#i hope she has more scenes this season. (specifically more with scenes with gillian anderson 😈)

[thatonesquintern13]

it’s funny rewatching sex education and thinking back to when i didn’t know hannah waddingham. bc now when she’s on screen i just

[platypotoo]

I've finally finished the second season of The Great. Man, what a ride! Spoilers under the cut.

The Good

- This season feels very different from the first. Though it continues the first season almost directly and the characters feel like themselves, nothing is repetitive or boring. Strangely few shows manage this.

- No Leo.

- Gillian Anderson is breathtaking. I'd known that she is beloved, but I hadn't seen much of her so far... She is amazing here.

- All the actors continue to be awesome.

- Marial/Grigor should be the most random, strange thing ever, but it grew on me fast. They are cute.

- Grigor seems like a completely different person without George. I never thought much about him, but this season made me like him a lot.

- Goddamn it Nicholas Hoult

- Elizabeth continues to be one of my favourite characters. I love that, once more, she turned out not to be mad after all. I adore her.

- The Igor reveal was astonishingly done. It makes absolutely sense (especially since it was hinted that he was Peter The Great's), but still I never would have guessed it, it changes nothing plot-wise but instantly, offhandedly changed a lot for a few specific characters, and the acting!

- I'm glad they didn’t fully Jane-Austen-hero-ify Peter, which it looked like they were going for in the first few episodes. He has definitely grown, he's a great father, he adores his wife, apparently is a good cook and even better lover, he slowly develops into the person he truly wants to be and in general he tries his best, but he's also a complex weirdo who does fucked-up shit. That's what I love about him.

- The chemistry between Peter and Catherine. It has been very noticeable in season 1, but in this season, it is SIZZLING. I consume a lot of media, but very rarely, if at all, have I seen something like it before.

- The sex scenes, too, were well-deserved after all this tension and super hot.

- I liked the revealed bond between Peter and Velementov more than I thought I would. It came from left field, but somehow it worked.

- Catherine made a lot of mistakes this season, I like it. At first I was a little annoyed, especially since I was unsure whether the narrative wanted us to agree with her. But I like that she was portrayed as being less than perfect after all, and also that we were shown glimpses of why she is the way she is, just like with Peter's background. By the end of the season, she has grown a lot, and I'm excited to see where the show will take her.

- Peter The Great was somehow nothing and exactly like I expected. He has always been a weird specter hanging over everyone, and it was hard to imagine a clear picture, but the one we saw fits.

- "First, try and start breathing again."

- The last two episodes were amazing from start to finish, every scene golden. I had goosebumps multiple times.

- I really like the Swedish royal couple. They are extremely fun to watch and open up a lot of potential for season 3.

- Have I mentioned how brilliant Nicholas Hoult is in this role?

- Marial had it coming to be honest, she was never truly loyal, never truly wanted the best for Catherine. I hope she gets to grow next season.

- I like the tiny bits strewn throughout that are accurate or at least a clear reference to what happened in reality, like Elizabeth taking Paul without Catherine's consent, or Catherine wanting to free the serfs but not being able to due to political reasons.

- His arc is super weird, but Archie continues to be one of the most interesting characters. I liked him especially in the last episode. He suffers a lot, but he tries his best and has not succumbed to his old demons yet. I also liked his siding with Catherine (character development! The consequence of their making peace earlier in the season!) and his reasoning: at least she believes in something.

- More Arkady and Tatyana! Arkady has fantastic comedy timing, I laughed so much at moments like "I can't tell if you're joking"

- Elle Fanning is astonishing, especially in the last episode.

- This show is extremely horny in a female-gaze-way and I respect it for that.

The Bad

- Peter trying to woo Catherine in his simple, naive, yet strangely intense ways is the most adorable thing, and hot as well.

- He knows her so well and loves her so much, even when trying to convince himself that he doesn't

- The dialogue, costumes, musical choices and acting continues to be among the very best out there right now.

- I can't even say why exactly, but the first half of the season was kind of a slog. After the first episode, not much seemed to be happening and even the dialogue seemed less witty.

- This is my personal problem and I'm aware it's probably rooted in internalized misogyny, but there was far too much talk about cunnilingus for me. There were episodes were this was mentioned every few minutes, and always like the men really loved it. The bit was funny and fascinating in small doses in season 1, but it transformed into a running gag/plot device sort of thing this season and was overdone. Don't pretend all men are eager to please this much and love the taste, that feels unrealistic in an embarassing way!

The Weird

- Would have loved to see more scenes between Archie and Marial again (I like their dynamic a lot). There were several character dynamics in the first season that have been neglected this season in favor of introducing new ones; Archie+Peter and Orlo+Catherine as well. I understand it, but it's still a bit disappointing.

- I'm used to a lot of weird shit on this show, but Archie's arc in the second half of the season... Wtf. Archie has been one of my favourite characters (at the same time sinister, complex, caring and earnest), but this arc is just batshit insane even for this show. It's horrifying, it's disturbingly funny, it's fascinating, and I have no idea where they are going with it. Is it some kind of commentary on real-life church institutions? Where does it come from? I have no idea and I don't know if I like it. Props to the actor, though - he's really going all in and doing a great job.

- Similar, but not nearly as crazy is Orlo's case. His arc and motivations are much more understandable, but he gave in so easily to the theft and it was handled weird. He's also acting strange when found out, like it's nothing, like Catherine is in the wrong for being mad at him for it, like she should apologize to him after kicking him from her closest circle. I don't like it. I hope this is getting built on more next season.

Overall, I think my expectations for this season were too high (I heard great things about it and the only thing I actively disliked in season 1 was Leo) and I'll like it more upon rewatching. But even so, The Great continues to be one of my favourite shows right now. It's smart, fun, witty, swoon-worthy, creative, darkly hilarious, extremely well-acted and produced, and looks amazing. I really love it.

- I'm a huge romance nerd and I love the relationship between Peter and Catherine, but even I thought that it took a bit too much room this season. It felt like Bridgerton at times (which I love as well! I just don't think it fits here!). I'd like to see more political intrigue next season, more vastly different plotlines, but somehow I'm convinced we will.

----

[maladjusted-nerd]

Starsky and Hutch’s Girlfriends (and Their Hair Color)

[PBS announcer voice] This post is brought to you by the time I was reading The Ollie Report for Bounty Hunter and came across the memorable line: “Again, Starsky is drawn to the dark-haired girl, Hutch to the blonde. Exogamists they are not.”

These are the two ladies in question, respectively:

I thought of this quote a lot as I continued watching the show, because it was quite often relevant. But then I got to Starsky’s Lady, and suddenly Hutch’s date wasn’t a blonde! I began to wonder about the quote, and the truth of the sentiment behind it (which is by no means specific to that one blog). Did Hutch really tend to go for the blondes, and Starsky for the dark-haired women?

So like any sane person, I decided to spend a billion hours of my life making a long-ass photo-heavy meta post that hopefully someone will care about. If anyone actually finds this information interesting or useful I will be happy, buuut I guess if nothing else it gives us an excuse to look at a bunch of pretty ladies.

How did I decided who’s here: I started with the list of women from the Canon Compendium’s Girlfriends and Dates page, added anyone whom I felt the boys made a “concerted effort” to flirt with, and then threw out a few people I didn’t think belonged. I tried my hardest to be objective, but making this list was by no means an exact science and several times it really just boiled down to “do I personally believe she should be on here” so like people will have different opinions on that and it’s fine! Spice of life or whatever.

As for the actual contents of the list: I will state each woman’s name and the episode she’s in. (If she doesn’t have a name she’s listed as Jane Doe. This is a cop show, after all.) I will state her hair color-- for Reasons and also My Sanity the only options are “blonde” or “darkhaired” (not blonde), but hair color is fucking weird and sometimes it was a guess so feel free to think otherwise. I will also state the reason that she’s here, aka the nature of her relationship with Hutch or Starsky (or both)-- so spoiler warning for pretty much everything, I guess.

Also fair warning that sometimes I was too lazy to get a good picture, or it was just actually impossible (newsflash: discos have bad lighting). Rip to any women I may have made look bad, you’re all beautiful queens and I love you.

Pre-Show

Vanessa (Hutchinson Murder One)- Darkhaired. Hutch’s late ex-wife and all-around terrible person.

Laura Kanen (Deckwatch)- Blonde. Hutch’s ex-girlfriend.

Helen Davidson (Lady Blue)- Blonde. Starsky’s late ex-girlfriend.

Kathy Marshall (Fatal Charm)- Darkhaired. A stewardess friend of theirs; it’s never said she’s an ex BUT she kisses Hutch square on the mouth in greeting and is Starsky’s date for dinner/disco. And she dances with both of them. Good enough for me!

Season 1

Hutch

Jeannie Walton (The Fix)- Blonde. His girlfriend at the start of the episode but not by the end! (Rip king)

Molly (Pariah)- Darkhaired. Stewardess friend/one-night stand? Something like that. Also his date at the end.

Jane Doe (Deadly Imposter)- Blonde. His date at the party.

Abigail Crabtree (Deadly Imposter to Vendetta)- Blonde. The only girlfriend we see in several episodes!! (The only girlfriend that lasts several episodes, whoops.)

Starsky

Jane Doe (Pariah)- Blonde. His date at the end.

Jane Doe (Deadly Imposter)- Darkhaired. His date at the party.

Amy (The Hostages)- Darkhaired. She works at a café that he’s going to for a second time, to let her know he’s ~available.

Sharman Crane (Running)- Darkhaired. They had a semester of woodshop together in junior high and then they kind of fall in love while he’s helping her dry out.

Season 2

Hutch

Abby (Deadly Imposter to Vendetta)- Still blonde. Miraculously still his girlfriend. (Until she isn’t.)

Gillian Ingram (Gillian)- Blonde. His now-late girlfriend who fucking deserved better.

Jane Doe (Gillian)- Blonde. Lady at the bowling alley that Starsky discreetly tries to set him up with.

Christine (Starsky’s Lady)- Darkhaired. His date of the episode.

Starsky

Vicky (The Las Vegas Strangler)- Darkhaired. They don’t really get a chance to go on an official date but they kiss a bunch and he’s really sweet on her and it’s cute.

Andrea (Vendetta)- Darkhaired. His picnic date.

Nancy Rogers (Gillian)- Darkhaired. His bowling date.

Terry Roberts (Starsky’s Lady)- Darkhaired. His now-late girlfriend who, like Gillian, also fucking deserved better.

Laura Stevens (The Velvet Jungle)- Blonde. They’re on a date at the end, but it should also be noted they meet when she accidentally knocks him into a dumpster. You know, like the start of any good romance.

Sharon Freemont (Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty)- Blonde. His evil lawyer girlfriend. (Not that he knows she’s evil.)

Both

Jane and Bobette (The Vampire)- Jane is the blonde on the right, Bobette is the darker blonde on the left. Starsky and Hutch mix up their names so it’s hard to tell which girl they actually like better, and also they’re twins so like does it even really matter?

Officer Sally Hagen (The Specialist)- Darkhaired. Starsky kisses up her arm in her first scene (someone please file a workplace harassment suit against him), and then at the end he and Hutch keep wrapping their arms around her waist. But she does get to flip both of them over her shoulder, so it kinda evens out.

Season 3

Hutch

Dianna Harmon (Fatal Charm)- Darkhaired. His possessive, violent nurse girlfriend. (You can really pick ‘em, Hutchinson.)

Dr. Judith Kaufman (The Plague)- Darkhaired. He tries so hard, but twas not meant to be.

Molly Bristol (The Collector)- Darkhaired. His girlfriend du jour.

Anna Akhanatova (A Body Worth Guarding)- Blonde. He’s technically her bodyguard and then they spend like two whole days making out. Good for them.

Mary (Class in Crime)- Blonde. His fishing date.

Starsky

Jane Doe (Murder on Playboy Island)- Darkhaired. Undercover agent he flirts with at the bar.

Rosey Malone (I Love You Rosey Malone)- Blonde. The entire plot revolves around him falling in love with her and it really doesn’t end well.

Jane Doe (The Collector)- Darkhaired. His date at their late-night deli party. (Bonus Starsky in the picture, hi Starsky!)

Sharon Carstairs (The Heavyweight)- Blonde. Their canoodling on his couch gets interrupted by Important Case Matters, and she winds up getting re-engaged to her ex-fiancé (ex-ex-fiancé?). Rip to a king.

Rachel (Class in Crime)- Darkhaired. His fishing date.

Caitlin (Class in Crime)- Her hair almost has a red tint but it’s otherwise undefinable. Car saleslady/one-night stand.

K.C. McBride (Quadromania)- Blonde. They have a nice taxi date (although he’s been sleep deprived all episode, poor boy, and falls asleep).

Both

Christine Phelps (The Heroes)- Blonde. She makes them lose all their braincells, it’s painful to witness. This episode hopes you will forget the actress was Gillian last season.

Julie McDermott (The Action)- Blonde. Starsky wins the kerfuffle for her but Hutch definitely makes a good go of it.

Lisa Kendricks (Foxy Lady)- Blonde. They drool and fight over her for half an episode like they did with Christine and it’s embarrassing.

Season 4

Hutch

Paula (Photo Finish)- Darkhaired. He’s like her date at the party, and also the end.

Kate Larrabee (Cover Girl)- Darkhaired. An old friend of his. It starts out just as a comfort thing but they quickly become very friendly.

Marlene (Starsky’s Brother)- Darkhaired. Starsky steals her from Nicky as a Big Brother Power Move but Hutch winds up with her at the bar.

Marianne Owens (Ballad for a Blue Lady)- Darkhaired. I don’t really know what’s going on here but there’s Something (and there’s a lot of parallels with Rosey Malone, so).

Starsky

Sergeant Lizzie Thorpe (Discomania)- Blonde. Technically Hutch talks with her more, but Starsky does most of the flirting.

Jane Doe (Discomania)- Darkhaired. He spends literally five minutes dancing with her. Is it relevant to the case? No. Does he care? Also no.

Emily Harrison (Blindfold)- Darkhaired. He accidentally blinds her during a case so he starts hanging out with her out of guilt but I feel like he also kinda falls in love; they kiss at one point anyway.

Marcie Fletcher (Photo Finish)- Blonde. His photographer girlfriend.

Officer Dee O’Reilly (Strange Justice)- Blonde. His meter maid girlfriend. They have a date at the end!

Jane Doe (Dandruff)- Darkhaired. He’s making out with her at the beginning.

Detective Joan Meredith (Black and Blue)- Darkhaired. It’s Heavily implied they slept together. (Side note love u Meredith!)

Melinda Rogers (The Groupie)- Blonde. He has a date with her at the end. (Yeah she slept with Hutch, but he was undercover and proceeds to lowkey rebuff her in the tag, so I’m not counting it.)

Katie (Starsky’s Brother)- Blonde. His date at the nightclub.

Both

Allison May/Laura Anderson (Targets Without a Badge parts 2 & 3)- Darkhaired. They both try to court her before Starsky realizes she’s his childhood friend (although they do make another go of it in the tag).

Kira (Starsky vs Hutch)- Blonde. Starsky’s girlfriend, although she says she’s also in love with Hutch so then they sleep together which Starsky is NOT thrilled about and it’s a very ugly mess.

Totals:

Hutch:

Pre-show: 3 (1 blonde, 2 dark)   Season 1: 4 (3 blonde, 1 dark)   Season 2: 6 (4 blonde, 2 dark)   Season 3: 8 (5 blonde, 3 dark)   Season 4: 6 (1 blonde, 5 dark) Overall: 26 (13 blonde, 13 dark)

(If the math looks weird, it’s cause Abigail counts for both seasons she’s in but only once overall.)

Starsky:

Pre-show: 2 (1 blonde, 1 dark)   Season 1: 4 (1 blonde, 3 dark)   Season 2: 8 (3 blonde, 5 dark)   Season 3: 10 (6 blonde, 3 dark, 1 ??)   Season 4: 11 (6 blonde, 5 dark) Overall: 35 (17 blonde, 17 dark, 1 ??)

(Thirty-five?? Calm the fuck down, Starsky.)

  In conclusion:

“Exogamists, they are not” might have been true back at the end of season 1 when it was said, but it’s certainly not true by season 4/the end of the series. Hutch now seems to favor dark-haired women, and Starsky’s about half and half, although they both wind up with an equal split overall.

Do with that information what you will; I’m outta here.

[thecrownnet]

The Crown Is One Of The Hardest Shows To Cast. Here’s How They Do It.

Casting announcements for The Crown are almost as exciting as the premiere of a new season itself. Half the fun of the show is analyzing the actors set to portray famous figures like Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher, as well as who will next fill the storied shoes of Queen Elizabeth. Season 4 of Peter Morgan’s royal drama was cast by Robert Sterne, who' won several Emmys for his work on the series along with Nina Gold (the duo cast seasons 1 through 3 together, and they were also responsible for the influx of talent we saw on Game of Thrones). Unsurprisingly, casting The Crown poses specific challenges not experienced on any other show.

“It’s not only that you’ve got to find actors who can successfully embody real-life, well-known people, but you’ve got to make sure there’s a continuity as it’s passed from the younger to the older version of the actor,” Sterne tells ELLE.com. “Who’s done it before, who’s doing it after, and who are the real people?”Sterne, who's currently in the process of re-casting the entire series for seasons 5 and 6, adds, “It’s nerve-wracking because people invest in the original people. You do X hours of screen time with them and fall in love with their interpretation, and then you go again [and re-cast] every two years.

”The casting process for each season starts about a year before filming begins; a meeting with Morgan clarifies where the characters will be in their journeys the following season. There were 262 speaking characters in season 4, and Sterne personally worked on all of them. The casting director notes that “you’ve got to think ahead of the game,” and that there are several factors to consider—not just whether the actor looks like the real-life person.

“They’ve got to have some credibility, physically, to be the people they’re supposed to portray,” Sterne notes. “But at the same time, they’ve got to get the spirit of it right.” Below, Sterne breaks down the behind-the-scenes process of building the cast of The Crown.

Perfecting Princess Diana

Photo: Des Willie/Netflix

“Diana was a big deal,” Sterne says, confirming the role has been The Crown’s biggest casting challenge to date. “It was clear as we were heading into the 1980s that she was going to be a major part of it. And we’re starting with Diana at the beginning of her life—we’re not trying to find the icon of the Mario Testino images.”

The casting team embarked on an international search for the person who would play Diana, looking at hundreds of possible actresses in the U.S., U.K., and Australia. They weren’t just auditioning professional actors, either. “It was completely open,” Sterne notes. “We were going into schools in the home countries to see if there was anybody who might be good, since we meet her at 16, as well as looking at people who'd done a lot more work.”

The massive search brought them back to Emma Corrin, whom Sterne had seen in the casting process for season 3. The tense lunch between Camilla Parker-Bowles (Emerald Fennell) and Diana in the third episode of season 4 was used as the audition scene for Camilla—and Corrin came in as a reader to stand in for the part of Diana.

“I usually read in all these meetings, but we decided because it was this major scene that we would get somebody to come in [for Diana],” Sterne explains. “We asked Emma to come in, not thinking about casting Diana at this point. But as she was reading with these Camillas, all the directors and the showrunner were looking more at her and not at the people playing Camilla—who will remain nameless, of course. When we got to thinking about Diana a year later, there she was in my notes.”

Bringing in Margaret Thatcher

Photo: Des Willie/Netflix

Sterne was told early on that the big focus for season 4 would be the three main women: the queen, Diana, and Margaret Thatcher. Casting Thatcher, who has been portrayed repeatedly onscreen in the past, was unusual, because actress Gillian Anderson is Morgan’s partner, and the creator himself approached her about the role.

“There was always a list of one,” Sterne says. “We had thought of ideas and talked it through a lot, but we always knew Gillian Anderson was totally amazing. It seemed like a fresh and interesting way of going. We were very lucky she said she’d do it—she’s such a clever character actress.”

While Anderson is a fairly big name, Sterne and Gold aren’t always looking for an A-list star to be part of The Crown. Having someone like Anderson come in is balanced by casting lesser-known actors like Corrin.

“One of the great joys of working on it—and working with Peter Morgan on it—is that we’re open, and it’s a really genuine opportunity to find the best person for the part,” Sterne says. “We get to find the actor we believe has the best skills and the best instinctive connection with the part, rather than feeling like we’ve got to provide big names all the time.”

Carrying Charles Through

Photo: Des Willie/Netflix

“He’s so three-dimensional,” Sterne explains of the role of Prince Charles. “There are so many aspects to that character. He would have to go on a journey.” It was important that the actor could evolve over a two-decade period, playing both a young version and the one who closes out season 4.

Josh O’Connor's work in Francis Lee’s 2017 film God’s Own Country led Sterne to cast him as Prince Charles. “He totally inhabited the role in God’s Own Country in this beautiful performance that’s very different from who he is. We thought, ‘Gosh, if that guy can do that and run with a character who’s so different than himself, then that will be interesting to see.’ As soon as we started [working with] him, it became pretty clear it was Josh.”

O’Connor has the obvious physical similarity to Charles, particularly in the ears, but Sterne really wanted someone who could make the role their own and not just mimic a famous figure—something especially important to season 4’s arc.

“It’s really important that you’re not getting an impersonation,” Sterne notes. “They have to embody them. We have an amazing team who help with the voice work and the movement work—those technical aspects—but you want somebody who has the skill to take on all that technically, and then leave it all behind. Josh flew with that from the moment he came into the room.”

Finding Young William and Harry

Photo: Des Willie/Netflix

Princes William and Harry make their debut in season 4 as young children, and the resemblance to the real royals is almost uncanny. A baby version of William shows up in episode 6 as Charles and Diana tour Australia and New Zealand in 1982, while Harry appears later in the season. Unlike with the older royals, Sterne focuses on physical appearance alone when casting the kids.

“They have to be as recognizable as possible,” he explains. “They don’t have the opportunity to say many lines, so it’s all visual. You want people to have the pleasure of going, ‘Ah, there they are!’”

Sterne says the difficulty in casting children can vary depending on the situation. The search involves looking through schools in the U.K. and visiting drama groups for kids. “You have to keep going until you find people who feel credible,” Sterne says.

Casting One-Off Characters and Extras

While the fourth season of The Crown focuses a lot on Charles and Diana's relationship and Thatcher’s rapport with the queen, several standalone episodes bring in one-off characters who are equally important to the narrative.

Episode 7, “The Hereditary Principle,” sees Princess Margaret learning that the royal family’s estranged cousins have been locked in a mental institution. The women, Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon, were first cousins to Elizabeth II on her mother’s side and both had severe learning disabilities. Sterne and Gold cast Trudie Emery as Katherine and Pauline Hendrickson as Nerissa. Both actresses have learning disabilities in real life.

Trudie Emery as Katherine Bowes-Lyon and Pauline Hendrickson as Nerissa Bowes-Lyon in The Crown season 4 episode 7, "The Hereditary Principle".

NETFLIX

“We had a few pictures of those two women and did a lot of research into their lives and experiences, and then did a national search across drama schools and residential care homes to find people with learning disabilities who looked similar to the real women and were interested in acting,” Sterne says. “We employed a lot of the people with learning disabilities we met along the way and put them in small parts in those scenes with Trudie and Pauline. We wanted to find real people with learning disabilities so they were properly represented. There are not as many opportunities as you’d hope for, and when we started looking around, there were so many drama groups. There’s so much talent out there.”

Similarly, in episode 5, Tom Brooke plays real-life British man Michael Fagan, who broke into Buckingham Palace to see the queen—a key moment in understanding the state of England in the 1980s.

Tom Brooke as Michael Fagan in The Crown season 4 episode 5, "Fagan". NETFLIX

“We knew there was going to be an episode about him,” Sterne says, “and I remember reading stories about him and there were loads of pictures of him. For a character like that, you look at footage of him and read about him. It’s a really extraordinary part to play, so you want to find an accomplished, technically brilliant actor who looks a bit like him. Tom is an actor with a whole lot of soul, and you wanted [Fagan] to have a whole lot of soul.”

Sterne adds, “Fagan's story was a way of exploring Thatcher’s Britain that's not automatically going to be covered if you’re just dealing with the royal family and the prime ministers, which is the usual core of The Crown.”

[pjstafford]

The Bad Boy/Good Guy public personality dynamic of David Duchovny

Written as a birthday gift (with her blog prompt) for Charmion @grungekid84

Dedication: Charmion and I are of different generations; separated in age by over twenty years. I was the age she is now, about, when the X-files was new and she watched it first as a child. Yet today we share similarities in thoughts related to our celebrity crush. To both Charmion and David Duchovny I say, I hope this blog does the love the justice it deserves.

Why are women 20 to 70 years of age fan girls of the 59 year old David Duchovny? Not simply fans! Fans might watch a movie because an actor is in it. They might rewatch a series a half dozen times. Fan girls like Charmion have an Xfile room and paint pictures. Fan girls like myself write blogs, fan fic and team up with fan girls like Cathy Glinski to present at academic conferences. Why do women who have no other celebrity crushes have this need to celebrate this one celebrity in these ways? It seems significant to me the age range of women who are fan girls. I have stood in an audience surrounded by women barely old enough to meet the 21 age limit who knew every word to each of his songs. I heard one such woman say that this is an experience she would tell her grandchildren about. I, also, know women closer to 70 who have traveled to a meet and greet or comic con because they wanted the opportunity to thank this celebrity for the years of joy. Just today as I start to write this a woman I do not know tweeted @hearteyes4david an open letter to the world with a life wish to meet and thank this man. There are so many of us who just want to say thank you. And I won’t say none of us are not, but most of us are not crazy. We are lobbyists, store managers, attorneys, emergency room nurses, church secretaries of different ages and nationalities, many happily married, most normal women ( and some men). So many of us eager, compelled almost, to meet a single specific man and say thank you.

Some of it, people will say, is lust. Yes, it’s possible that if he was a less attractive man we would wish to thank him in person less. Still, can you truly look at the picture at the end of this blog and say his looks are so much more Adonis like than any other man? To say it’s purely a physical lust for a handsome man is dismissive of the intelligent, thoughtful women so moved to want to thank him.

His talent? “Sweet baby Jesus” he gave us Mulder and if that wasn’t enough, Moody. Whether he is playing a man who has lost his wife in Return to me, a drugged out doctor in Playing God, or a Russian operative determine to see the US nuked in Phantomn he makes every character seem so real that he gets a reputation for only playing himself. He is so good of an actor playing such diverse roles that folks can’t believe is truly acting. Still, I think most of us would just be fans and not fan girls if good looks and talent was all he had going for him

He is multi-talented and many love the rock star with romantic, heart breaking lyrics. For me, as I have often said, he is my favorite living novelist with three novels published and a fourth to come out soon. He writes intelligent, funny, heart breaking novels with an unique style and characters that again seem real (even the talking animals). In a recent interview he said something to the effect that his kids could read these novels and know who he was a man. I think that’s why I love his writing so much is because lyrics or prose they are authentic expressions of an artist’s personality; which brings me to Charmion prompt...the personality of David Duchovny.

I have met the man briefly a handful of times. I like the man I have met, but I can’t pretend to know more anymore than his public persona. I know how he comes across in interviews, what others who know him say about him, and all I can possibly gleam from his public art...from the things he has acted in and from his written art- the XFiles the Unnatural, the movie “House of D”, the novels, the lyrics, the distorted selfies in the mirrors reflections he tweeted when he used to tweet. This is how I know what I know about the man...and the fact that the few times I met him he was soft spoken, polite, humble and kind; taking time to answer my questions intelligently, joke a little and write kind words.

I know he is flawed. It is impossible to be a fan and not know about some of the faults which have been well publicized. As he himself says in my favorite of his songs, “I got skeletons in my closet which time ain’t forgot...”. They will never be forgotten. They will be included 20 or 30 years from now in his obituary. His flawed character is a fact, it has been aired, it is part of who he is.

I have written that what I love best about his writing is the combination of darkness and despair with the lightness of the human spirit and resiliency (mmm...the ability to believe?) rising out of darkness. He writes about the most depressing subjects on earth realistically and the fairy tale quality which rises to fill our hearts, to make us laugh and cry, is as real. It is either or both n amazing technique and/ or a result of a world view. I choose to believe it is the latter.

David Duchovny is no saint, but God Damn, he seems like a remarkably good guy with enough of a bad/boy mischievous side to make his personality as sexy as fucking itself. See how I just got a little different in my language there. David puts fucking in a book title, god damn in a song, gets bleeped on air record breaking number of times. God damn, fuck you if you think this is a man who is afraid to swear. He is not really Fox Freaking Mulder but he is David Fucking Duchovny

He is a good guy. He is intelligent. His ability to reference the high brow literary comes across in all his works. His second album title is from a Shakespeare quote. Walt Whitman shows up throughout his novels (and his dog’s tweets). He is well read, it quite well known. If you don’t get that reference, he would, as a Dylan fan and a fan of many other musical artists. He is also happy to talk about and reference sporting heros.

He is a bad boy. Oh, but the lowbrow humor! Early interviews have fart jokes, bathroom humor. He has a knack for intermixing the profane and profound. His novel, Miss Subways, has the elementary teacher leaving the classroom in tears when an assignment (write a letter to a Shakespeare minor character) results in an innocent boy reading “My dearest Fellatio...”.

He is a good guy. He is a romantic. He gave the XFiles fans the shippy Mulder and Scully baseball scene. He believes in his heart that Californication was at heart a love story. He writes lyrics for his ex wife who loves the rain saying “ It will always be raining in this song.” In his novel are real people having real sex type of scenes...no great erotica with flowing hair and heaving bosoms for this man, but discussion of lights on or off or an older couple off screen and an adult son hearing and embarrassed.

He is a bad boy. The man has no fear of nudity. . In his first movie he was filmed completely naked. In the commentary to the rapture he admits that he told the director he thought the character slept in the nude. (Hence the balls shot). It was his idea to wear the red speedo. He improvised the moonshot in evolution.

He is a good guy. He believes in causes. He volunteers and donates to protect the planet, for animal rights, for music education and for planned parenthood. His was the only story in over 200 XFiles episodes that truly dealt with racial injustice and segregation.

He is a good guy. In House of D the thirteen year old boy’s best friend is a forty year old janitor with special needs. He is a bad boy. That boy and janitor told each other a lot of pee jokes.

I can go on and on and on about the bad boy/good guy public personna of David Duchovny, but I am going to close with a subject that might tempt fate and bring forth the haters. I want to end with thinking about David and women.

In Red Shoes diaries David was in the forefront of the soft porn explosion. In an interview this year Brigitte Bako describes her experience in filming the movie as the “worst experience of my life”; but has nothing but complimentary things to say about David, how sweet and nice he was. They became close friends and she later appeared in an episode of Californication.

In Californication, David was the star of one of the raunchiest series in television history. Tits and ass, fucking and punching. I love the show but it would likely not be made today although, to be fair, it demonstrates women having agency over their sexuality. Nevertheless, actresses who appeared on that show have recently been asked what it was like. Over and over again they talk about how comfortable the environment was and how polite and respectful David was.

Much has been made over Gillian Anderson being paid half of David Duchovny’s salary. This is hardly his fault and something he argued against once he was made aware of it, but, as a fan of the show, I love hearing him talk protectively of Mulder and of wanting to protect that relationship. I love that he was responsible for rewriting an ending to one of seasons 11 episodes which end not with Mulder objectifying Scully and not with him in his under wear, but with Scully opining the door and him standing there. As David said, Scully being in control of her own desires.

Finally in Miss Subways, I find a female character written with such realism and authenticity that I have to go back to the 19th century to find a female literary character so relatable to me. She is a reader, beautiful to some men, a little eccentric in some ways, vulnerable, strong but without a great belief in herself or her talent. She’s just fucking real in a fucking real world despite being in a surrealistic fantasy novel with Irish banshees and African spider goddesses, parallel timelines and phones that can alter reality.

We, the fan girls, love this celebrity, David Duchovny because of his looks, his talent and his personality; because he is a bad boy and a good guy; because he inspires us, because he is flawed as we all are and goes through his life trying to be present in the day. For all the fan women who have yet to meet you, Mr. Duchovny, I say thank you and we love you, until they can meet you and tell you themselves.

Happy Birthday, Charmion. If you should meet him someday when I am not there give him an extra hug for me.

[amandajeanwrites]

Sex Education and the Importance of Women’s Voices

I binged Netflix’s Sex Education: Season Two last night. I stayed up until 3AM, much to the inconvenience of my dog and husband, just like I did for the first season last year and just like I will do for season three next year. It’s an incredible, groundbreaking show about the importance of healthy communication in relationships, whether that be sexual or platonic. I live for the dynamics between characters, how each character is their own person, how each character reacts to a situation in their own justified, and sometimes unexpected, ways.

It’s an amazing show and I highly recommend. And although I could spend years on my need for Gillian Anderson’s entire wardrobe in the show, I’m here today to discuss the subplot of season two that struck me the hardest and made me most emotional. Here’s a trigger warning for anyone sensitive to the themes of sexual assault or abuse, specifically between a man and a woman. You’ve been warned, now let’s discuss. Oh I guess, spoiler warning too.

The character of Aimee, a doe-eyed, large breasted blonde girl with a heart of gold, was portrayed throughout both seasons as the ditsy best friend who was fairly sexually open out the gate. I think one of her first appearances was her having sex, and she talks pretty openly and freely about it throughout the series. I mean, everyone is, but this is specifically important for me to point out because it’s so crucial to Aimee’s growth this season.

So, here’s adorable, beautiful, sweet Aimee, forced to take the bus to school every day because she ditched her high and mighty friends from season one. So one day, Aimee gets on this same bus she takes every day, and a nice looking young man smiles at her. So she approaches him and stands near him for the trek into town. Then, upon feeling too much of a jostle for an average bus ride, Aimee turns to find this man masturbating on her. She panics, understandably so, announces it to the bus, and scrambles to exit the bus and walk to school.

This is where we encounter our first set of problems because why did no one say anything on the bus? But that’s a can of words I can’t afford to open right now. So, Aimee goes to school, meets up with her best friend, Maeve, and casually lets her know about the encounter.

The way that Aimee brings it up is initially what struck me. She was so nonchalant, almost apologetic for having disturbed his alone time. On a public bus. She then proceeds to complain about him um... making a mess... on her pants because they’re her favorites, but it’s fine she’ll wash them. Luckily, Maeve is there to spring into action and forcibly take Aimee to the police station to report the incident.

The entire time, though, Aimee still felt so casual about the matter. She continuously apologized to the police officers for taking their time, or to Maeve for ruining her birthday. At first, it felt like it came from a place of sexually openness, like I mentioned before. She was used to men coming onto her (no pun intended) so what was one more? But then, it started developing into a certain internalized shame. Like she didn’t want to put other people out.

And then eventually, throughout the season, you come to see how much Aimee internalized this incident. She refused to take the bus, instead walking miles into town for school every day. She would see this man’s face in public spaces. She lost the trust of sexual intimacy with her boyfriend. We, as audience members, come to realize how traumatic of an experience this truly was, even for someone as open as Aimee.

Finally, she snaps in a detention scene with her fellow female classmates where they’re asked to write an essay about women kind and the things all women have in common. The girls are fighting back and forth about boys and cosplay and culture and how vastly different all women are, when Aimee just screams that she can’t get on the bus. And all of the girls realized the one thing they have in common is sexual assault in some way shape or form. Every. Single. Girl.

That statistic should be shocking. A group of seven girls, surely not all of them has a sexual assault story. But it isn’t shocking because it’s accurate. Sitting here now, I cannot think of a single adult woman I know who hasn’t been in a situation where they were made uncomfortable by a male counterpart, whether they realized it as assault at the time or not.

I’m not bringing this up to be like “Oh, whoa is all of womankind”, but more than I want to applaud media for giving a voice to these women and encouragement for myself to continue it. I realized that since the Me Too movement, we’ve seen a huge increase in films, television shows, and books involving women talking about sexual assault.

Thinking about it, my two main characters in each of the novels I’m working on, have a history of sexual assault. That’s merely coincidental, but two years ago, when I started my first novel, I worried that her sexual assault subplot would be too “on trend” for the times, even though it takes place in the late 1980s.

But seeing things like Aimee’s experience in Sex Education reminded me that no, it’s not “on trend”. Women are being assaulted every single day. And a vast majority of those women aren’t talking about it. They aren’t fighting for themselves. Because they are embarrassed and ashamed and don’t want to put out their friends, or family, or significant others, or police officers or WHOEVER. And it’s garbage and we, as writers and content creators, need to be telling these stories to give these women voices.

It’s a subject I didn’t realize I felt so passionately about until I watched Sex Education, I guess. Mainly because Aimee’s portrayal was so accurate to me. Not to that extreme, but I did have a stranger once convince me to buy him a slice of pizza just to whisper in my ear “I only talked to you because you have a great ass”. And I ran back to my place of work feeling disgusting and numb and like I wanted to put on a long trench coat so no one could look at my body. Immediately, I cried to my superior and one of my managers actually ran down the street to try to yell at the guy, but he had already left.

I just remember feeling so ashamed about myself, which is ridiculous. I do have a great ass, and I deserve to be able to wear tight pants and a crop top because it makes me feel good, and I don’t need a total greaseball stranger to make me feel gross about it.

I remember feeling like I was a nuisance for pulling my managers away from their work to cry because I was taking time from their busy schedules just because a guy complimented me. That’s stupid. Those girls are some of the best people I’ve ever met, and without them, I don’t know how I would have reacted about the situation. I’ve never felt so strong and protected in my life then having them by my side.

I remember avoiding that pizza parlor for a while. It was my favorite one on the block! The guys in there all knew me, but I couldn’t go in because I felt so panicked that I would run into that guy again. Luckily, when I did go in, the pizza guys all asked me if I was okay. They said they banned that guy from ever coming in again and told me they had my back if I needed them.

But my experience was by far a best case scenario. (And this was just one instance.) There are horrible, horrible things happening to women all over every single day, and we need to be giving them a voice. I am all about this “trend” of women talking about it. I’m all about this “fad” of women solidarity. And I, for one, hope it never goes away. And I’ll ensure it never goes away by continuing to write about it, and continuing to tell my stories, and continuing to encourage those around me to tell their stories too.

What are you going to do empower the women around you? How will you help them have a voice?

Thanks, as always, for reading xo

[daphneblakess]

Hello! I want to write a dissertation on complex female characters and obviously the first one I thought about was Amy Dunne. I was wondering if you could recommend any similar complex female characters from books/movies if possible? I'd love to do a comparative study on the above-mentioned characters. Thank you 🌸

Oh, absolutely! Feel free to send it to me when you’re finished writing it as well!

- My immediate thought was Blanche Dubois from A Streetcar Named Desire. She’s one of my all-time favorite literary characters and I would do just about anything to play her. My favorite interpretation of her was by Gillian Anderson in the 2016 production, which there is a proshot of but I seem to have lost my link to. :( You can probably find it if you poke around in the tag, but if not, Vivien Leigh’s portrayal in the 1951 movie is generally considered to be the most iconic incarnation of her (although the movie had to cut some important plot points because of period-era censorship, so I would definitely recommend reading the original play). tw for very heavily implied sexual assault though

- Dana Scully from The X-Files (another Gillian Anderson character lmao. Maybe we stan but I swear this list isn’t too biased). A lot of people in the fandom have listed what they consider to be the most iconic Scully episodes but I would definitely recommend All Things since that was the one Gillian herself wrote and directed. She had been playing Scully for seven seasons by that point and used the episode as a chance to explore more sides of the character she felt like she hadn’t been able to express. There’s also the phenomenon of the “Scully Effect”, where a lot more women started going into science, medical, and law careers after the show began airing and Scully was some of the first representation of a successful woman in those fields (this was in 1992, so).

- I actually wrote an essay of my own for a film studies class on Guillermo Del Toro’s female characters! Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak, and The Shape of Water all have fantastic female leads, and I honestly recommend any of them. I’m specifically biased towards Crimson Peak, which is both a love letter to and 21st-Century interpretation of the gothic romance genre (think Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, etc.). Edith is a great examination of the gothic heroine archetype and Jessica Chastain steals just about every scene as Lucille.

- Both of the female leads in The Handmaiden (this is another one I’ve written an essay on). I think two years since this movie’s release, Tumblr is finally out of the worst discourse surrounding it, thank God. Along with layered characterization and fantastic usage of unreliable narrator, this movie also has a great lesbian romance and criticism of pornographic male gaze both as a whole and against wlw specifically. It’s also stylistically gorgeous, I’m still salty over the international awards snubs.

- Elaine Parks in The Love Witch. This movie is starting to make its rounds on Tumblr as an aesthetic blog favorite, but there is a lot to unpack both within the movie and when you read some of the stories about its production (Anna Biller fought to have almost complete creative control; she not only wrote and directed it, she was also the producer, editor, and composer of the score. Many crew members acted hostile towards not only her, but the cast, and allegedly even attempted to sabotage filming).

- Killing Eve is also getting a lot of well-deserved recognition for its female leads! Sandra Oh has already won several awards for her acting in it, and while Jodie Comer got snubbed this year, I have a feeling the second season is going to change that once it airs in April. This one has gotten a lot of buzz on Tumblr and in general so you probably already know it, but I feel like it belongs here. Hope I was able to help!

EDIT 1: One of my mutuals recommended The Americans, which I haven't seen for myself but I'm taking their word for.

[smol-scully]

g&f season 5 episode 1 thoughts!

throwing them below the cut for spoilers. it’s ,, a lot, but replies are on and my inbox is (always) open if anyone wants to yell with me!!!!

okay so this is my first season of g&f where i’m watching it in real time, so i am both so ready and not ready for this fucking magic carpet ride of emotions. first of all, just so happy to see the two of them on screen again. it’s just so healing to get a nice two shot of them together, like this 

!!!!! look at them !!! shocked in a del taco!!!! (a del shock-o) what’s not to love????? 

anyway, things I liked about this episode: 

1. GRACE EATS DEL TACO. 

on the surface, obviously it’s fun but it’s huge to me because there’s something wonderfully political about women REALISTICALLY eating on screen. I think of The Fall -- also on netflix -- and when Gillian Anderson absolutely LAYS IN to this cheeseburger . (there’s a post that articulates this much better than I will here, but Stella eats!  as if women need sustenance! and it’s not the main event! and it’s not conventionally pretty!!!!) so while grace’s disordered eating deserves its own post, it was so nice to see her and frankie 1- share something that frankie loves 2- get to Just Eat because it was a long fucking day and that’s what people do when they’re exhausted and hungry and have the ability to. also 3- seeing jane who has been so image conscious her whole life take a bite of the burrito -- and then dive back in for a second massive bite -- was a religious experience okay?

2. Reclaiming Agency/Control 

The obvious example of this is the implementation of ‘the Fuck It Life’ by our leading ladies. but it was done so much more meaningfully than the previews led me to believe. maybe this has something to do with jane’s incredible prowess as an actress (acting is reacting, babes, and jane is the QUEEN). grace starts the del taco sequence fairly down and out. but you can truly see the moment it hits her that, wait a second, saying ‘fuck it’ is an option. we don’t have to go along with this, or any other bullshit we’re being presented with. obviously that’s not going to be enough to make her problems go away, but in parallel with jane -- and jane as grace!!!!-- leaning in to take a second massive bite of burrito, you can see grace eschewing propriety here, and deciding that they’re going after what they want-- and they’ll work out the consequences as they crop up. it seems (knock on wood) like a more meaningful-- perhaps more hard fought, better earned?-- version of the season 2 finale (fuck all y’all we’re making vibrators--> fuck all y’all we’re taking our lives back) 

more specifically the reclaiming control comes in when grace and frankie reassert themselves as The Parents, as in, they are In Fucking Charge, not their kids. there’s a visual shift of power-- bud tries to physically move frankie and she refuses, and then they physically usher the kids out.  it was like fresh fucking air. 

also, I know he’s a Hot Topic in this fandom (aka not universally liked) but it was nice to see this theme held up for robert and sol too-- i think for the first time we saw robert Being The Parent, and i loved it. (i have a soft spot for robert and sol because i have a Theory about the presentation of their relationship, and because I am loving seeing the gay!JedBartlet that america (and leo) deserved.) Brianna wanted to stay and grill Roy, and kept hanging back to do so, until Robert pops back and uses, for the first time that I remember, his Dad Voice. so we’re making the kids, kids, again, and it’s about fucking time. respect your elders, even the ones who lack chemistry with their romantic scene partners. 

speaking of chemistry: 

3. grace and frankie make for a terrifying and brilliant unified front. 

it’s obvious. this season they are the walking, talking, fuck slinging version of ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.’ but adding to that? my GOD if you ever need an example of why a- opposites attract and b- make for an incredibly formidable pair of opponents, look at this fucking moment. 

 we’ve said it a million times, but it bears repeating: grace has grown so much. her popped collar lemon blouse propriety has met its match in our tuvan throat singing ball of pendants, and they are going to lovingly burn anyone who gets in their way to the fucking ground. 

4. grace looking at frankie, frankie looking at grace:

[EDIT: 4b. it isn’t just good to see them together: 

this episode was already stronger than last season because they have every scene together, which means the story -- and the dialogue. the fucking h u m o r -- is just so much stronger. they’re the heart of this show because we like watching them on screen together. bottom line. so lets hope this keeps up.]

5. the exit theme: “A Wall” by Downtown Boys

“How much is enough?/ And who makes that call?” oh my GOD i’m adding this to my regular playlist and also a mental g&f playlist i have in the making tbh.

we’re going all in, girls.

[rocknvaughn]

Transcript of the new Colin Morgan Interview

Colin Morgan is a man of many talents. Enigmatic performer. Charming Ulsterman. Method actor. Qualities that have underpinned his ability to reinvent himself at every turn. Since bursting onto the scene over a decade ago, Colin has transported us back to the Middle Ages, explored the meaning of life as a twenty-first century android, and broken a few hearts as a troubled Victorian shrink. Gee Wong talks to the rising star about the intensity of the roles he plays, his way with accents and why he’s giving social media the cold shoulder.

Arranging an interview with Colin Morgan is a lesson in timing. Given that his brisk schedule and unforeseen events have thwarted our previously arranged powwows, it’s a relief when the phone eventually whirrs into life. He introduces himself in his deep loquacious Ulster drawl and all is forgiven. “I’m glad we’ve finally got the chance to talk, there’s been a lot of back and forth, hope everything is alright?” he says. The raw accent, while expected, is captivating to hear for the first time—largely because he’s a master at disguising those native vowels.

From the West End stage to television to the silver screen, the vocal gymnastics have been key to defining this award-winning actor’s march toward stardom. In fact, they often go hand in hand with the intense and angst-heavy roles he clearly relishes. “I couldn’t write down any specific reasons why I go for a part because it really is instinctive. It’s more of a feeling than a reason, you know what I mean?” he explains. “It’s like when you meet someone and you just click, but you don’t really know why, but you just do. It’s a bit like that. I’m meeting a character when I read it on the page and if it does something to me, it literally calls.” His confidence in an ability to single out roles is striking and the approach clearly works for him. “It has to be the only way. The scriptwriter, director and producer—theyre all on board because they’re passionate about a project and you’ve got to come in and respect there’s been a lot of hard work gone into the stage where they’re casting—these things can go on for years!” Auditions must be pretty intense then? “Yeah, I can feel it sometimes in auditions—if you can’t come in and deliver that level of what’s come before then you shouldn’t be there. You’ve got to love it.”

For his breakout performance—as the eponymous young wizard in the BBC’s fantasy drama Merlin—Colin owned an English accent so convincingly that his burgeoning fan base couldn’t quite believe he was from County Armagh. What’s his secret to cracking an accent? The answer is, of course, a lot of talent, practice and immersing himself in the role. “When I’m working on a character the voice comes first, or initially the way they move, it all influences each other,” he says. It’s a habit that’s seen him in good stead over the years. “Just like a runner training for a marathon, you need to do your training, listen to a lot of people, the way they talk and move, and imitate a lot because you’re working in the business of mimicry,” he admits. “It’s a case of muscle memory for me. I love accents, I love doing them, as many as I can really.”

He’s recently been back on the box—fine-tuning his Received Pronunciation English—in the supernatural period drama The Living and the Dead. It’s a darkly written role about grief and holding onto the past, with no shortage of terrifying apparitions to hammer home the message. What was it like returning to the fantasy genre after a few years away? “It’s weird because fantasy implies a story is lifted from reality. I don’t feel like I get affected by the genre because the character is just living their story,” he says. “For me, it’s all about the script and reaching into the character that I can inhabit.” The actor gave his all to the role, including staying in accent throughout filming. “I didn’t plan on it at all on the first day, but after we did our first scene it just stayed with me for the whole shoot. You’re in costume and even on your lunch break you’re still dressed as the character, you’ve still got the long hair and the beard,” he explains, laughing. “You still feel it—the person and the voice are just part of it.” So, in reality, not as odd as it sounds. “It’s just so much easier especially when you have a Northern Irish accent. To try and go from that to an English accent from 1894—they’re miles apart!”

Talking of his appearance, his fans set Twitter alight after the first episode. The reason? A sit-up-in-your-chair topless scene that let slip an ‘all growed up’ physique and, inevitably, a new-found pin-up status for the actor. It’s a far cry from his fresh-faced debut in Merlin at the tender age of 22. Nevertheless, the comments went right over his head—he shuns social media. “It’s just not me really. You have to want to do it,” he states without hesitation. “It’s an amazing medium for getting the word out for shows, promotion and for staying in contact, but there are a lot of negative sides as well.” Can he point out a few of the downsides? “When the words you want to say don’t have to be said face to face people tend to say a lot of stuff—that’s not something I think is healthy for an actor to be an open party to,” he adds. I get the impression he’s been burnt from personal experience and now views his privacy as sacrosanct. When pressed further, he confesses to a distaste for so-called ‘insta-stardom’ and all the baggage that comes with it. “The good stuff can make you arrogant, the bad stuff can stay with you forever,” he declares.

That said, don’t call him a technophobe. Although he doesn’t watch much television these days, he’s all for the BBC’s decision to simultaneously broadcast and stream his latest show. “It’s brilliant. It’s absolutely in keeping with how people are watching nowadays. When I do watch television, it’s on catch-up, Netflix and Amazon.” He does also venture online to shop and email. He has googled himself once—purely out of curiosity—which was enough to put him off for life. So, how does he receive feedback on his performances? “I never hear about it unless it’s mentioned to me. Fans show their support in many different ways. A lot of them write fan letters, which I think is much more in line with how I’m likely to respond.”

A low-fi solution indeed, but totally in keeping with Colin’s old-school, yet easygoing style. Not much fazes him: was turning 30 a big deal last year? “No, not really, weirdly. I can appreciate it’s one of those milestones in your life,” he states matter-of-factly before pausing and reflecting on intriguing new possibilities. “At the minute, I think I’m still on that younger side of the age bracket, but I’m looking forward to being an ageing actor and getting to play all those great Shakespearean roles as well.”

A busy year it certainly was. Having played the lead in the mystery drama Waiting for You, he returned for the second season of the UK sci-fi drama Humans. Apparently, there was tremendous pressure to live up to the first season, which was a surprise hit for Channel 4—its biggest show in 20 years. “It definitely went up in scale, much bigger, much faster, lots of new characters and more storylines,” he says of the production. “I think fans will have loved the direction it went in.” A third season looks like a shoo-in.

Then there was the closing chapter of The Fall. Over the course of the show’s story arc critics and audiences endured the stuff of nightmares as Gillian Anderson’s detective hunted sadistic serial killer Paul Spector, played by fellow Ulsterman Jamie Dornan. Colin joined the show in season two as enigmatic detective Tom Anderson and reveals it was equal parts tension and anticipation during the filming of the endgame. “A pure page-turner! I couldn’t wait to get the next page of the script and that says a lot about the writer’s skill,” he admits. What was it like working with Gillian? “Just brilliant. Gillian’s a consummate professional, such a joy to work with and she has a really good sense of humour. She had really heavy scenes, but she was just able to let go after filming.” What about Jamie? “Absolutely brilliant, he’s had global success and he’s exactly the same as when I first started working with him. He’s a real talent.”

If last year was good, then 2017 is set to be even better. He’s in final talks on a number of projects, including another film that he hopes will start shooting in the early summer. Meanwhile, he’s attracting considerable attention from across the Atlantic. “There are a lot of exciting dramas happening, and right now a lot of American things are coming through,” he says.

Talk turns to the day of his photo shoot, which I suspect might not have been the most enjoyable experience for the publicity-shy actor. “It was brilliant! The guys were so good! It was basically a group of people in a room with a camera having a bit of a laugh,” he volunteers, somewhat enthusiastically, before pausing as if to compose himself. After a few seconds he continues: “Obviously, in any of those situations it’s not a normal thing to be photographed, it’s not really second nature to me. So, anything that makes the whole experience relaxed, enjoyable and fun that’s the key, and the guys really did that for me.”

It’s apparent he draws a clear distinction between performing for his art and self-promotion—the later of which he accepts as part and parcel of his profession. “I think it’s important to divide the line between your professional and personal self,” he says. I press him further on how he finds the right balance between championing his work and maintaining a safe distance from media intrusion. “With so many shows being on TV there is a commitment in terms of publicity that wasn’t as strong as in the past. Yes, when you work on a job, it’s important that you’re proud of it and you want to support it. The other side of it is the nastier side, which can backfire on people.” A diplomatic answer tempered with his signature frankness.

It’s nearing the end of the interview, but his last remarks remind me of something he said at the outset that neatly sums up the actor’s perspective. “Whenever I did theatre, I’d go in, do the job, go home and trust that the work we had done was enough. We didn’t need anyone’s approval, disapproval or opinions.” In our current hashtag culture, it’s refreshing to hear someone completely unfazed by fame, while somehow still managing to wear their sensibilities so lightly.

[mysteryshelf]

BLOG TOUR - Waking Lazarus

  Welcome to

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About the Book

A fast-paced thriller packed with page-turning twists, Waking Lazarus proves beyond a doubt that D.J. Williams is an exciting, fresh voice in international mystery and suspense. Homeland meets Bourne in this inventive and complex story of epic global adventure.

  Jake Harris’ life hasn’t turned out the way he planned. Battling his addictions, and the shattered pieces of his family, he is hired to ghostwrite a memoir. From the 1920’s story of a controversial evangelist, to the present-day mystery of a former District Attorney, everything changes when his search for the truth leads to an atrocity hidden from history.

  With a past he can’t remember, he begins to discover that he is not the person he believed himself to be. Rather, he is a threat to a secret society that has remained in the shadows for nearly a century. Jake is drawn deep inside a world he never knew existed that brings him closer to his own extraordinary destiny.

  This Summer you can access the first 10 chapters of Waking Lazarus – the # 1 read for summer 2017 – for free. Head to www.djwilliamsbooks.com for more information. Waking Lazarus will be exclusively priced at just $10 from 12th June-31st August 2017, with both Waking Lazarus and The Disillusioned available together in print for just $16 (and e-books priced at $2.99 each) via www.djwilliamsbooks.com. The Waking Lazarus soundtrack is also now available for just $4.99 from June-August 2017. Don’t leave for your vacation without them!

  Interview with the Author

  What initially got you interested in writing?

  At eight years old, I read Treasure Island cover to cover lost in my bedroom living out an adventure in another world. From the first page I was captured by the story and characters. When I closed the book I was left dreaming of becoming a storyteller. I never imagined how that would become reality. Fast forward through the years to a season in life where I found myself transitioning out of the music industry into the second act of my career as an Executive Producer and Director in the TV business. Only then did that spark of inspiration return to pursue my dream to write mystery, suspense, and international thrillers. Even after all those years I was hooked by a spark of inspiration, and the chase was on.

  What genres do you write in?

  Mystery, suspense, International thrillers

  What drew you to writing these specific genres?

  I stood on the shores of the Zambezi River as that spark of a story pierced my soul. I’d traveled across Zambia for three weeks, producing a live music recording and filming a documentary. I witnessed the reality of those forgotten by the world and I knew that one day I’d write about this place. Little did I know that it would be a few years before I found the courage to write my first novel, The Disillusioned. After a year of writing late at night, I sent my novel to a friend in the TV industry with the disclaimer, “If it’s not any good, the only two people who’ll know are you and me.”

  Within a few days my friend, Judith McCreary (Executive Producer of Law & Order: SVU, Criminal Minds, & CSI) called me back and encouraged me to push forward so I found an agent and searched for ways to get the story published. I was humbled when she was the first to endorse the novel, “The Disillusioned is a fast-paced mystery…you won’t put it down until you’ve unlocked the secrets and lies to find the truth.”

  How did you break into the field?

  After I finished writing The Disillusioned, I went through the step of sending query emails to potential agents, and then I waited. Weeks and months passed with the occasional rejection. Just as the birds stopped singing, and I thought I’d failed to get to the next stage, I ended up signing on with a literary agent who helped me put a proposal together. Then more months passed as the proposal was sent out to a long list of publishers. I’d heard from other authors how they were rejected ten, twenty, or nearly thirty times before their novel landed with a publisher who was willing to take the risk. I hoped that I’d be one of the lucky ones. I’ve yet to reach the summit. I’m just another climber on the mountain pulling myself up one word at a time.

  What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

  What I discovered throughout the writing process was that using my experiences traveling to the poorest places in the world fueled my drive to create the Guardian Novels, a series filled with mystery, suspense, and adventure. All of those were aspects of the story, but from the first novel the reality of the fight against human trafficking was an underlying thread throughout. It’s one reason why I’ve defined this series as cause-driven novels. My hope is that readers will be entertained, but will also be inspired to make a difference in the world when they flip that last page.

  Writing the second novel, Waking Lazarus, was challenging to continue in the cause-driven storytelling style. To capture this story in a unique way, the novel spans nearly a century as readers are taken back to the 1920’s and then return to present day on a global adventure. It also pushes readers further into the worlds of child slavery, poverty, and the darkness of secrets. I’m humbled that the Guardian Novels, and the cause-driven storytelling style, have garnered the attention of Hollywood’s elite, including Peter Anderson, and Oscar winning cinematographer, who described it as “a captivating visual story with a colorful narrative” and  “hard to put down.”

    What do you find most rewarding about writing?

  Chasing the story is what keeps me writing. Once that spark of a story hits you’re on the hunt for answers. Often, I’ve found that the outline I create in the beginning looks vastly different at the end of the first draft. I believe it’s because as I’m writing, chasing down the story and characters, there are twists and turns that reveal themselves in surprising ways. For me, not knowing exactly what’s going to happen next keeps me on the edge of my seat. I’ve always thought that if I’m on the journey guessing what’s going to happen next, then hopefully, the same will be true for readers who enter into the world I’ve created.

  What do you find most challenging about writing?

  When I first began writing the Guardian Novels, there was only one story with one set of characters. But as I continued writing the second book, Waking Lazarus, the world expanded with new characters, twists and turns, and underlying secrets that needed to be revealed at just the right moment. Keeping track of all my characters, and their story arcs in the world, has been a challenge at times. And I’m not only chasing the next story, I’m also chasing after my favorite authors who inspire me to push my characters farther than I ever thought possible. In the end, I’d love for those I admire to be surprised by the stories I write. It’s easy to start a story, but the real challenge is to finish with a bang!

  What advice would you give to people wanting to enter the field?

  Writing is a journey that leads us into the valleys as we strive to climb the mountain. I would say for any writer the challenge is to live out the 3 P’s: Passion. Purpose. Productivity. Passion is what gives you the endurance to keep going. If you love to write, then you write whether you become a bestselling author or not. It’s part of your DNA. It’s something you’ll do no matter who might end up reading your creation. But passion without purpose leaves you without clear goals or direction. Know where you want to end up in six months, a year, or five years from now. Know what drives your passion for writing. Know the genre where you want to build an audience. Passion and defining your purpose allows your writing to become more productive. Set a writing schedule to start and finish your novel, and then do it! Finishing a novel is the hardest part of the journey. But with each story you finish, you’ll discover what makes your writing and storytelling unique.

  What type of books do you enjoy reading?

  John Grisham, Michael Connelly, Brad Meltzer, James Patterson, David Baldacci, Gillian Flynn, Robert Galbraith AKA J.K. Rowling, and Lee Child. It’s impossible to pick only one, so I’m on a quest to read them all.

    Is there anything else besides writing you think people would find interesting about you?

                                                                                             When I began writing Waking Lazarus I searched for musical inspiration as the story spanned nearly a century. I scrolled through my iTunes playlists and picked out a sequence of soundtracks to help set the tone and mood to help capture each scene as it played out on the page like a film. Working in the entertainment industry as an Executive Producer and Director, I understand how important a piece of music can be to enhance the story you’re trying to tell.

  As the months passed, Waking Lazarus came alive on the page and I had a thought…what if we created a soundtrack to go with the book. It was something I hadn’t seen done before. A soundtrack customized for the story, and done in a way that readers of all kinds could use it without being lost.

  I reached out to a young composer, Jené Nicole Johnson, and shared with her the vision I had for a soundtrack to enhance the reading experience for Waking Lazarus. Under a tight deadline, she accepted the challenge and broke the code on how best to put the soundtrack together. She created layers of music that not only captured the 1920’s era through present day, but also the mystery and suspense as the story travels from the Southland to the Orient. All of the music tied together with specific chapters so it was easy for readers to follow. I found myself writing to the soundtrack as I worked on the final draft. It was an energizing, creative, experience, one I believe I’ll do again in the next Guardian Novel.

    What are the best ways to connect with you, or find out more about your work?

  The best way to connect with me is on my website, www.djwilliamsbooks.com. In addition to the novels, you’ll find some really cool stuff. We’ll be launching the Writers Circle in June, a place to share what I’m learning with other aspiring writers. And you’ll also find the Guardian Alliance, our ongoing effort to support causes around the world through proceeds from each book sold. You can also find me on Twitter: @djwilliams316, Facebook: www.facebook.com/djwilliams316 and Instagram: @djwilliamsbooks

    BLOG TOUR – Waking Lazarus was originally published on the Wordpress version of The Pulp and Mystery Shelf