A very lucky Hobbit fan attended the Armageddon Expo with many of the TH actors and then got to meet RA outside Stone Street Studios and pose for pix today! Here’s the link to her photo album with all the pics on FB:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.509401365780539&type=1
I cropped and blow up the image slightly, resolution not the greatest but it beats that recent newspaper pic, right? Can we all agree that is definitely Richard Armitage? Yeah, baby.
Dear Richard,
OK, I know this question is going to make you blush, but–honestly, dude, could you be any more crush-worthy?
If there is some carefully designed plan in place to endear you to your fans more than ever, may I say—it’s working. The stories of your fan encounters on the set of Black Sky are uplifting and downright heartwarming.
Richard’s sweet hug for RAlover on the set of Black Sky. One of my absolute fav candid shots. *sigh*
You so easily could avoid these meetings if you wished. After all, you are working and we all know what a strong work ethic you have, concentrating your time and energies on each and every role. If you passed on the message through your assistant that it was simply not a good time, I think the fans would understand. Sure, they would be disappointed, but they would understand.
Not only do you make yourself available, you’ve even gone out of your way to seek out a fan you knew had been waiting in hopes of meeting you. You not only pose for photos, you suggest additional photo ops. You cheerfully sign autographs.
Richard from his photo with Suzi courtesy of RichardArmitageCentral. Oh, that smile.
Through it all, you maintain your good humor, good manners and—my gosh—apparently you are even better-looking in person. The latter slightly astounds me, frankly. (Ooops. Made you blush again and look down at your beautiful feet with an embarrassed smile. But you are so darned cute when you do that, you know.)
I realize, of course, that it can’t go on forever like this. You being so terrifically accommodating to fans, that is (I suspect the sweet, gentlemanly nature is innate and you are aging like the finest wine, so no worries in those departments).
You say you aren’t a movie star. Well, no, perhaps not yet; but come December, when moviegoers flock to the theaters to see the first of The Hobbit films, I firmly believe they will be—dazzled. Gobsmacked. Blown away. Thorin, with all his gruffness and gravitas and charisma, with his penetrating eyes and awesome flowing locks and the voice—that voice!—will spellbind them.
They will discover the Armitage Effect, and they will want more.
Life will inevitably change for you, to some degree. My hope and prayer is that you will be able to maintain the level of privacy you desire in your personal life. Others have done it.
Frankly, you are such a nice, well-mannered, well-behaved guy, I am hoping the paps will be overcome with boredom and leave you alone to chase after the promiscuous cell phone-tossing, bar-hopping, drug-abusing, accident-waiting-to-happen celebs out there. Time will tell, but my fingers are definitely crossed.
Your fan base will inevitably grow—and that is as it should be. A man of your extraordinary talents and gifts, with your range and versatility, deserves to be seen and heard and appreciated by many, many people.
You simply will not be physically able to meet all the fans, pose for all the photos, and respond to all the requests, as much of a nice guy and people pleaser as you are.
And that’s OK. Really, it is.
There will be a few fans who will, of course, think themselves entitled to your attention and time no matter what. They tend to be unreasonable and impossible to please. I suspect every fandom has them, and as a fandom grows, more may appear.
The truth is, you don’t owe us anything. There is nothing in the rule book that says you have to go out of your way to meet fans, send messages, sign autographs, pose for photos, be consistently polite and gracious and accommodating.
It’s certainly a smart move in terms of raising your profile as that up-and-coming British actor who is a real gentleman and so good to his fans. And nobody could describe you as less than intelligent. I also think you have some good PR people in place now.
I just want you to know I will continue to admire and respect you, as will many others, even when the time comes that you have to politely, but firmly, say, “No.”
In the meantime, thank you so much for making those efforts to meet and greet your American fans. Not only have those encounters meant the world to those ladies, we who have read of the meetings and seen the photos have all enjoyed a vicarious thrill. Their joy is also our joy.
God bless you, Richard Armitage. Thank you for simply being—you. May things continue to go well on the set of Black Sky. I hope the only encounter I have with a tornado in the year to come is seeing the movie version with you front and center. Can’t wait to see more of you on the big screen!
Your ardent admirer from LA,
fedoralady
the armitage effect 