Richard Armitage On Hollywood,The Hobbit And Hard Work

From bursting onto the musical theatre stage, the prolific actor has gone on to star in Hollywood blockbusters and hit TV shows—all while being “shy”

- Simon Button

He’s been in The Hobbit franchise, featured in the Marvel universe, and has a string of acclaimed TV performances under his belt. But having got his start in musical theatre, Richard Armitage never envisioned a career beyond the stage.

“I wasn’t sure somebody like me had a place in film or television,” the now very much in-demand actor admits to thinking when he was growing up in Leicestershire. “I thought I might be able to do something on stage but I never dreamed about working on screen and it was only later in life when people started giving me chances that I thought, Maybe I can do this.”

I ask him what he means by “somebody like me” and Richard elaborates: “Somebody who’s a bit shy and not necessarily a showoff. I felt like you had to have this supreme confidence to be an actor in film and TV, but having met a lot more people in the business who are like me I’ve realized there are two kinds of actors—people who have big personalities and enjoy putting them on film, then other people who use the character as a skin to hide in or escape to. I fall under the latter category and it’s provided me with the most incredible adventures.”