See icon. See story below ...
I have to begin this post by sending huge hugs to bigtitch. On Thursday evening, she innocently called me and asked what I was doing on Saturday afternoon. Well, other than household chores and shopping, nothing terribly exciting.
That was when she landed the bombshell on me: some of the girls of primeval_denial were going to be in London (visiting the British Museum as one is wont to do in order to scout out the sites and make sure the BM is still intact after the opening episode of Primeval Series Three ;)). And, thanks to the incredible efforts of fififolle, a special surprise had been arranged; Mark Wakeling of Primeval fame as Captain Ryan had kindly agreed to meet up with the girls for a chat and some tea/coffee. And they invited me to join them! Now what sane fangirl would turn that down? Ergo, despite the challenges associated with the major engineering works on SouthWest lines which made my journey substantially more difficult, I'm so glad I made it to London because MW is incredibly lovely and charming and just *such* a nice guy. And ridiculously gorgeous -- as if there was any doubt about that. And most importantly, I got to spend time with the PD gals who are a wonderful bunch!
Mr. Wakeling showed up right on time and had everyone charmed within minutes of us all settling down in the cafe at the British Museum (and thanks go to the lovely fredbassett and Sharon who'd had the good fortune to meet him before and acted as the ultimate hostesses for the meet and greet and had him feeling very comfortable very quickly). Thanks also go to fififolle who had very sensibly gone ahead to the cafe and scored a fabulous table in one of the side alcoves. I can only imagine what it looked and sounded like to the rest of the visitors -- one gentleman holding court with eight ladies in waiting ;)
And speaking of those ladies in waiting, bigtitch was literally vibrating with squee. As she put it, it was a good thing it was daylight, because otherwise her squeeish glow would have lit up the entire sky and killed any bats flying past ::grins::
As for what was discussed, it ran the gambit and I can't believe how generous he was with his time; he stayed for nearly an hour and a half!
In terms of his time on Primeval, he loved playing Ryan. He actually has real military experience, having been in the UK military as an officer for four years in the mid nineties, so parts of the role came very easily to him. One of his fondest memories is the producers/directors giving him free reign to go and instruct "his boys" -- the balance of the Primeval Forces team -- as to how to play the scene.
As for the mood on the set, there was definitely a "distinction" between the "actors" and the rest of the actors -- as he put it :) However, he was very complimentary towards Douglas Henshall; apparently DH very much believed in the importance of having a security forces presence as part of the story line and completely supported MW in that role.
Also, when we asked an innocent question about the height of the actors (i.e. how tall is DH as they tend to stage the shots such that James Murray is slightly behind him), MW make a comment about there being "tension" between DH and JM. Take that as you will!
In terms of what he's currently working on, he's actively involved in the Actor's Temple which, amongst various other roles, runs a number of workshops throughout the year. He's also working on a new film (independent -- associated with the Temple) which will be filmed this summer.
Much more was chatted about, but the overall impression that I was left with was a lovely, generous, well spoken gentleman. He's made another convert. (I may have joined his community tonight ::whistles innocently::)
And, although we took no pictures today, I felt it necessary to go in search of images in order to document some of the reasons why the Wakeling is more than worthy of fannish support. Thanks go to the wakeling_fans community for these pics!
Yep. He pretty much looks like this. Cut the hair a wee bit shorter, add a white t-shirt and jeans and you have MW ca. 2009 March 28th ;) Are you starting to see the attraction. And those baby blues! They just fix on you!
His t-shirt did nothing to hide his muscle definition. See picture above; imagine it covered with white cotton. Now you're getting the picture!
This is how we know him best at the moment. The competent Captain Ryan.
But there's nothing wrong with this view. Yes: that *is* Mark Wakeling in wings, gold shorts and nail polish. And eyeshadow! (Gold of course.)
And finally, I did promise boy kissing.
::grins:: Oh yes. Nothing wrong with these images.
And on that note, methinks I'll be making some Wakeling icons tomorrow ;)
As for the Series Three premiere of Primeval, Becker is no Ryan, but it's nice to see the Special Forces back where they should be. And, now that my pairing is dead (namely Nick/Stephen), I no longer have a vested interest in the dynamics between the characters. So, I can sit back and just enjoy the show. Ergo, I'm enjoying the new characters more than I had expected. Dr. Page and Not-Ryan/Becker are welcome additions. Let's see where it goes!
That was when she landed the bombshell on me: some of the girls of primeval_denial were going to be in London (visiting the British Museum as one is wont to do in order to scout out the sites and make sure the BM is still intact after the opening episode of Primeval Series Three ;)). And, thanks to the incredible efforts of fififolle, a special surprise had been arranged; Mark Wakeling of Primeval fame as Captain Ryan had kindly agreed to meet up with the girls for a chat and some tea/coffee. And they invited me to join them! Now what sane fangirl would turn that down? Ergo, despite the challenges associated with the major engineering works on SouthWest lines which made my journey substantially more difficult, I'm so glad I made it to London because MW is incredibly lovely and charming and just *such* a nice guy. And ridiculously gorgeous -- as if there was any doubt about that. And most importantly, I got to spend time with the PD gals who are a wonderful bunch!
Mr. Wakeling showed up right on time and had everyone charmed within minutes of us all settling down in the cafe at the British Museum (and thanks go to the lovely fredbassett and Sharon who'd had the good fortune to meet him before and acted as the ultimate hostesses for the meet and greet and had him feeling very comfortable very quickly). Thanks also go to fififolle who had very sensibly gone ahead to the cafe and scored a fabulous table in one of the side alcoves. I can only imagine what it looked and sounded like to the rest of the visitors -- one gentleman holding court with eight ladies in waiting ;)
And speaking of those ladies in waiting, bigtitch was literally vibrating with squee. As she put it, it was a good thing it was daylight, because otherwise her squeeish glow would have lit up the entire sky and killed any bats flying past ::grins::
As for what was discussed, it ran the gambit and I can't believe how generous he was with his time; he stayed for nearly an hour and a half!
In terms of his time on Primeval, he loved playing Ryan. He actually has real military experience, having been in the UK military as an officer for four years in the mid nineties, so parts of the role came very easily to him. One of his fondest memories is the producers/directors giving him free reign to go and instruct "his boys" -- the balance of the Primeval Forces team -- as to how to play the scene.
As for the mood on the set, there was definitely a "distinction" between the "actors" and the rest of the actors -- as he put it :) However, he was very complimentary towards Douglas Henshall; apparently DH very much believed in the importance of having a security forces presence as part of the story line and completely supported MW in that role.
Also, when we asked an innocent question about the height of the actors (i.e. how tall is DH as they tend to stage the shots such that James Murray is slightly behind him), MW make a comment about there being "tension" between DH and JM. Take that as you will!
In terms of what he's currently working on, he's actively involved in the Actor's Temple which, amongst various other roles, runs a number of workshops throughout the year. He's also working on a new film (independent -- associated with the Temple) which will be filmed this summer.
Much more was chatted about, but the overall impression that I was left with was a lovely, generous, well spoken gentleman. He's made another convert. (I may have joined his community tonight ::whistles innocently::)
And, although we took no pictures today, I felt it necessary to go in search of images in order to document some of the reasons why the Wakeling is more than worthy of fannish support. Thanks go to the wakeling_fans community for these pics!
Yep. He pretty much looks like this. Cut the hair a wee bit shorter, add a white t-shirt and jeans and you have MW ca. 2009 March 28th ;) Are you starting to see the attraction. And those baby blues! They just fix on you!
His t-shirt did nothing to hide his muscle definition. See picture above; imagine it covered with white cotton. Now you're getting the picture!
This is how we know him best at the moment. The competent Captain Ryan.
But there's nothing wrong with this view. Yes: that *is* Mark Wakeling in wings, gold shorts and nail polish. And eyeshadow! (Gold of course.)
And finally, I did promise boy kissing.
::grins:: Oh yes. Nothing wrong with these images.
And on that note, methinks I'll be making some Wakeling icons tomorrow ;)
As for the Series Three premiere of Primeval, Becker is no Ryan, but it's nice to see the Special Forces back where they should be. And, now that my pairing is dead (namely Nick/Stephen), I no longer have a vested interest in the dynamics between the characters. So, I can sit back and just enjoy the show. Ergo, I'm enjoying the new characters more than I had expected. Dr. Page and Not-Ryan/Becker are welcome additions. Let's see where it goes!