#bbc news articles | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

colinmorgan-beautifulsmile · 1 year

Text

Colin Morgan has an exclusive brand new in-depth interview with Radio Times

In brand new thriller Dead Shot – which arrived on Sky Cinema and NOW last week – former Merlin star Colin Morgan stars as Irish paramilitary Michael, who is on the verge of retirement when his pregnant wife is brutally murdered by a British army soldier.

Based on an original screenplay by Top Boy creator Ronan Bennett and directed by brothers Tom and Charles Guard, it's a harrowing film that takes place during the height of the Troubles in 1975, following Michael as he embarks on a revenge mission that sends him to the heart of IRA operations in London.

When Morgan first got his hands on the "page-turning" script, he was struck by a number of things, not least the contradictions inherent in his character, and he was especially won over by a certain ambiguity regarding who the audience should be rooting for.

"As a Northern Irish guy, you think I'd be biased to one side, but it's absolutely seeing both sides of this tale and this drama," he tells RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview. "And so it says quite a lot that I was kind of on both camps, I think that's quite an achievement.

"Contradictions are the main thing I look for," he adds. "You see somebody in a cause that some men were drawn into in the late '60s and early '70s in Northern Ireland, particularly in the border counties. And I'm wondering, if I was born around that time would I have been any different? Might the times have dictated what I needed to do to survive as a man?

"Those are the things that are compelling to me... he wants to be a dad, he wants to survive his future. At the very beginning of the film it feels like he's just about to begin the rest of his life, he's left the cause behind, and it just gets taken away from him in a second."

In preparing for the film, it helped a great deal that Morgan himself grew up in Armagh, the same town that Michael is from. Despite growing up in a different era, the star was very much able to draw on his own personal experiences when it came to getting a handle on the character.

"One thing I said to the Guard brothers before I started was I'm gonna bring everything I bring to the character from my point of view, but also the stuff of just being someone who grew up in Armagh," he says.

"You get that for free, because that's the complication of living in a place like that, even though I grew up in the tail end of things – it is just part of your culture and in your blood. You see all those things growing up, and they're just in my own kind of memory bank. So while I didn't go through the times, I was certainly surrounded by adults who did."

Dead Shot isn't Morgan's first project in recent years to be set against the backdrop of the Troubles. In 2021, he had a key role in Sir Kenneth Branagh's Oscar-winning coming-of-age film Belfast, and the actor has clearly found it an immensely rewarding experience to see audiences drawn in by these stories.

"Particularly with Belfast, there's something kind of amazing about seeing something that's such a part of you reach the world and resonate with people in a universal way," he says. "When you see your story, or you hear your accent, there's just something about you that connects with that.

"And then when you hear other people the world over do that as well, you can't help but feel a sense of pride that your identity is being recognised."

In addition to the knowledge of the conflict he had accumulated while growing up in Northern Ireland, Morgan did plenty of research into the Troubles to prepare for his role in Belfast. He says this came in handy once again for the new film, but stresses that Dead Shot itself is not necessarily "concerned about trying to educate people about the times in Northern Ireland".

"Not every film that deals with the Northern Irish issue has to go into all those details," he says. "That's what I thought was refreshing about this. But it's important as an actor just to be familiar with those things, whatever period that – it's always worth doing, and I always do it."

One of the most intriguing aspects of the film is the complexity regarding Michael's adversary Tempest, played by Aml Ameen. Although by no means portrayed in a straight-forwardly sympathetic light, the character is not presented as an out-and-out villain either – but rather a vulnerable person who has been thrown into a horrible circumstance by odious bosses. Meanwhile, the fact that Tempest is a Black man living in a time when racism was commonplace undoubtedly adds to this complexity.

"One of the things I said to the directors right from the start was that there was a lot more that bound these two guys than divided them," Morgan says of the relationship between Michael and Tempest. "They're both in London, which was a place at the time that had [signs saying], 'No dogs, no Blacks, no Irish'.

"So these are actually both very outsider characters who were treated differently – when an Irish man went to London in those times there was complete shunning of them as well. So they're guys who know what it is to be shunned, rejected, and treated as the other. And the fact that they find themselves caught in this tragedy against each other, it's a shame in a way.

"The sad thing about that particular time in Northern Ireland was that so much division between religions and nationality prevented so much integration," he adds. "And it's still unfortunately very present in Northern Ireland to this day – it's getting less so, but it's hard to think it'll ever go away.

"It's terrible to think that people connecting on a human level is prevented by something like a label or identity or nationality, whatever it is. Your best friend could have been the one that was serving in the army except you were just on the other end of the lines."

Although the film is set primarily in London, the shoot itself actually took place in Glasgow – with a number of London buses and other identifying features brought in to help transform the Scottish city into something resembling the UK capital. This was an interesting experience for Morgan, especially considering he has his own history with the city.

"I actually went to drama school in Glasgow, I went to the Royal Scottish [Conservatoire]," he says. "And the odd thing was that I hadn't really been there since I graduated and I found myself staying in an apartment that was right opposite the apartment I stayed in in my second year at drama school.

"It was this weird kind of full circle moment of suddenly there I was, like 15/20 years later. I could practically still see through the window of that apartment and see the 20-year-old me wondering, 'Oh, I wonder if this whole acting thing will ever work?'"

Of course, it wasn't long after graduating before Morgan's acting career very much did work. Following a number of early roles on stage and screen, including the Doctor Who episode Midnight, his big breakthrough came in 2008 when he was cast as the title character of BBC One's fantasy series Merlin – a show that went on to run for five highly successful seasons.

The series has retained a cult following since it ended in 2012, and some fans have long clamoured for some sort of reunion or reboot. But although Morgan thinks back fondly on his time on the show, returning to the role doesn't appear to be something he's considering any time soon.

"I think most actors are more about progression and moving forward and don't often look back," he explains. "Even on stage, sometimes plays I've done have wanted to remount and come back again, and I often found I don't take up those opportunities because I've wrung the towel dry and I've rinsed what I could out of it.

"That's certainly what I've tried to do with every project, it's like I invest every 110% into it so hopefully by the end of it, I feel like I've done all I could. And certainly on projects like Merlin, I felt like yeah, we definitely did that together as a team and it's certainly [something I] look back on and feel very proud of the work that I and everyone did."

On the subject of moving forward, Morgan has a number of other imminent projects in the pipeline. He has a key role alongside Jessica Lange, Ed Harris and Ben Foster in a new film adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's classic play Long Day’s Journey Into Night; he will star opposite Emma Appleton in the upcoming Paramount Plus legal thriller The Killing Kind; and he is currently filming a project which he can't yet disclose. The keys to the roles he's been looking for in recent times, he says, are variety and collaboration.

"I look for things I haven't done before, I look for challenges, I look for versatility, I look for passionate people," he explains. "I think more so than anything, what seems to be top of my list now is collaborators – people who have this kind of notion of bringing you into the fold and wanting to work with you not just to deliver the acting goods, but to know what you feel about the scripts and the story and have your input.

"And that's my background. My first jobs were all new writing in theatre and working with writers and developing and progressing and shaping things together. And that's what I thrive on more than anything in the world.

"That seems to be what people are wanting these days, I think the landscape has changed. People are really wanting multidisciplinary actors, and that's worth knowing for anybody wanting to come into the business: don't just be thinking about the acting, think about 360 degrees of everything."

#colin morgan #dead shot #belfast #news #bbc merlin #merlin cast #interview #article interview

189 notes · View notes

destielmemenews · 7 months

Text

Paris has had seasonal infestations every summer, but the trend has been steadily increasing each year. Over 1 in 10 households experienced bedbugs from 2017 to 2022.

source 1

source 2

109 notes · View notes

richardarmitagefanpage · 6 months

Text

During the interview on Between the Covers Richard talked about North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.

#richard armitage #john thornton #daniela denby ashe #margaret hale #north and south #elizabeth gaskell #book #between the covers #bbc #article #news

96 notes · View notes

elennemigo · 10 months

Text

Benedict Cumberbatch: Sherlock actor's ice cream delight in Woodbridge.

The owner of an ice cream shop hopes Marvel actor Benedict Cumberbatch will sprinkle a little stardust after photos of his visit became an online hit.

Ugur Vatar was amazed when the Sherlock star came into The Creamery and Deli in Woodbridge, Suffolk with his family.

The businessman spent about 30 minutes chatting with "nice guy" Cumberbatch about tough trading conditions.

"It was him who said 'come on, let's have a photo', with the idea it would help," Mr Vatar said.

"I was gobsmacked, we chatted for about half an hour and, would you believe it, not one passer-by noticed him."

It is believed the Doctor Strange actor was staying locally with his extended family, including his wife and children, when he popped into the Market Hill ice cream parlour.

With a star in his midst, Mr Vatar seized the chance to get the A-lister's take on his wacky flavours, including black garlic and charcoal and peach and jalapeno.

"He said 'you're crazy man, how do you even come up with this?' He absolutely loved it," he said.

"He was so interesting, in that he was interested in you."

"He said 'this is the best ice cream I've ever tasted, I'm not pulling your leg', but using stronger wording.

"I explained I just use local milk from Bungay, we've been making it for generations, I work seven days a week."

Mr Vatar revealed his shop had just had a "disastrous" week, taking what he would expect in the slow winter months, while facing soaring energy costs.

"He said 'I feel so sorry for you'. He was so down to earth - I've met a few celebrities here, but none like him, this was totally unexpected.

"We were chatting for so long; he was practically dragged away by his wife."

While Cumberbatch is not on social media, his adoring fans have shared Mr Vatar's photos of the star's visit after he posted them on Facebook.

"It's been shared so thousands of times and I've had messages from Japan - it's crazy," he added.

He said he believed he had made a new friend, as he had seen Cumberbatch since and the actor's family members had already returned to buy ice cream.

"I heard a car beeping the next day, and I looked up and at was him, driving past, giving me a wave." 🚗👋

Such a lovely article, about our lovely man! 🤗🥰

#benedict cumberbatch #Woodbridge #Suffolk UK #the creamery and deli #bbc news #article #news #my post #Ben is a beautiful man inside an out

111 notes · View notes

milkyslayyy · 6 months

Text

Government says four-day working weeks should 'cease immediately' - BBC News

HELLO???

What the actual fuck. I swear to God every time I think we're moving towards a future that prioritises people I get slapped with the reminder that all the people in power care about are profits. Oh god, how it makes me so mad. Here's a few clips from the article:

Oh so we saw that when people work less, their performances and general health improved??

Oh but we also need to put a stop to this because its 'negetively impacting peoples value for money'??

Hmm go figure

#government #politics #uk politics #this makes me so mad #news #bbc #article #milkyslayyy

84 notes · View notes

i-want-my-iwtv · 8 months

Text

👀

#vampire chronicles #VC News #Interview with the Vampire AMC #Iwtv amc #Interview with the Vampire BBC #Interview with the Vampire 2022 #iwtv 2022 #Deadline #article #anyone have anymore info on this??

63 notes · View notes

jackoshadows · 2 years

Text

'The world's richest are plundering the planet': Billionaires' huge carbon footprints prompt call for action

Oxfam has called for action over billionaires "plundering the planet" and placing the world "in grave danger" from climate change with their enormous carbon footprints.

Jamie Livingstone, the head of the charity's arm in Scotland, said the emissions from a single billionaire space flight would exceed the lifetime emissions of someone in the poorest billion people on earth.

A new study for Oxfam, based on research by the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), found that by the end of this decade the carbon footprints of the richest 1% of people on earth are set to be 30 times greater than what is compatible with keeping global warming below 1.5C.

The report's authors have now called for governments to bring in measures to "constrain luxury carbon consumption like mega yachts, private jets and space travel".

The report has been released after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos made a short trip into space and Sir Richard Branson journeyed to the edge of space in his Virgin Galactic rocket plane, while Elon Musk's private spaceflight company SpaceX is developing a vehicle to take humans to Mars.

But scientists have said that to achieve the goal agreed at the 2015 Paris climate summit, every person on earth would need to limit their CO2 emissions to just 2.3 tonnes by 2030 - roughly half the average carbon footprint today.

According to the new research, the richest 1% of people - smaller than the population of Germany - are expected to account for 16% of total emissions by 2030.

This is an increase from 13% in 1990 and 15% in 2015.

However, the total emissions produced by the richest 10% could be sufficient on their own to exceed the aligned level for 1.5 degrees in 2030, regardless of what the other 90% of the world's population do.

Mr Livingstone said: "The luxury lifestyles and continued plundering of the planet by the world's richest people are placing us all in ever graver peril.

#Climate Change #Global Warming #Taylor Swift #Jeff Bezos #Elon Musk #Capitalism #The BBC will do articles and news programs on poor Indians using coal to cook their food #Because half the Indian population lives below the poverty line #And ignore how first world capitalism causes the most pollution

398 notes · View notes

a-a-a-anon · 16 days

Text

#ik bad news gig audio bootlegs exist but i meant video form! like how theres a bootleg full video of the monsters of rock gig!#1 i didnt add bc he did the show (in a diff role) again and theres a vid but.... ade as brad in rocky horror.. i wish there was a recording #also while doing this i found out ade had a sitcom with david mitchell that was lost for years but is now on youtube :) (drs and nurses)#britcom #rik mayall #ade edmondson #adrian edmondson #the young ones #bbc bottom #also i think the btm series 4 scripts were written bc i found a lot of forum posts about it but i couldnt find any archived news articles s #if its fake i wouldnt know sorry!!#and ade says in berserker they were never OFFERED a fourth series which sounds like they werent the ones that turned a fourth series down #so it sounds like they probably wouldve had scripts #also i bet theres so much early work lost media... the comic strip and tyo and filthy rich and catflap....#but i didnt find any info abt any specific scenes/scripts missing #i wish outtakes for filthy rich and catflap and the dangerous brothers existed tho!! and more tyo outtakes!! bloopers my beloved

19 notes · View notes

damiannasworld · 1 year

Text

"The dark side of stardom has to be told because people don't really know how how hard it is," David says.

"This kind of life, it's very fast and it's always rushing," adds drummer Ethan Torchio. "We've had to learn what to do if something is not fair, or it doesn't feel good."

"And sometimes it's very hard to say no to things," David continues, "but lately, we're talking more about it between us, and we're getting better."

Interview for BBC News

#damiano david #ethan torchio #thomas raggi #victoria de angelis #måneskin #maneskin #article #interview #bbc news #rush!#january 2023

60 notes · View notes

p-isforpoetry · 1 year

Link

Warehouses in the UK and the US will be temporarily transformed into theatres for a new production of Macbeth starring Ralph Fiennes.

The actor will star in the adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy, which will play in Edinburgh, London and Liverpool, before transferring to Washington DC.

Game of Thrones actress Indira Varma will star as Lady Macbeth.

Fiennes said he was "truly excited" to be working on the project.

"Macbeth is a play that always carries relevance but with wars in Ukraine and Sudan - and murderous authoritarian regimes very present in the world - the play seems particularly current," he continued.

"But Shakespeare's examination of the minds of his protagonists - the intimate nature of this - is what gives the play its brilliant and terrifying focus."

The Shakespeare Theatre Company's artistic director Simon Godwin will helm the production, eight years after he brought Fiennes and Varma together for Man and Superman at the National Theatre

Godwin said he was "thrilled to be reuniting with Ralph and Indira" for Macbeth, which he described as "a remarkable portrait of a marriage and a terrifying account of the drift towards tyranny".

Fiennes is best known for appearing in films such as The Menu, The English Patient, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Constant Gardner and Schindler's List, which won him a Bafta for best supporting actor in 1993.

He also played Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter film series, and M in the Daniel Craig era of James Bond.

Varma played the vengeful Ellaria Sand in Game of Thrones, and is currently in Netflix's drama Obsession, having been part of the cast for last year's The Seagull, at the National Theatre.

The new adaptation of Macbeth will be produced by Wessex Grove, the team behind current West End hit A little Life, and Underbelly, the team behind the Olivier-winning Cabaret.

The show will open in Liverpool on 24 November for three weeks, before playing in Edinburgh in January and London in February, and Washington in April 2024.

Tickets for the British shows will go on sale in June. The exact locations of the "site-specific warehouses" have not yet been announced.

Godwin said: "The experience will be heightened by playing in different spaces across different cities before ending our journey - during a US election year - in America's capital.

"I'm thrilled to be embarking on an international journey driven by Shakespeare's capacity to urgently reflect our shared and volatile present."

Varma said she looked forward to working with Godwin and Fiennes again, and "exploring Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's fraught relationship and the play's themes of ambition and corruption".

#Ralph Fiennes #Indira Varma #Macbeth #article #shakespeare #William Shakespeare #Edinburgh #London #Washington #theatre #play #BBC News

21 notes · View notes