I fell for Lucas from the first moment I saw him, the hood being pulled from his disheveled dark head, clad in the grubby jumper and track pants, squinting, shambling forward, a little unsteady on his pins. I don’t think anything more beautiful came out of a car boot than Lucas–shockingly thin, the elegant planes of his face even more defined, the blue eyes wearing a haunted look. And that grin. Enigmatic and disarming. Gorgeous. All that before I discovered those amazing Russian prison tattoos on his thin yet muscular body. There was so much I wanted to know about this character–his upbringing, what led him to join MI5, his failed marriage to Elizaveta, those years in prison–and just what did all those tattoos mean?
I will always feel that Kudos and the scriptwriters squandered a wonderful opportunity to enlarge upon what we already knew of Lucas’s past and to create a fascinating and credible story of Lucas’s struggles as Richard’s time on the series wound down. However, it’s all water under the bridge and I prefer to remember the Lucas we got to know–as much as we could ever know this private, haunted man– in S7.
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Lucas was my 2nd chaRActer …and I fell for him hook, line and sinker the moment I laid eyes on him..So, so different from sunny, funny Harry Kennedy yet so loveable in different ways. What wouldn’t I give to have a colleague like Lucas…
Lucas would have your back. He’d move hell and high water to keep you safe and he’d be quietly understanding when times were rough. My first four characters were Guy, Thornton, Harry and John Standring, and boy what a diverse lot that was. Four very different characters, but each and every one of them with a sweet and tender side.
MIne were Harry, Lucas, Thornton, Guy, Porter, and then sweetie John Standring… And I fell in love with every single one of them! So am I fickle or what???
I prefer to think of it as having a big heart with lot of love to spare (and mine were Guy, Thornton, Harry, then Lucas).
Mine were Harry, Guy, Lucas, Thornton and Porter. With each new performance, I couldn’t help but fall in love. Even Monet with his dodgy wig and beard has stolen a piece of my heart.
Yes! I finally watched “The Impressionists” a few weeks ago and enjoyed his passion and enthusiasm as Monet. It was a treat to see him be a bit more gregarious than most of his characters that I’ve seen. (Thinking of that joyful shouted “YES!” when he is in bed and Bazille comes in to tell him he’s had a painting accepted for the Salon.
)
Monet is very endearing. The beauty shines right past the wig and squirrely beard. A shame they couldn’t have done a better job in that regard, as the real Monet appeared to be quite a handsome man himself with much nicer facial hair.
Richard makes it so very, very difficult to choose just one chaRActer to love.
Very true. I think I’m in love with every character I’ve ever seen him play with the possible exception of Paul Andrews (sexy though he was)!
I honestly can’t say I hate or even strongly dislike any of his characters, even the baddies. There’s something I can find to admire/love/appreciate it in them all.
No one can accuse RA of not being a versatile actor!
Seriously. The idiots who have described him as just “OK eye candy” have to be deaf, dumb and blind and completely ignorant of his varied body of work–or possessing absolutely no Good Taste Gene whatsoever.
Amen!
They certainly did waste their opportunity! The writers in S7 started to develop a complex character in Lucas. Then the S8 writers went a little crazy. And then the S9 writers went off the deep end!! They don’t have much talent for character development! It makes me sooo angry. I am rewatching Spooks. I’m at S9. I haven’t made it to the 3rd episode yet! RA’s acting is wonderful, but what they do to him is just ridiculous!! I may be done with it by Summer!
I couldn’t agree more!
Angie, the beginning of this post = my thoughts exactly! The only thing I knew about Lucas before I started watching S7 is that he was played by Richard, but I was prepared to like him of course. And then he’s hauled out of this vehicle, hood whipped off, blinky and stumbling a bit and having to be supported to remain upright? He seemed so frail and shaky compared to how I’d seen him before, I was so shocked I gasped and my heart went out to him immediately. Still haven’t seen S9 yet and don’t care how ridiculous his storyline gets, Lucas and RA’s portrayal more than earned that love!
I remember being so excited at the prospect of a new RA character and yes, I fell in love from the beginning–love at first sight. I was so accustomed to seeing him as the big strapping Guy that it was a shock to see him so thin. I wanted to feed him a big bowl of some hearty soup and see that he had a nice bath and clean clothes (instead of having to use the sink in the washroom to freshen up).
I have made it plain I hate what was done to the character in the show, “classic Spooks” or no and as far as I am concerned, S9 was just a bad dream. Lucas as crafted by Richard and written in S7 was a fascinating character who won my heart and my respect. The best thing about S9–other than the amazing job RA does in spite of the ridiculous script twists and turns–is how good Lucas looks. He’s still got those Porter muscles and oh, how they fill out his Lucas jeans and pullovers . . .
I just find S9 too painful to rewatch, It’s a shame.
I tried again the other night, only got to the end of episode 3 once again and had to quit because it was getting too hard to watch. Once Vaughn appears I start to feel almost panicky because I know what’s ahead. It’s like a lead weight in the pit of my stomach.
I just finished episode 3. We’ll see how far I get. That kiss with Maya was awesome!! I have tingles everywhere
Oh, btw, when they started this episode and replayed him being accosted by Vaughan, I started to cry. This really may be too hard, but his acting is so wonderful, I’m going to try. And as always with RA, I did notice things I didn’t the first time! It’s just so hard to conceive that Lucas could have possible done that awful stuff
I can’t seem to get beyond the third episode. And I hate that, because he is so wonderful in what could have turned out to be a laughable role in the hands of a lesser actor. Let’s face it, it was like bad soap opera at times, that storyline. And I find it hard to conceive MI 5 would not have had a photo of their new agent Lucas North–pul-eez child, how could anyone mistake Richard Armitage for that dodgy Richard Hammond look-alike who was supposed to be the real Lucas? Rupert Penry-Jones looked more like RA than that guy did!!
Yes, I agree with the fact that an organization like MI5 would NEVER have accepted John as Lucas North. They would most definitely have known what the real Lucas looked like. Like I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, S9 writers were really pitiful, if not down right stupid!!!
There were as many holes in the scripts as Swiss cheese. They made the security services look like a bunch of numpties who couldn’t find their way out of the proverbial paper bag. I think of that scene where they were supposedly stalking Lucas in the streets of London and that guy looked nothing like Lucas-He wasn’t tall enough, wrong build, wrong walk–I mean, do these people even pay attention to what their agents look like??
I completely understand. I reached the point where I felt sicker and sicker each week as I prepared to watch a new episode. And I just don’t want to re-live that, even though I know what a good performance Richard gives and how gorgeous he looks. The badder he got, the tighter his clothes got, I swear.
All those Porter muscles, and they didn’t want to buy any more clothes!!
LOL Let’s face it, the Beeb does have a really tight budget these days, and they probably said, “Since you aren’t going to be with us for the last series, Richard, you’ll just have to stuff those muscles into your shirts and jeans. The ladies’ll love it!!”