[spoilers] Richard Armitage

[nadiatw]

Interview with Richard Armitage
It's like I'm a real spy, I don't control my own fate: As Spooks ends, even Richard Armitage doesn't know if his character will survive

[femaleBertieWooster]

After he gets known doing Hobbit and does more and more for the big screen, they can edit his Strike Back for the big screen. It was really one story that got watered down with parts 3 and 4. Easy to take out other extraneous stuff to make it film length. It would be a fabulous movie.

Even if he has to leave Spooks, I hope Lucas stays alive. Then he can drop in for a small arc when he's free. I am still 99% sure that Lucas is a good guy at the mercy of bad forces. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[BravoNine]

Here's the latest interview posted with Richard!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/art...rvive.html

And it still looks like nothing has been decided, Richard swears that he does not know if Lucas will make it through or not, or whether he will be staying with the show. Seems like everything is still hanging up in the air.

[BoHenley]

I doubt the BBC will announce who's leaving the show until after episode 8 airs on Monday, and even then it might take a while. That's what happened with Ros.

That's interesting news about Strike Back, I hadn't heard that. Is there a link (saves trawling for 5 days through Sky-TV stuff)?

[Quill]

I haven't heard anything about RA leaving Strike Back from any credible source.

I imagine his contract with Spooks was up in the air for two reasons:
- Season 10 wasn't a sure thing yet;
- They didn't know if The Hobbit was going to be filmed in the UK or New Zealand. If the production was to be done locally, there was a chance he could fit it all in his schedule, crazy as it may seems. Now that he will be away, that would be hard. I think it will be a good argument for a Lucas North exit, but they might keep character alive for eventual little guest appearances, like Malcom.

Strike back might be easier to accommodate around The Hobbit, since New Zealand can offer very diverse backgrounds for shooting and Sky1 can move the production anywhere. And the series revolve around RA's character, so without him I don't the project going ahead.

I think Martin Freeman's schedule will be more worrisome for Sherlock fans. I can't see anyone playing Watson and they NEED to shoot it in London.

[Naivety]

Thinking about all this from RA's point of view - if you were an actor who had just landed a fairly major part in a blockbuster film, that will be filmed on the other side of the world, probably with a very impressive pay cheque, why on Earth would you carry on with the tough filming schedules of Spooks and Strike Back, which are less well paid? He's an actor approaching international stardom. He won't be interested in starring in TV serials for a while. He's just hit the big time - he can pick and choose what he wants to do now.

I wouldn't be surprised if he's doing something like this every day he gets up.

[Quill]

Good point.

I just thinking about contractual obligations, since they already announced a second season for Strike Back and Sherlock. The paycheck may be big enough to cover any fines, but I think that since both actors are kind of late bloomers they appreciate how ephemeral this business can be and how important it is to keep good relationships.

[BravoNine]

I agree with Quill, sure both RA and MF can probably just ignore their respective TV careers, but both of these actors seem like people who appreciate how hard it is for these fame to come by and how without their successes in Sherlock, Spooks, or Strike Back, that they would not have such strong fan base or support. Their respective TV shows help got them to stardom, I think they both know how rare it is to have great shows in their resume, neither would think so lightly as to just walk away without any thought put into it. If anything, they will try their best to work out a deal with their film duties and their TV duties.

They are big stars now with their feet in the LOTR legacy, no doubt about it, but neither are the Hollywood starlet types who just cares about fame and nothing about everything else. Any good actor in this business knows when to appreciate the works that got them this far in their careers.

[Maike]

Someone emailed Sky and asked if RA would still do SB2 and the answers was that he will be written out and they intend to continue the series with two new leads. SB was an intense shot and RA was in almost every scene. They filmed four months last year and ten episodes would at least take six months. That would be impossible to combine with The Hobbit.

I personally think that RA has tried to get into movies and auditioned for various things for some time now. He has probably auditioned for the Hobbit for the first time about a year ago and known that he has the part (if/when it gets greenlight) for several months. Surely a clever agent would have negotiated clauses that allow him to leave Spooks or SB in case something better materializes.

[BoHenley]

I'd say you're right, Maike. Spooks and SB are high quality productions and such fantastic stepping-stones to what now seems a much higher profile for RA, and the film career he's craved for so long. I'm sure that there'd be some sort of exit clause.

I just hope he always auditions/accepts QUALITY. I doubt he's a "struggling actor" anymore, and good luck to him - it's well-deserved.

Looking forward to RA and MF in The Hobbit.