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| Downton Abbey Season II |
Well, word is that the new series of Downton Abbey is brilliant. Hmmmmmm....I wouldn't know as I am being good and waiting until the darkest days of January for this wonderful show to reappear on PBS.
So in the meantime, I am amusing myself by posting silly old photos of the stars. Here is the one which started me off:
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| Mr. Bates? |
OK, Brendan Coyle (Mr. Bates) with floppy Hugh Grant hair from the 1990s. I don't know whether to laugh or whether to ...mmmmm....not bad actually ....kinda sexy...and the guy in the back looks mighty jealous of that hair!
Then I tried to find an old photo of Julian Fellowes, illustrious writer of Downton Abbey. I Googled "old photos of Julian Fellowes" and even "Julian Fellowes with hair" and all the photos looked like they were taken last week. Apparently this guy has always been bald, chubby and middle aged. So I settled on this one:
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| Julian Fellowes as Monarch of the Glen |
Not sure if it is the hat (tam?) or if it is the pompous look on his face, but it gave me a little giggle! After all, this is the man who used the word grandiloquent in his
Emmy speech!
Then I ran into the same problem with Hugh Bonneville (aka the Earl of Grantham). Even way back to Notting Hill in 1999 where he played the adorable Bernie he looked basically the same as he does now. So I had to settle on this photo:
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| Hugh Bonneville as Mr. Rushworth in Mansfield Park |
OK, whoever thought up the bouffant hairdo to make Hugh Bonneville look totally ridiculous as the air-headed Mr. Rushworth was brilliant. I would have run off with Henry Crawford too if I were Maria!
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| Jim Carter? Really? |
And I wouldn't have recognized the baritone voiced Jim Carter (Mr. Carson) from this photo in a million years! The mustachio is magnifique!
Now, "Where are the ladies?" I hear you crying. Well here is the baby faced Elizabeth McGovern (Cora, the Countess of Grantham), who apparently has always had a penchant for period drama:
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| Elizabeth McGovern in Ragtime |
As you see, I had to choose a cropped version of this photo from Ragtime. There are many photos online with full frontal nudity (Elizabeth!) but I'll try to keep it PG13 here at the Jane Austen Film Club.
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| Maggie Smith in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie |
Now as Maggie Smith (Violet, the Dowager Countess) has been gorgeous throughout her entire career (including now) I had to settle for one with sixties hair that reminded me of my mother when she was young. Yes, this was the Jennifer Aniston hairdo of the day back then. Everyone had one!
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| Penelope Wilton |
Penelope Wilton (Isobel Crawley) is another lady who looks good in almost any photo. So here is her false eyelash look from the 1960s I think. What a glamour shot!
And as for all the younger ones, well...they just look normal in all of their photos because they haven't aged yet and the styles haven't changed enough for a giggle. But just you wait...
Oh that was so very much fun. Wasn't Elizabeth McGovern in a Scarlet Pimpernel also? And Julian Fellowes I absolutely loved the Monarch of the Glen series. I had to buy the whole thing last year. So much fun! I so did not realize that was Hugh Bonneville - oh my. Penelope Wilton is absolutely gorgeous in that photo. And I love Brendan in pretty much anything he's in. North and South and Larkrise to Candleford especially. suzan
ReplyDeleteBig fun! As for Mr Bates, I don't see the attraction then or now, but at least I can see a little more of it in the *then* picture.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell what age Anna and Mr Bates are meant to be, but he looks old enough that he could *almost* be her grandfather. She seemed to take to him immediately, even though he's a man of few words and all he revealed of himself to begin with was integrity despite a limp. So while I'm happy for them and hope their path will be smooth (which of course it won't, will it, Mr Fellowes?), I find it hard to buy them as a couple.
I first saw Joanne Froggatt in Dinnerladies, which is one of my favorite comedy series of all time. There are only two seasons, and only the first one is on DVD, but if you can see it, I'd recommend it. I think Joanne Froggatt is in the pilot; it's a minor role and only one episode.
But she's one of those people who sticks in your mind. At our house, we tend to remember them by the first role we saw them in, so we spot Froggatt in other shows and say "There's Sigourney!", Sigourney being the schoolgirl who came to the factory canteen, the situation in the Dinnerladies sitcom, for a day of 'work experience'.
OH, and I would never in a million years guessed it was Jim Carter under that moustache!
@suzan- Glad you liked the photos (tee hee) and yes Elizabeth was in the Scarlet Pimpernel also. She has done a lot of period drama!
ReplyDelete@Mary Ellen- I'm going to surprise you by telling you that Brendan Coyle is only 47 and Joanne Froggat is 32! I agree that he looks older than 47 (he is my age and I hope I'm aging better!) and she looks younger than her 32 years. I am more of a Richard Armitage lady than a Brendan Coyle fan but he certainly has a following! (I enjoy his acting however)
I have never seen Dinner Ladies so I will have to check that out. It is really time for me to get a region free DVD player so I can order some region 2 DVDs!
Brendan Coyle is a hunk. I would not have recognized Penelope Wilton. She was so lovely.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth McGovern is such a wonderful actress. She was at her most ethereal and simultaneously least remembered in a cute, weird little early 80s film with Dudley Moore called Lovesick. I highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteBut once again I started watching something for one actor (Elizabeth) and ended up falling for some other aspect. Anna and Bates stole the whole show, IMO.
@Anonymous- I just found out yesterday that Elizabeth McGovern was once engaged to Sean Penn! So glad she got out of that relationship and moved to England. I'll have to find Lovesick. Sounds cute. And Anna and Bates are truly classy. What a great love story!
ReplyDeleteI just ran across this blog while looking for a photo of Julian Fellowes from The Scarlet Pimpernel. Your photo of Brendan caught my eye! Here is a young Julian - he's the one on the left in green. :) http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxbsuyLuZc1r65of0o1_1280.jpg
ReplyDeleteThanks Stephanie for my giggle for the day. It certainly is Julian Fellowes in his younger days. I can't wait to see his take on Romeo and Juliet!
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