RA Challenge ♡ #12: Something I Wish Would Happen

/ May 4, 2017

Back to happy dreams.

I was thinking of writing something like “wish he’d get a role in a total love-fest as the bona-fide love interest hero/cello-playing brain surgeon who is a talented painter and saves puppies in his spare time”. Or even just something more low-key as “wish he didn’t die in his next role”.

And then some unexplainable chain of links took me to a more or less dormant blog of a fellow fan of ours, and I came across a post that I would recommend you (re-)read. HERE.

On the back of that post, here is my wish for what I would like to happen: A fan encounter such as that one. It doesn’t have to be me. Truly. It doesn’t. I am not that keen on meeting the chimera; I’d rather like to have my fantasies sparked by someone else’s encounter, to enhance my picture of perfection even further. But documented on film and photographs and extensively followed-up with comprehensive recount of the whole encounter. I just want to hear a lovely story again, live vicariously through someone else’s experience, and actually feel happy that all parties concerned evidently had a good time.

Here is the clip from the show in whose context the encounter happened:

Any wishes you would like to share?

Related posts

78 thoughts on “RA Challenge ♡ #12: Something I Wish Would Happen”

  1. Ooooh where do I start??? I wish he’d be in an Oscar Wilde play on stage, namely An Ideal Husband, playing Sir Robert Chiltern pretty please. I also wish he’d be playing the lead in a Heyer film or mini -series (I’m not that picky) adaptation most preferably Lord Damerel from Venetia. To sum up, I really really really want to see him in a costume drama either on stage or film/TV. Something that is well-written and beautifully produced. And now I will continue to dream on…!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. Be on stage again (somewhere I can get to). I’m hopeful for London later this year/early next year. I’d like to see him in a major Shakespeare role, yes, Richard III, but also something like Brutus in Julius Caesar.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. I remember that lovely fan encounter well. It was so much fun to read about. I am one of the,”Please don’t die, even though you do it so well” fans. I know he can’t choose roles based on his character’s survival, but I wish he would. And as long as I am wishing for things, I wish he would have a romantic Heyer-type role for us to drool over. And I wish he would gain a little weight a la Porter. I could go on, but you get the idea.

    Ode to Wishes.

    So many wishes l have for RA,
    Making a list could take a full day.
    I wish he was Batman or maybe James Bond,
    So many roles of which I’d be fond.
    How about a romance with kissing and stuff,
    Something quite sexy and full of sweet fluff.
    And though grim violence may be trending,
    I will always wish for a happy ending.

    Kathy Jones

    Liked by 8 people

    Reply

  4. That was a wonderful fan encounter! I really enjoyed reading through her accounts and looking at the photos. (Loved his shoes there!)
    By the way, the picture at the top of your post today… where is it from?

    Like

    Reply

  5. I loved that encounter. I also remember how angry people were about it afterwards. One reason that blog became dormant (not the only one, but a significant one) is how much negative feedback she got from her fellow fans. So if I were going to wish for something like that to happen again and for people to know about it, I would specifically wish that it NOT happen to me!

    Like

    Reply

    • Probably naive of me, but why were people angry? Jealousy? As far as I’m concerned, good on them for taking initiative and having such a great encounter!

      Like

      Reply

      • The Australian fans who self-associate with the “Army” are a pretty regular group and they meet up during the year and so on; they had assembled for a get together the night before. The consensus of the assembled fans was that they should not go to the TV studio as the show does not have a live audience; but Meri and Bec went; then they got in although fans had been told in advance that they would not be admitted. They also were at the head of the line for the ensuing Popcorn Taxi event and Armitage acknowledged them. Here’s Meri’s report of all of that: https://meandrichard.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/richard-armitage-goes-to-sydney-4/

        And finally, something weird happened at the end of Popcorn Taxi that didn’t specifically involve them but that kind of shook everyone up (I remember the discussion on C19 as well): https://meandrichard.wordpress.com/2013/05/04/richard-armitage-goes-to-sydney-3/

        Like

        Reply

        • Thanks for sharing all that. (Sorry… had to go to work… still there in fact.)
          Really interesting to read Meri’s perspective as well. It just made me happy, reading about their nice encounter. And frankly admiring that they got themselves in by persistence and being bold. More than I would have been able to do!

          Like

          Reply

        • Done – sorry – I got stuck into reading Bolly’s guest-post again. Hmph. I had forgotten that. I am kind of feeling a little bit sick right now…

          Like

          Reply

          • Well, here we are with the context issue again — what you remember determines how you view something — but I’m largely neutral on this (reminding myself of my position that there are things I can’t know and I shouldn’t necessarily read into them). In terms of them showing up at the studio, my impression is that in most situations, people who have an advantage will use it — this doesn’t make that necessarily wrong or those people bad or anything. (My response on blog in later situations has been to try to even out the playing field with information — this is why I’ve published ‘how to get to the stage door’ posts for the recent plays.) Some people are always going to get something I don’t get (in fact, that will happen much of the time). Then again, I get enough of what I want that I am not hugely susceptible to anger about inequities in the way that someone not as privileged might be.

            In terms of the final incident — I don’t think it was ever clear what exactly happened there. (Although I’m really surprised that there were no barriers to the stage in that setting in particular, mostly because they started the evening by shaming the fans and fan-shaming occasionally appeared in the interview itself.) At the time it was another one of these fissures over the question of “appropriate behavior” and “Armitage is fragile” that were more potent in the days of the legacy fans than they seem to be now.

            Like

            Reply

            • Hm, not sure whether we are misunderstanding each other here. I have no issue with them turning up at the studio. Sounds like a pretty logical and harmless move to me. And I don’t really think that there is or should be a fandom code of conduct, and that all fan activities have to be approved by a majority. I do not think they did anything wrong. They saw an opportunity and they took initiative. (From Meri’s guest post it sounds as if they didn’t do it on the sly, anyway.) I think that is totally fair.
              My uncomfortable feeling relates to Bolly’s report on RA’s reaction to the incident at the end of the Popcorn Taxi event. A mixture of regret, disappointment, anger, lack of empathy on my part.

              Like

              Reply

    • Hm, I think I must have completely suppressed the memory of a backlash. Sigh. So sad that some people’s luck and happiness at having had a nice encounter, can result in a negative backlash. (I do wonder whether my strikethrough comment on not wanting to be the “encountering fan” was subconsciously motivated by the worry about negative backlash…)

      Like

      Reply

      • It’s apparently not unusual. There was a big dustup in the Hiddleston fandom not too much before that — someone got a really wild picture with Hiddleston at some event (I don’t remember the details) and she just got torn to shreds by her fellow fans, to the extent that some people in the Armitage fandom were discussing it. The upshot was that it was probably common enough as an effect that there are likely quite wonderful fan / celeb encounters we never hear about because the fan knows that if they talk about it, they’ll get slimed.

        Like

        Reply

        • Oh, I know of a number of such fan encounters in the Armitage fandom and outside that have been reported to me in all their truly glorious detail – with the lucky fans insisting on privacy because they did not want to risk any such backlash. Well, jealousy. A truly human emotion.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

  7. I had never read that blog post; I’m so happy for them! As far as roles for him, I too want a light, romantic one – something to swoon over. After I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, I wanted so badly to see him play Dawsey Adams. Partly because he reminds me of my Standring and partly because the novel is wonderfully charming.

    The other roles I think would suit him are Matthew Clairmont, from the All Souls Trilogy, and Doctor Thomas Stockmann, from Henrik Ibsen’s ‘An Enemy of The People’. They are not light – obviously – but the characters don’t die and the stories are some of my favorites.

    Richard said at the Popcorn Taxi interview that he doesn’t have the face to play a romantic lead; whether he really believes it or not is up for debate. We, of course, know this is not true, as North and South will forever stand as a testament to his swoon-worthy looks and demeanor. The scene where Thornton unties his cravat is almost indecent in its sexiness. OOOF!

    Like

    Reply

    • Really – that encounter had passed you by? Well, it’s doubly nice to read about it now, then?!
      I think Richard is the ideal man for *any* favourite novel of *any* fan 😂. He sure can play the lead in all of my favourites – it’s tried and tested; he’s in my mind’s eye every time I read a new novel. He is simply marvellous at inhabiting all these characters! 😉

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  8. I’m still sulking because he didn’t get to play Uhtred Ragnarson.

    Seriously, what I’d really like is for him to play the lead role in a lavish TV series based on the life of William Marshal, who rose from being the fourth son of an obscure twelfth century knight to serve five kings, and become the Earl of Pembroke and Regent of England. Chivalrous to woman too and fond of his wife to all accounts, so plenty of opportunity for some romantic hero stuff as well as all the tourneys and battles and such..

    A wide canvas with lots of medieval colour and legendary characters, and we saw he can play a range of ages in Love Love Love.

    Like

    Reply

    • The whole Lords of the North saga was great – he narrated it so well; he would’ve made a great Uhtred.
      I like the idea of William Marshal – partly because he is the successor of Richard de Clare, Second Earl of Pembroke, aka Strongbow, the Norman Lord who basically conquered Ireland. (He would also make for an interesting role – all the chivalry and politics, plus the interesting concept of the forced marriage with the (Gaelic) king of Leinster’s daughter Aoife…
      Maybe he should play them both? Start of with my Richard de Clare, then move on to William Marshal.
      In fact, I think from now on, Richard should play *all* male action-led romantic hero leads. Period.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      • The more the merrier! It was Strongbow’s daughter that William married, wasn’t it? Do you think Toby Stephens would be willing to reprise his role as Prince John?

        YY to all male action-led romantic hero leads He manages to look so different in any role he plays, so whyever not? 😀

        Like

        Reply

        • Yup, correct – William’s wife Isabel was the daughter of Richard de Clare and his wife Aoife. Their male heir died as a child, and thus the title went to Isabel’s husband…

          Like

          Reply

      • yes he would have made a great Dane.. though watching it i can’t imagine anyone else than the ones actually cast; but he could have been one of the slightly more wicked Danes 😉

        Like

        Reply

  9. I wish he would have played the lawyer Royall in “Summer”, someone who is a little bit of a tragic hero but downright good. My dream character would be the (witch) master in a new, masterful version of my beloved book “Krabat”, mystic and dangerous, which would be a simple task for him and he would look so good.
    On a fan level I have already imagined to meet him somewhere on a ski lift station in the alps during vacation. He would take off his helmet while lifting and I would recognize him immediately (huh, stuff for fanfiction…)
    I watched the video you embedded and all I can say is that he doesn’t look too delighted about the fans in the studio. For me he comes across as a very reserved person (which fits to the discussion from yesterday, no direct engagement with fans).

    Like

    Reply

    • Oh, the hero of the Wharton novel that was never turned into a film? I must admit that I am not too fond of Wharton… The witch master in Krabat, though – perfect. Great idea. He’s got the face for it, too!
      As for your fan wish – read this, it may fit your fantasy 😉 ⛷ https://www.wattpad.com/story/5098818-taking-the-piste
      The video – hard to tell. I didn’t really think he looked dismayed. Sure, he is reserved, but he is also professional. I think he mastered it quite well…

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. Someone should make the DCI Ryan stories Richard would be ideal I almost believe the author L J Ross knows about RA and is using him as a pattern LOL
    Holy Island, Sycamore Gap, Heavenfied. they are crime thrillers set in Northumberland so there is a Bebbanburg connection.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. I’m almost giddy reading some of the suggestions here because they are roles I too would love to see him play: Demerel in Venetia, or any Georgette Heyer novel (although many of her heroes are much younger, Demerel is the perfect age, as is the Earl of Rule in The Convenient Marriage), Dawsey in TGLAPPS (he is always in my mind’s eye when I listen to this audibook). I had no idea who William Marshal was until I read Elizabeth Chadwick’s books on his life and family, and I was hooked. I followed up with The Greatest Knight, a biography by Thomas Asbridge. His story has everything – politics, action, romance and chivalry. All preferably as a miniseries on the BBC that will get wide distribution please! Yep, all period roles………I’ll throw in a contemporary rom com for good measure, he’s proved he can do comedy and romance. I still have my fingers crossed for Mid-Life Crisis.

    As for Meri and Bec’s encounter with Richard, I was one of that small group discussing going to the studio. Once we knew there was no audience, and the studio was some way away from where we were staying, we decided to stay and have breakfast together. As fans, we all have our own particular line in the sand, no worse or better than anyone else’s. I discovered mine that day. Studio audience – no problem – but I wasn’t comfortable personally with waiting at the studio gates for a glimpse of Richard. As it turned out, he walked right past me twice that night at the Popcorn Taxi event and I was able to sit and soak up the sight and sound of him during the interview so I was content.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. Thank you for posting that blog, I had never seen it. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was laughing while reading it. It reminded me of the two women who met him after the CinemaCon panel in Southern California. They were walking around in the parking lot when they spotted him as he was driving away. He had the driver stop the car and he took the time to talk with them. This was when he confirmed he would be in The Crucible.

    Like

    Reply

  15. I think it would be great to see Mr. Richard Armitage in The Taming of the Shrew (Richard Burton’s role). i also think Mr. Richard Armitage would be perfect playing the butler(Tim Curry’s role) in the movie CLUE! ( i heard they are going to do a remake of the movie)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. Guylty, (I know I am being silly about this, but it was bothering me). I just reread my comment and I just remembered that I said this along time ago on your blog ( I think) or somebody else’s . so I am sorry for repeating myself.

    Like

    Reply

    • Hey angel – come on, no worries – if anyone has to apologise, it’s me. This whole blog is one giant repetition! It’s all been said before. But who cares – it’s fun. That’s what counts. Feel free to repeat yourself anytime 🙂

      Like

      Reply

    • I read the trilogy, too, although I am not a fan of the vampire genre. I can see how Armitage fits the description. I am non-plussed about him taking the role – although: I’d rather *he* did than someone else. After all it was written with him in mind… at least according to fan lore?

      Like

      Reply

      • I’ve heard that stated several times but never seen the actual evidence despite having asked for it. The other vampire author did actually mention him — the Lestat person? — as someone she’d like to have play the role, but not a model for the role.

        Like

        Reply

        • Funny how these things almost become canon… Nothing but rumour and hear-say then. Well, I’ll say this: I wouldn’t have read the trilogy if it hadn’t been for that rumour. And all dislike for the genre and this particular series of books aside – it was not exactly a hardship imagining Matthew Clairmont looking like RA…

          Like

          Reply

          • I’m not very interested in her so I can’t exclude that she said it; however, I would confidently assert that if she did say it, it was retrofitted, as I read the book the year it came out because I had met Harkness in another context, and because many people I knew were reading it, including fans, and if she had said it back then, I would have known about it. I never heard it mentioned before 2014 that she had written it with him in mind, so part of me wonders if this wasn’t some kind of extrapolation from the fact that she was spotted at The Crucible.

            Like

            Reply

        • I WISH for him to play Matthew Clairmont in A Discovery of witches!!!!!!!! Sadly, I don’t think that’s going to happen since they’re looking at a TV show now versus a movie. I don’t know. The author knows who he is; saw him in The Crucible and at one time they followed each other. But hope springs eternal….
          Meanwhile, I WISH he’d appear in more marketable movies instead of all these independent films that languish on shelves for years. He’d be a fabulous James Bond. Oooo maybe he could be the next Doctor Who since I hear Capaldi is leaving…wait, that’s TV again. Or Marvel. Surely there’s a Marvel or DC character he could play. (If Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman can do it…). Or a big costume drama. Or a rom-com where he’s the hero.
          I WISH he’d be on stage again.
          I WISH he’d show up at a fan event OTHER than San Diego. Maybe a Hobbit reunion. Even Sigourney Weaver made a cast reunion event (I was there!!!). And EVERYBODY was at the recent Star Wars event which honored Carrie Fisher including Harrison Ford, George Lucas, Mark Hamill, and more (Sadly, I wasn’t there).
          I wish….I wish….I wish….

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

        • I’ve met both Deborah Harkness (I’d love to be in her college classes) and Anne Rice (the “Lestat person”, among others). I don’t think Harkness wrote Clairmont with Armitage in mind but, thanks to fans of both, she knows who he is and she saw him in The Crucible. She talked about her characters when I last saw her.
          I’ve read all of RIce’s books except the Jesus novels and the books she wrote as Anne Rampling. Did read her Sleeping Beauty erotica she wrote as A.N. Roquelaire. He would play an interesting Lestat, much better than Tom Cruise and Stuart Townsend, both of whom I thought were miscast. But he definitely fits Clairmont much better and I wish the role would be his.
          If he’s in an Anne Rice film, I wish it would be The Witching Hour, but I don’t think that will ever be made.

          Like

          Reply

  18. God, the list is endless and yes i hope out there, even unknown to us there are some chance fan encounters, on the street near a set somewhere… i would love to think so. And i’d love to think there are more big stage roles in his future… and roles on public TV where millions can see him again for free/or peanuts…

    Like

    Reply

Let me know what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.