he is unable to guarantee Bilbo’s safety. “Nor”, he growls, “will I be responsible for his fate”. Spine-tingling stuff." The reviewer also compliments his "impressive basso" during the singing.

And The Guardian's film blog says "Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield has a certain Aragornish regality to him that I did not expect, though it makes a sort of sense in the context of the later films."

More information about the film, and pictures from the trailer...

Captain America on TV Captain America: The First Avenger is being shown on Sky Movies Box Office at various times each day.

Use Me As Your Cardigan Jonia at Jonia's Cut reports an early theatre appearance by Richard Armitage in 2002. In February and March of that year, he played Jez in a bitter sweet comedy by Samantha Ellis at Jackson's Lane in north London. Use Me As Your Cardigan was a production by Charm Offensive that was part of the 10xTen festival, and it gave Richard his first leading role.

"I didn't want a child. My biological clock was not ticking. I never put a cushion up my jumper. You were so into it, you even got empathy pains. Dan wanted a baby. Stacy didn't. Most accidents happen in the home. This bitter sweet comedy takes a sly look at postnatal depression." (UK Theatre Web)

For further information and photographs see Jonia's Cut, and the Charm Offensive website.

Hobbit official plot synopsis With one year to go before the release of the first of the two Hobbit films, Warner Brothers has released a synopsis. It confirms the titles of the films as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again. However, it's not clear from the synopsis how the action will be split across the two films.

"Both films are set in Middle-earth 60 years before The Lord of the Rings [...]

The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever... Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities ... A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know."

French DVD of North and South A French version of North and South is now available from Amazon France.

Captain America DVDs Captain America: The First Avenger has now been released on Region 2 DVD in the United Kingdom (available at Amazon.co.uk).

The Region 1 DVD was released in North America on 25th October, and a Region 4 DVD is now available in Australia.

Hobbit filming report Quint of AintItCool.com has recently been given permission to observe the filming of The Hobbit. In his fifth report from the set, he describes a scene between Richard Armitage (Thorin) and Ian McKellen (Gandalf).

"This scene is all about Thorin and my first real chance at seeing Richard Armitage craft a layered performance with the character. Thorin’s a stubborn dwarf, very much a leader, but is smart enough to heed the council of Gandalf. He is a man torn in this scene. His deep resentment at the elves (he believes they have betrayed his ancestors by not stepping in when they needed their help) pulls him one way, but his respect for Gandalf pulls him the other. [...]

Armitage does a great job with Thorin’s inner struggle. The look on his face isn’t someone locked into a decision. Gandalf urges him to seek Elrond’s help, for the good of the quest. Instead of playing it like a stone-faced general, Armitage does weigh his options and mostly in reaction to Gandalf’s words, not in his own dialogue.

In other words he conveys the struggle with his face, giving Thorin a depth I was anticipating. I’m sure the inclination would be for Armitage to play it stubborn and he does, but he layers it with some real emotion."

Moving images from Project magazine interview In July 2011, Richard Armitage was interviewed in issue 8 of Project magazine, a magazine for the iPad. The article was accompanied by three short moving image pieces by Matt Holyoak and Dan Stoddart, and Stoddart has now posted these on Vimeo (one, two, three).

The RichardArmitageNet website has a full set of images of the interview and the photoshoot that was published with it.

New Hobbit production video Peter Jackson has posted another video on his Facebook page about the filming of The Hobbit. This is the fourth of his video blogs, and it focuses on the technical aspects of shooting the film in 3D.

HMS Ark Royal DVD A Region 2 DVD has been released of HMS Ark Royal, the documentary series that Richard Armitage narrated earlier this year for the Discovery Channel. It's available at Amazon UK, and also at Simply Home Entertainment.

The Hobbit premiere It's been announced that the first of the two Hobbit films, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, will be premiered in Wellington, New Zealand in November 2012. It will go on general release on 14th December, while the second film, The Hobbit: There And Back Again, will be released a year later on 13th December 2013.

Lost Land of the Tiger DVD This three part series, narrated by Richard Armitage, is now available on DVD as part of a boxset called The Lost Land Collection. The set contains not only The Lost Land of the Tiger, but also The Lost Land of the Jaguar and The Lost Land of the Volcano. It can be ordered at Amazon.co.uk.

Captain America reviews The film is reviewed in Sight and Sound (October 2011), a British film magazine, and although he isn't mentioned, a still of Richard Armitage as Heinz Kruger illustrates the piece. Kim Newman acknowledges that director Jim Johnstone "catches the 1940s tone well: the film finds an acceptable rationale for the Captain America persona." But he continues "The problem is a familiar Marvel shortcoming: so much is set up for future episodes that this one feels sketchy."

In Denmark, Frederiksborg Amts Avis comments, "There is a successful combination of established stars such as Tommy Lee Jones and Hugo Weaving with Chris Evans and Hayley Atwell and a number of "newcomers", who with commitment and dicipline all compete with each other in talent as well as charisma. Facing this cast's level of talent and great ingenuity even the most explosive action falls short." [translation]

And in Germany, the Nordbayerischer Kurier (18th August) says that Johnstone "has taken the prototype of the American hero and created a very amusing, completely clichéd, dramatic, heroic epic [...] an action-packed movie full of irony." [translation]

Recognise magazine Richard is interviewed in issue 9 of Recognise magazine. It was due to go on sale in August, but the financial difficulties of its publisher mean that it has yet to appear. The magazine's Facebook page includes a preview of the photoshoot accompanying the article

Fraud Squad Richard Armitage narrates a two part series for ITV1 called Fraud Squad.

It follows the work of detectives in the City of London police's Fraud Squad as they investigate one of the largest share frauds ever seen in the UK.

The series was first shown on ITV1 on 26th August and 2nd September. Watch an excerpt on the Fraud Squad page on this site.

The series was favourably reviewed in the press. Previewing it in Time Out (25th-31st August) Phil Harrison wrote "This ITV two-parter sounds like it might belong to  the 'motorway cops' school of dull, bathetic  plod-TV.  But it's a much more involving beast than that, co-opting the dynamics of a passable if generic thriller as scam artists responsible for frauds involving the sale of fake shares in non-existent companies are located, tracked and taken down."

A preview by Gerard O'Donovan in the Daily Telegraph (26th August) described it as "fascinating", while the same paper's review by Raf Sanchez (26th August) said "It opened with sweeping aerial shots of the City of London accompanied by a husky voiceover before cutting away to interviews with men in enormous ties in a chintzy modern office."

Strike Back: Project Dawn DVD In Region 2, the second series of Strike Back was released on 14th November on DVD (it can be ordered from Amazon UK ) and on BluRay (also available at Amazon UK ).

Captain America reviews The reviews of Captain America: The First Avenger in the US and UK have been good, and it opened strongly in the USA, knocking the final Harry Potter film off the top spot.

"Pretty good fun," says the New York Times (21st July). Roger Moore, writing in the Orlando Sentinel (20th July) says "It’s too long and it could do with a few more laughs," but adds, "the real marvel of it all is how much fun it actually is."

Roger Ebert, in the Chicago Sun Times (20th July) says "It was a pleasure to realize, once Captain America: The First Avenger got under way, that hey, here is a real movie, not a noisy assembly of incomprehensible special effects. Of course it's loaded with CGI. It goes without saying it's preposterous. But it has the texture and takes the care to be a full-blown film."

The Hollywood Reporter (20th July) feels that "it  lacks the deft touch, appealing character interaction and sophisticated storytelling skills of Marvel Comics’ X-Men: First Class," but it concedes that the film should satisfy fans of the comic-book character. Film Journal International (21st July) says that "bravura action sequences, exceptional performances and core emotional truth make Captain America: The First Avenger a heroic achievement."

Time magazine (22nd July) considers that "Captain America is a modestly engaging little-big movie in the median range: well below the first Iron Man, somewhat above X-Men: First Class."

In the UK, the Daily Telegraph (28th July) says "It has everything you might want from a movie of this kind — bangs, baddies, nonsensical backstories — except for the most important element of all: surprise." The Guardian (28th July) calls the film "cheerfully strident", the best of the summer's superhero films.

The Independent (29th July) praises the first half of the film, which shows itself to be "more reflective, and more ambiguous, than we might have been expecting. It has dabs of incidental colour and character sufficient to suggest the film-makers wanted it to be a story as much as a spectacle." But, it continues, "Too bad, then, that the film's latter stages fall back so unthinkingly on the platitudes of the action adventure movie." The Daily Mail (29th July) says "It is a popcorn movie, but much better than most of its kind."

The Observer (31st July) is distinctly unimpressed, but The Independent on Sunday (31st July) calls the film "one of the more joyful examples of the [superhero] genre." It continues, "Joe Johnston directs Captain America not as a brooding exploration of human frailty, as today's superhero movies tend to be, but as a ripping yarn, one which has its share of funny lines, but without any irony to undermine the Boy's Own heroics."

In London, the Evening Standard (29th July) says, "The movie's real weapon is the creditable performance by Chris Evans," but adds that, "it's without irony and genuinely patriotic." The weekly listings magazine Time Out (28th July - 3rd August) also tackles the issue of the film's American patriotism, which has led to it being released in some countries entitled simply The First Avenger. "Respect is due to Joe Johnston and his screenwriters for not only fashioning a nifty, highly entertaining slice of pulpy comic-book action, but for making this most divisive of costumed crusaders universally relatable."

British film magazine Empire's verdict is "Charming, handsome and full of pep – all 70 year-old Cap lacks is a knockout blow. Still, [Joe] Johnston should be saluted for old-fashioned heart in a cynical age."

It's also reviewed in the local British press, for example the Sunday Mercury (31st July), a Midlands-based paper, and the Liverpool Echo (29th July) - some of the scenes involving Richard Armitage were filmed in Liverpool. A syndicated piece appears in many other local papers, including the Coventry Telegraph (27th July).

BBC Radio 4's Front Row reviewed the film on 25th July (it's available to listen to indefinitely on iPlayer).

Feature in Empire Magazine Online Empire magazine's website has a feature about the dwarves in The Hobbit, taking the recently released pictures of each of them, and adding information about their characters and the actors who play them. Richard Armitage is pictured as Thorin Oakenshield on page six of the feature.

Interview in The Scotsman Richard was interviewed in The Scotsman (23rd July). It's a long and wide-ranging interview in which he talks in some depth about his work. Of his love of books he says, ""My interest in acting came from reading and books, and my most satisfying parts have always been those that have come from novels."

"Some people like working from a completely blank page so they can create something. That's exciting as well but I'm less confident with that than if I'm given a really good starting point. I love working on a character who comes from a novel because not only have you got what's in that text to work with but you can also look into the writer, and the more you find about that author the more you understand what it is you're working on."

Captain America in New York Richard Armitage and Hayley Atwell attended a special screening of the film in New York on 20th July. Zimbio has some photos of them.

The dwarves Peter Jackson has now released a picture of the 13 dwarves, with Thorin at the centre.

New Hobbit production video Peter Jackson has posted a third behind-the-scenes video on his Facebook page. Thorin and other dwarves feature.

Strike Back : Project Dawn The Sky website has some pictures of Richard Armitage as John Porter taken from the new series of Strike Back. It premieres in August in the USA and the UK. Sky also has a short trailer from the series. The Daily Star (20th July) has a short article about it.

Captain America premiere Richard Armitage attended the premiere of Captain America: The First Avenger at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on 19th July. Marvel.com has a video replay of their coverage of the arrivals on the red carpet. Richard was one of the actors they interviewed (approx 2 min 40 sec).

APLive also interviewed him - their coverage is available to watch again on their website, but an extract featuring his interview can be seen on YouTube.

The film has now opened in the USA and Canada and will open in the UK on 29th July (see the International Release Schedule for release dates in other countries).

Thorin Oakenshield TheOneRing.net has revealed the first picture of Richard Armitage in costume as Thorin Oakenshield.

He's the last of the dwarves to be revealed. Click the image to the left to see the full-sized picture.

Captain America video interview New interviews with ten of the cast of Captain America have been released. The TrailerAddict website has a copy of the interview with Richard Armitage in which he discusses his character, Heinz Kruger.

He outlines Kruger's role in the story, and then continues, "It's really great to play a bad guy.  But I really tried not to play him as a bad guy."

He explains, "I wanted him to be human.  I wanted him to be the kind of spy that had a moral conscience, so he's not just a tool, he really believes that he's fighting for the fatherland.  I think it's very easy to say that most people that operated in this period didn't really know what was going on right at the centre and I think that's probably true. But I think everyone has to have a real moral compass and really desire to do the right thing for their own country and I wanted him to be more like that than somebody that believed he was bad."

The Hobbit in 5 The latest in TheOneRing.net's series of weekly podcasts on The Hobbit includes a brief character study of Thorin Oakenshield. Watch it on YouTube.

The Hobbit production video Peter Jackson has posted a second production video from The Hobbit on his Facebook page.

The 10 minute video was filmed as the first shooting block came to an end, and includes, among other things, members of the cast and crew explaining where they will be spending their breaks - Richard Armitage appears at 3 min 7 secs into the video.

The video also shows Jackson and second unit director Andy Serkis discussing the filming, and a trip to the south island of New Zealand for location scouting. Filming resumes begins in September.

Interview in Total Film Richard is interviewed in the August 2011 issue of Total Film magazine, and he talks about both The Hobbit and his role in Captain America.

Of the former he says,"When you're standing in front of Gandalf and you have to start delivering your lines, there's a moment where you can't quite believe it. The Hobbit was one of the books that got me into reading. It really fired up my imagination. That's why I became an actor.

"There’s going to be quite a lot more humour," he says of the film. "The book is so focused on the dwarves, so I think it’s a chance for Peter [Jackson] and Fran [Walsh] to really look at that whole race in more detail, their heritage and what they’re like as characters. [Thorin's sword, Orcrist is] bloody heavy! But it’s absolutely beautiful to look at. Every time they bring something new out everyone gasps. The armour that the dwarves emerge from the mountain wearing at the end of the film will be the armour of all armour."

In Captain America, he plays the villain, Heinz Kruger. "I didn't want to play a two-dimensional bad guy. Kruger had to believe he was doing something for the good of his country."

Unlike Thorin, Kruger had some rather more up-to-date equipment. "I had a really brilliant cigarette lighter that was a bomb detonator and a remote control for my own one-man submarine, which was very cool."

Captain America featurette In a new featurette about the making of Captain America, Richard Armitage talks briefly about the importance of the art department in film-making.

"It's one of those gifts when you work on a film, when you work with an art department as brilliant as these guys are. It's 60% of the work in stimulating your imagination," he says. (He appears 1 min 11secs into the featurette.)

Empire magazine The August edition of the film magazine Empire features a report by Ian Nathan from the set of The Hobbit. Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield can be seen in the background in the photograph on the first page. (The picture can be seen more clearly on the Empire website.)

Peter Jackson talks at length about the films, and Nathan reports on some of the filming, including a scene with Thorin.

"Covered by two cameras, the scene has moved to the cool chambers of Rivendell's library where Thorin (Richard Armitage) reuctantly hands over a secret map for Elrond to peruse. Care of Lesnie's magic, the moment is bathed in silvery moonlight. Jackson requires a number of takes, bouncing up, out of his seat, to give notes. He's satisfyingly particular. Catching tiny details, trying new things, subtly insistent, the cast responsive to his needs. Armitage's Thorin especially exudes a steely conviction; there are hints here of the intensity Viggo Mortenson lent to Aragorn."

New Captain America trailer A new trailer for Captain America has been released, a month before the film opens. ComicBookResources has a copy of it, as well as a large number of stills, some showing Richard Armitage as Heinz Kruger.

New pictures from The Hobbit Entertainment Weekly has published some new pictures from the set of the Hobbit. One of them shows Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, with the dwarves in the background - including a bearded Richard Armitage at the head of the table.

Captain America pictures New pictures from Captain America have been released, including two of Richard Armitage as Heinz Kruger. They can be seen at ComicBookMovie.com.

The Hobbit - titles and release dates It's been announced that the two Hobbit films are (as previously rumoured) to be called The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again. They'll be released on 14th December 2012 and 13th December 2013 respectively.

Click for larger image

Peter Jackson's video diary Peter Jackson has posted a 10 minute video on his Facebook page showing the preparations for filming of The Hobbit. Also shown is the Powhrihi welcoming ceremony that took place on the sound stage on the first day of filming (21st March). Richard Armitage spoke on behalf of the cast, in Maori (at approximately 8 minutes into the video).

Peter Jackson on filming The Hobbit Director Peter Jackson has posted an article on his Facebook page about his decision to film The Hobbit at 48 frames per second, twice the normal speed.

He says of 48 fps film, "It looks much more lifelike, and it is much easier to watch, especially in 3-D. We've been watching HOBBIT tests and dailies at 48 fps now for several months, and we often sit through two hours worth of footage without getting any eye strain from the 3-D.  It looks great, and we've actually become used to it now, to the point that other film experiences look a little primitive. I saw a new movie in the cinema on Sunday and I kept getting distracted by the juddery panning and blurring. We're getting spoilt!"

The Hobbit in Empire magazine The April 2011 edition of the film magazine, Empire, has a report from the press conference held by the cast of The Hobbit recently in New Zealand. (A video of the whole press conference can be seen on the 3News website.)

Strike Back in Australia ABC1 broadcast Strike Back in March 2011. The Sun Herald's TV guide (6th March) chose it as its Best of the Week.

Comparing it with The Hurt Locker it said, "It feels almost too big for television, but the storylines are unique and created for far more than only a couple of hours of entertainment. Filmed in South Africa, the look and feel of Strike Back is alarmingly realistic and the torture scenes are confronting. It's these finer elements, and Armitage's oozing charm, that set the show apart."

In The Age's Green Guide (10th March) - and also the Sydney Morning Herald - Nick Galvin admitted that, "On the face of it, Strike Back is just one big rehashed cliche that doesn't deserve to work." He continued, "Yet it does, brilliantly so - thanks to big names (Richard Armitage, Andrew Lincoln) and a big budget allied with great pacing and believable action scenes. It's unapologetically blokey escapism done really well and, damn, I love it."

In the Newcastle Herald's TV Guide (11th March) Guy Davis is impressed with its "charismatic star", Richard Armitage. He says that "Strike Back is really traditional Boy's Own stuff with a high-tech, high-impact attitude, but it's put together and performed with such panache that any of the tried-and-true cliches don't seem to matter all that much. Armitage, who has ably played heroes and villains with equal degrees of skill and dimension, is a compelling lead, conveying authority and ability without succumbing to bland heroic posturing."

Spooks 9 interviews Related to the release of the DVD of Spooks series 9, MSN has a feature about the enduring popularity of Spooks which includes video interviews with Richard Armitage and Nicola Walker, while Cultbox has brief video interviews with Peter Firth, Richard Armitage, Sophia Myles and Max Brown.

The Hobbit press conference The cast of The Hobbit held a press conference in Wellington, New Zealand on Friday 11th February 2011. Director Peter Jackson was unable to attend, having been told by doctors to rest at home after his recent emergency surgery for a perforated stomach ulcer, but a statement from him was read out at the press conference.

Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and the other actors playing the dwarves talked for more than half an hour in a relaxed and light-hearted atmosphere about the film and their thoughts on being in New Zealand to shoot it - they arrived several weeks ago to begin preparations for the filming.

Richard was asked a series of questions towards the end of the press conference. Asked why he wanted the play the part of Thorin, he said, "I just think it's a really amazing opportunity to take a character from a book that I was brought to as a child. My first experience on stage was in a production of The Hobbit at the Alex Theatre in Birmingham, and I played an elf.  And Gollum was a papier-mache puppet with a man offstage on a microphone. It’s been in my childhood very prominently, so to come to it as an adult,  a middle-aged man, and have another look at it is a brilliant opportunity."

He was then asked whether he was looking forward to acting against green screens. He replied, "Yes, I was in the mocap studio yesterday actually, which is a first for me. I've never quite understood the technology behind it but it really does appear that it's like being in Avatar the movie and I'm quite looking forward to that.  But also, with this film in particular, there's enough creative genius in terms of the art department and the technological department, but at the same time I do think we're going to get out there in nature and really experience this, possibly more so than a purely technical film, which is really exciting - it's a good marriage of both."

Finally, he was asked if he was looking forward to being covered in prosthetics - there's been much speculation about whether the dwarves would be wearing false beards etc. "We don't know yet actually.  It's still up for grabs," adding, as he rubbed his beard, "hence a little bit of experimentation in the facial hair department."

This report on the 3News website includes links to a video of the full press conference (the questions to Richard start at 26 minutes) and pictures taken at the event. Or view Stuff's edited video of the event. TheOneRing site has a more detailed report. And the New Zealand Herald (11th February) - also online - carried a report of the press conference.

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Forthcoming work

Richard is currently in New Zealand filming Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the dwarves, in Peter Jackson's two-part film of The Hobbit, which is scheduled for release in December 2012 and December 2013.

As yet unconfirmed is the possibility of an appearance at some point on stage with the English Touring Theatre in Aphra Behn's comedy, The Rover.

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