Richard Armitage makes stern men interesting through small shifts in manner. We value the restraint, particularly in North & South, though good dialogue and a challenging partner matter more than another opportunity to brood.
Fi1m perspective
In North & South (2004), Richard Armitage's John Thornton listens as though accepting a point might cost him something. Brian Percival's adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell gives him sharp dialogue and a partner prepared to stand her ground. Daniela Denby-Ashe's Margaret Hale is firm enough to make easy charm beside the point. Armitage allows small changes in Thornton's manner to count, without asking us to find a hidden significance in every silence. We rate the performance because he makes the effort of understanding another person worth watching.
We were moved by the way he and Denby-Ashe listen to one another, because both make taking another person's words seriously look difficult. Their exchanges remain prickly, and the romance gains from our sense that agreement will require work. The class divisions also matter here, giving Thornton's sternness a context beyond the familiar appeal of a difficult man. The pacing occasionally drags, but there is enough in the dialogue and the acting to reward patience.
Thornton was his television breakthrough, followed by Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood (2006–2009) and Lucas North in Spooks (2008–2010). International recognition came through Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014), beginning with his Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012). These parts sit within a recurring pattern of casting him as forceful men who are less sure of themselves than they seem. He has since moved between film, television series and voice work. The settings change more readily than the expectation that he will bring some vulnerability to a stern face.
The risk with such casting is that brooding becomes enough, with the script leaving him to supply whatever complication has not been written. We prefer him with another actor who has the dialogue and determination to challenge him. Denby-Ashe provides that in North & South, and their scenes are the strongest reason to start there. For his next stern leading man, we would welcome someone as unwilling to indulge him as Margaret Hale.
Biography
Richard Armitage is an English actor, also credited as Richard Crispin Armitage. He was born on 22 August 1971 in Huncote, Leicestershire. He attended Pattison College in Coventry and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).
After early work in musical and classical theatre, including with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Armitage gained notice for his role as John Standring in the 2002 BBC miniseries Sparkhouse. He achieved wider recognition in the UK with his leading performance as John Thornton in the 2004 BBC adaptation of North & South.
Subsequent television roles include Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood (2006–2009) and Lucas North in Spooks (2008–2010). He played Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy (2012–2014) and has appeared in other films and series such as Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and Hannibal (2013–2015).
