RA was seamless as JT

RA was seamless as JT in “N&S”


There’s an interesting and lively thread in C19.proboards53.com entitled, “JT – Other Actors” which elicited this response from moi. A comment was made about Timothy Dalton (TD) by a fervent fan of his. While I like TD and generally find him to be a brooder extra-ordinaire, I do NOT think he could have portrayed our beloved HCMO* .

Here then is my response to another member’s post:

I suspect that I will be drawn and quartered by GF but I don't think that TD would have done nearly as complete a job at "being" JT as RA did. Still does "be" him...since RA's JT lives on ad infinitum within the DVD. TD would have "acted" him more while RA just slid inside the character and closed up the entry point. There was never a moment in RA's portrayal where I noticed his acting. I just found myself accepting that JT had sprung to life on my screen. Every emotional response, physical action, and line delivery just rang out with a truthfulness that was (and still is) mind-boggling and spell-binding.

TD, OTOH, always reminds me of what a wonderful actor he is while I'm watching him. And, yes, I am one of those who adored him in "The Beautician and The Beast." He was very warm and funny in that flawed but fun film. I even liked him as James Bond. I tend to like him mostly in productions where his edge is visible. I guess that was why "TBATB" was such a surprise. I could even bear Fran Drescher's whiney voice because I laughed a lot at it.

Patrick Stewart has that same style of acting that TD has and I wouldn't really want to see his version of JT either. Too intense. And I don't think that I would have found the more tender side of JT as appealing in either PS or TD's portrayals. For me, RA just hit the floor running and never lost his stride once.

It's even hard for me to sustain thinking about another actor in this part. Unless RA has a younger version of himself stashed away somewhere, I don't think that we'll be seeing his likes in this part for many years...if ever.

Some actors just put their personal stamp on a part and it's hard to separate the actor from the part. RA did that with JT.

Other parts are interesting because they appeal to so many actors. Hamlet and Othello being two that readily come to mind. I never mind seeing a new version of either of these roles.

But, another JT? I don't think so!

RA Rulez!

LDB
____________________________________
HCMO = Handsome Cotton Mill Owner
N&S = “North and South” (2004 BBC Adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell novel)
JT = John Thornton (HCMO in “N&S”)

[See below for special RA/JT treats]


Just tell me if you’ve ever seen a more handsome face that this…

[SORRY...HAVEN'T QUITE FIGURED OUT HOW TO POST SCREEN CAPS...YET!]


Or this…


[SORRY AGAIN! SAME LAME EXCUSE AS ABOVE]

Enough drooling for now!