Obscure Brit Actors Squee Consortium

Hugh Dancy is TVLine's Performer of the Week

soophelia — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 20:09:51 GMT

A weekly feature in which we spotlight shining stars
THE PERFORMER | Hugh Dancy
THE SHOW | Hannibal
THE EPISODE | “Buffet Froid”
THE AIRDATE | May 30, 2013
It’s tough to pull focus from a series’ titular character, especially when that character is a cannibalistic sociopath who views murder as the highest art form. But in Thursday’s episode, Hannibal’s exploits took a back seat to Hugh Dancy’s portrayal of the killer’s fragile pawn, Will Graham.

The genius-as-prickly-recluse thing has been done before; Hugh Laurie as Gregory House instantly comes to mind. But Will has none of Dr. House’s swagger or bravado to protect him, and Dancy’s vulnerability in the quirky role makes the socially awkward profiler an endearing – and intriguing — character.
When Will is under duress, as he was on Thursday, Dancy is incandescent. He filled the episode with a frantic energy as Will feared he was going insane (but unknowingly suffered from encephalitis). Each time Graham’s mind took another disturbing detour, the actor conveyed a new level of freaked-out. His eyes darted. He paced. He pleaded with Hannibal for answers. And by the time Will shouted his name, the time and his location in a vain attempt to root himself in reality, Dancy had elegantly worked his character into a panic nearly as scary as Dr. Lecter himself.

Source: TVLine

Mad Dogs Season 3 Trailer

soophelia — Fri, 03 May 2013 05:53:42 GMT

If above link doesn't work, click here

New Promo Pic along with Synopsis [Link goes to Philip Glenister Fan Blog]

First official poster for Da Vinci's Demons

kls010 — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 17:01:55 GMT

Starz have very kindly shared this amazing official poster for Da Vinci's Demons, showing Tom Riley looking incredible as Leonardo Da Vinci.

ukelelehip — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:20:59 GMT

Why star casting in theatre isn't the answer

Casting well-known names from TV or film has become a sure-fire way of generating ticket sales. But it blinds us to the true depth and breadth of British theatre

Although theatre reviewing has many perks and pleasures, it's inherently anti-social: critics usually start work at a time when their family and friends are just stopping.

One solution is to have a partner who is also a drama critic, although that arrangement can bring its own problems, as described in Ruth Leon's eye-popping memoir of her marriage to the late Sheridan Morley, But What Comes After?

Another way of dealing with your unavailability in the evenings is to buy a second ticket (usually only one is offered for free) and combine work with acquaintance-maintenance. But while the most publicised shows will, in my experience, be claimed almost as soon as they're offered, other invitations are frequently met with a difficult question: "Who's in it?"

It's a problem for theatre. Clearly, at a time of high ticket prices and severely reduced discretionary income, there is a commercial imperative to cast stars. Producers are looking for names who, in the parlance, can "open a show", which means to attract a healthy box-office advance as soon as the show is advertised, before anything else is known.

The West End revival of Alan Ayckbourn's A Chorus of Disapproval, which opened last week, is a good example of such celebrity insurance. The above-the-title trio all have high-level television exposure: Nigel Harman in EastEnders and Hotel Babylon, Ashley Jensen through Extras and Ugly Betty, and Rob Brydon from a huge number of TV hosting and acting roles. So many people were keen to claim my second ticket that my self-esteem rocketed.

However, in this case, the selections all have artistic as well as financial logic. Jensen and Harman have significant theatre credentials, while Brydon, although making his London stage acting debut, has approached the transition methodically (appearing in a play, The Painkiller, at the Lyric Belfast last year) and proves to be perfect casting, bringing to the role of amateur musical director Dafydd ap Llewelyn a more precise sense of Welshness than is usually the case.

It can also reasonably be argued that the structure of most plays and musicals inherently creates a star system: there will generally be one or two roles within a piece that demand vastly greater efforts of transformation, empathy, memory and stamina. These parts – so producers and people who are picky about accepting theatre tickets would argue – are the theatrical equivalent of the 100 metres or the Ryder Cup; those who undertake them should be those at the top of their profession.

The difficulty, though, is that the best actors may not always be the most famous. Michael Bryant (1928-2002) was one of the most consistently brilliant performers in the history of the National theatre, a member of its company for a quarter of a century. But being by temperament always more of a Polonius and Gloucester than a Hamlet and Lear, and sparing in his TV and film appearances, he could never have "opened a show" in the West End and his career was only sustainable within subsidised theatre.

Even in state-funded productions, there can be an invidious pressure for recognisability. Two of the recent productions for which I struggled to find company were The Doctor's Dilemma at the National and Macbeth at the Sheffield Crucible. The National's Shaw revival contained a large number of high-class character actors in the Bryant mould – including Aden Gillett, David Calder, Robert Portal and Malcolm Sinclair – but no one with a single well-known TV role that creates an immediate fanbase. The Macbeth in Sheffield was Geoffrey Streatfeild, an accomplished young RSC actor who is yet to achieve wider name recognition.

As posters will doubtless be quick to point out, it may be that my personality or personal hygiene is the true cause of these solitary evenings, but I think that it's become increasingly expected (among both producers and audiences) for well-known names and faces to take leading roles. This is partly because of the inevitable diminution of risk during a recession, but also because of the commendable willingness of screen-hot stars such as Helen Mirren and Dominic West to play Phèdre at the National or Iago in Sheffield.

But one of the strengths of the British acting profession is its breadth and depth – and theatre-goers who only want to see stars are missing out on more than the chance of a half-time drink with me.

-- Mark Lawson for The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2012/oct/03/star-casting-theatre?CMP=twt_fd

ukelelehip — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 19:59:45 GMT

Have any of you guys noticed this "new" kid, Josh McGuire?

Is he Tom Hollander's clone or what?

Also, swoon, Tom Hollander...

ETA: I have just googled and found out that Tom is 20 years older. YOU DECIDE.

Peter McDonald in "Moone Boy"

ukelelehip — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 02:39:13 GMT

Hell's bells folks,

I've just started watching Moone Boy and who has just popped up on my screen but the illustrious Honerary Patron Saint of obasc, Peter McDonald!

ukelelehip — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 19:46:24 GMT

Dear obascians, can anyone tell me who this is?

Thanks!

One Man Two Guvnors Broadway press night

kls010 — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:46:08 GMT

Photos of Tom attending the Broadway opening of One Man Two Guvnors on Wednesday night have been uploaded to several photo agency websites. Patrick McMullan have 4 lovely photos of Tom, while Wire Image and Getty have more. Some unwatermarked and gorgeous photos of Tom have appeared on Zimbio, Theater Mania and Playbill.

ukelelehip — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 19:27:55 GMT

Look who's going to the White House for dinner tonight?

from Hugh's twitter.

I love it, you can just tell he's squeeing.

According to this article, Damian Lewis is also invited.

Flail

ukelelehip — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:09:54 GMT

You guys, I am *flailing* over Damian Lewis in Homeland. Flailing, I tell ya. I only just started watching yesterday and it's so intense and I wish I wasn't in the office now writing this post but watching more episodes. I can't deal with how good Damian is in this.

In other news, Brendan Coyle retweeted me on twitter the other week which made me squee. It shouldn't because he is THE WORST TWEETER IN THE WORLD so him retweeting me sort of makes me an accomplice in that train wreck but I don't care, Bates retweeted me, everything is beautiful and nothing hurts!

Also, faeriequeen alerted me that Andrew Garfield is currently starring in "Death of a Salesman" on Broadway so I'll have to go check that out.

*this post brought to you with only limited amounts of obscurity.

Feb 2012 Glamour UK photo shoot

kls010 — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:06:23 GMT

A couple of talented stage actors included in this behind the scenes video from the Feb 2012 Glamour UK photo shoot, including my favourite actor Tom Riley. Also includes Michael Socha, Neil Jackson, Nico Mirallegro, Damien Malony, Reece Ritchie, Ukweli Roach and Aneurin Barnard. Bit of a mad video.

Scans from the magazine can be found on this blog. The actual interviews are not very accurate.

OBA sighting in NYC!

ukelelehip — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 04:47:17 GMT

A friend of mine is an understudy in Don't Dress For Dinner on Broadway which stars Ben Daniels and Adam James. I've already told her she needs to bring me to post-show drinks with the cast but she hasn't even started rehearsals yet so that's a bit premature.

So imagine my squee when I ran into Adam James tonight in the lobby of Radio City Music Hall (it was the night of The Secret Policeman's Ball). I couldn't help myself and tapped him on the shoulder, gave him the "my friend is in your play, yay!" spin and went happily on my way, feeling nostalgic for the days when OBA sightings were much more frequent. Hey, I'll take what I can get now!

For the record, dude is an OBA so here's a photo:

Let's get this obscure party started... again!

_faeriequeen — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 16:01:07 GMT

As we seem to be back for the time being, I figured it was necessary to tip the wink at this community about the following two fine young gentlemen before they make it big!

Andy Rush
Graduated from Birmingham School of Acting in 2010 and came to my notice in the wonderful play The Kitchen Sink at the Bush Theatre at the end of last year. His performance of awkward-yet-endearing nice guy Pete was perfectly pitched - never tipping over into being pitiful, and making the character's moments of strength all the more affecting. I can't wait to see what he does next! (No, a McDonald's advert does not count. *cough*)
Further reading:
* Spotlight
* Tumblr tag (for The Kitchen Sink production photos!)
* Andy's Twitter

Michael Marcus
AKA Michael Marcus Morgan. Graduated from Bristol Old Vic in 2011 and landed a small role in Jumpy at the Royal Court, which is where he first caught my attention. It was the impact he managed to make in this, despite his very meagre stage time, that really made me sit up and take notice, and I'm not just talking about the on-stage nudity! ;) (With only a bunch of flowers to keep his modesty!) There's something of the Ben Whishaw about him, and he really does manage to do brilliant things in the background, as further demonstrated in Eddie Redmayne's recent Richard II at the Donmar, where he played Bushy and the Abbot of Westminster. I look forward to the day when he starts getting the lead roles himself!
Further reading:
* Press night photos from Jumpy and Richard II
* Richard II production & rehearsal photos
* IMDb

Twitter squee. For real.

ukelelehip — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:17:38 GMT

This stuff *literally* makes me squee. Now Hugh Bonneville is an amazing tweeter, imho. He's witty, he's charming, he's informative and he's good with fans. Brendan on the other hand, not so much. But when they tweet each other, I think Brendan finds his feet.

from Hugh's twitter feed.

Mickey, we hardly knew ya.

ukelelehip — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 02:45:31 GMT

I was going through our community profile and I noticed that one of our listed interests was none other than Michael Sheen. Michael Sheen OBE, you know the one. He was in The Queen and Frost/Nixon and uhm, all those Twilight movies... not to mention 30 Rock.

Mickey, you've totally, obviously, unequivocally graduated from obasc. We salute you.

As Colin in Heartlands (2002)

I encourage everyone to send off Micheal with whatever photos, anecdotes, memories and SQUEEE you have in the comments. Want to refresh your memory? Here are our previous Mickey posts.

Just by going through the old posts, I am reminded of this event which I had totally forgotten about. Wow. Frigging amazing. And one of my favourite films of all time is the glorious Heartlands (pic spam) which also featured the then obscure James Corden and Ruth Jones. And Mark Strong.

Putting the O in OBASC

alchemine — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:44:31 GMT

If we're all sharing, I'd just like to take a moment to express my love for the really REALLY obscure, but totally delightful Justin Salinger. I discovered him a little over a year ago, and I can't see him without wanting to squeeze him and snuggle him and mess up his hair.

I have an embarrassing number of pics I could share, but

Yes, I know he's not classically handsome, but attraction often makes no sense! :D

You thought that I was done?

ukelelehip — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:17:02 GMT

I am not done. Not yet, not yet.

So I discovered this a few weeks ago. It's amazeballs. It's an Irish mockumentary called Paths to Freedom about two guys, "both recently released from a Dublin prison, as they try to reintegrate back into society." Brendan Coyle plays a totally disturbed gynaecologist. Mad as a hatter. But he looks cute and "talks Irish" so whatevs, dudes.

You can watch the whole series (6 episodes) on youtube starting HERE.

Or you can just watch Brendan dance the Riverdance here:

Testing... is this thing on?

ukelelehip — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:17:46 GMT

obasc is supposedly watched by 657 livejournal users. Now I know that LJ is no longer what it used to be and in no way are all these people still active on LJ.

BUT I for one have recently been indulging in quite a bit of squeeing of the 'obascian'-variety and I just want to see some (any, more than just mine) hands in the air if anyone else has been swooning over Brendan Coyle in "Downton Abbey". YES, I know it's probably the most popular series in the UK and amongst PBS-viewing hipsters in the US and that I'm verrry late to the party. But c'mon, he hasn't booked a US TV show yet. So that makes him plenty obscure where I live.

So there you have it:

Also, he has a place in Norfolk!! I heart Norfolk, and I love that he loves it too.

My City trailer, photos and interview with Tom Riley

kls010 — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:09:23 GMT

Ideas Tap posted an interview with Tom yesterday, where he talks about preparing for auditions and LAMDA. Read the interview in full on their website.

What is it about auditions that you find difficult?

I’ve always struggled with auditions a bit, but I’m getting better at them. I’ve just worked on Arcadia on Broadway in New York, and what was interesting was seeing how the many Americans handle auditions, which is very different from the standard British way.

The Almeida Theatre have uploaded some new rehearsal photos taken by Hugo Gendinning to their website. Spoonfed have a related My City article with a photo of Stephen Poliakoff and Tom's back. The My City rehearsal diary has been shared on the Almeida Theatre blog.

My City runs from Thu 8 Sep 2011 until Sat 5 Nov 2011

Tom Riley news - Monroe, Bedlam and lots of new photos

kls010 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 22:01:32 GMT

The ITV Press Office have announced a second series for Monroe.

Mammoth Screen will go into production with new episodes of acclaimed medical drama Monroe during 2012, with James Nesbitt picking up his scalpel again to play neurosurgeon Gabriel Monroe for this second series.

A number of photos of Tom performing for Word Theatre at the Latitude Festival over the weekend have been uploaded on-line.

There is one photo on Flickr taken by Chris Harris, and several added by Word Theatre to albums on their Facebook Page. The photos show performances of Forbidden Fruit: Erotica and Hear Hear in the Literary Arena.

2 photos of Tom attending the launch of Charlie's Restaurant and Bar in Harpenden, have been uploaded to the St Albans & Harpenden Review website, along with a short article.

Bedlam launches Saturday, Oct. 8 at 9 p.m on BBC America. Tom has a guest role in episode 4 of the series, which aired in UK in February and is available to buy on Region 2 DVD.

Tom Riley in Eve: new British film to invest in

kls010 — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 20:00:49 GMT

Larger versions of 2 of the GQ magazine photos of Tom Riley by James Dimmock have been uploaded to the MNKY LND Facebook Page.

Tom’s name, along with some other great actors, has been attached to a new film from Film 1st called Eve, which was mentioned briefly in the recent interview with Tom for GQ magazine. According to the Film 1st website, there are investment opportunities available to help finance the film. This could be your chance! Visit the Film 1st website for more details.
More information about Tom Riley on Tom-Riley.com

Tom Riley & Arcadia on Broadway offers!

kls010 — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:33:35 GMT

Arcadia on Broadway is only running for another 3 weeks and for those in New York there are some fantastic ticket offers. A brilliant play which has 2 Tony nominations - don't miss Tom Riley be fantastic as Septimus Hodge. I have seen it twice and would see it again if it were at all possible.

A great interview with Tom at last week's Drama Desk Awards.

There is also fantastic new interview with Tom, along with 3 gorgeous photos on The Craptacular blog, where Tom discusses Arcadia, Hamlet and a Septimus Hodge / George Wickham duel.

Arcadia on Broadway: new cast interviews including Tom Riley

kls010 — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 20:20:56 GMT

Arcadia on Broadway has uploaded this great new video to You Tube, of cast interviews and production footage.

Arcadia opening night video interviews - Tom Riley

kls010 — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 16:08:48 GMT

Broadway.com have uploaded a video from the opening night of Arcadia on Broadway. There are brief clips from the show and interviews with the cast, including Tom Riley who plays Septimus Hodge and even writer Tom Stoppard.

Some wonderful reviews have appeared recently, including 4 star write-ups from The Guardian and Exeunt in the UK, as well as the New York Times. If you get the chance to see this show, please do. It is as good if not better than the recent London production.

Tom Riley in Monroe: final episode tonight 9pm ITV1

kls010 — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:33:05 GMT

The final episode of Monroe airs tonight at 9pm on ITV1. According to a tweet from Tom last week, tissues may be required.

The soundtrack to ITV series Monroe is now available to download from iTunes for £7.99 and from the composer Dominik Scherrer's website. The Monroe - Series 1 DVD will be released on April 25th.