#;;muse aesthetic: howard (alpha)
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@coolrpblog
Jack Whitten, Black in Time. 1980.
#;;muse aesthetic: Stanford pines#;;muse aesthetic: neil#;;muse aesthetic: howard (crossings)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (alpha)#;;use aesthetic: howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: h137 (engels)#;;muse aesthetic: stanley pines#;;ship aesthetic: stanfordxbill (coolrpblog)
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S2e7 - No Strings Attached aesthetics
#counterpart#counterpart spoilers#counterpart aesthetics#guess what's nexxttttttttttt#if you guessed 'the epi that killed Kala on multiple levels' you're RIGHT#;;muse: howard (alpha)#;;muse: Howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (alpha)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (crossings)#;;general: Counterpart
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“It’s been a gentle start to the day,” Harry Lloyd says with a smile, speaking at a subdued volume while his six-month-old baby naps in the other room. We’re chatting on a Saturday afternoon, and Lloyd’s tousled hair is silhouetted against the sunlight streaming through the hotel room windows. It’s a warm day in Los Angeles, a stark contrast to the subzero chill that he braved for last month’s photo shoot in New York.
On screen, the English actor’s piercing gaze bespeaks a calculating persona, an agenda beneath the charm. Offscreen, there’s an unguarded, guileless ease to Lloyd’s manner—he’s thoughtful and genuinely engaged in the questions posed to him.
Lloyd is perhaps best-known for his portrayal of the unscrupulous, throne-obsessed Viserys Targaryen in HBO’s Game of Thrones. Since his character’s macabre demise, the 35-year-old has been plenty busy. Among other screen and stage projects, Lloyd played the classmate and confidante to Eddie Redmayne’s Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything; a brilliant (and womanizing) novelist in The Wife (Lloyd mentions that he’s thrilled for Glenn Close’s Oscar nomination); and an intelligence officer, opposite J.K. Simmons, in the Starz original series Counterpart. His latest undertaking—the reason he’s in LA—is the Marvel comics-based series, Legion. For the third and final season of the FX show, Lloyd will play the role of David Haller’s father and X-Men leader, Professor Charles Xavier. (In so doing, he joins the ranks of Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy, who portrayed Professor X in the film series.)
Our conversation starts with Counterpart, the sci-fi/espionage thriller. A Cold War experiment in East Germany has splintered the timeline, and two formerly identical worlds now exist in an uneasy and rapidly unraveling détente. Each character in the show has an “other” self—a counterpart on the other side—and crossovers between the two dimensions wreak geopolitical havoc. There are slick diplomats, hapless bureaucrats, a contract assassin—and at the center is Peter Quayle, the director of Strategy in the Office of Interchange, a sort of United Nations-meets-MI6 outfit.
The morally obtuse Quayle is not exactly a sympathetic figure, but Lloyd embodies the character with a subtlety that allows the vulnerability to seep through the cracks in the bravado. As Quayle’s carefully-calibrated life crumbles, you feel for him—a national security strategist who’s in way over his head, blind to the fact that his own wife is a mole. Those pale, elegant hands are not meant to be dirtied fumbling about dim halls and holding rooms—and that’s not even getting into the subplots within the plot twists.
Lloyd’s enthusiasm for the project is clear. He calls Counterpart one of the favorite things he’s ever worked on, and credits Justin Marks, the creator of the show: “The writing is excellent, which attracts really good actors.” Among the sterling cast is, of course, J.K. Simmons, who plays two Howard Silks—the placid paper-pusher, Howard “Alpha,” in dimension one; and the cocksure clandestine operative, Howard “Prime,” in dimension two.
“I was very scared of him originally,” Lloyd admits with a laugh when I ask about his experience working with Simmons, who garnered an Oscar for his portrayal of a ruthless music instructor in Whiplash. “But he [Simmons] has been so welcoming and makes you feel at ease. I’ve learned so much from him—and we have a lot of fun.”
The scenes with Quayle Alpha and Howard Prime are often tense, even claustrophobic, not just because they take place in dark cars and cramped rooms, but because we sense the stranglehold of identity—the underlying question of just how much of one’s self is the product of choice versus circumstance. If you put John le Carré and Jorge Luis Borges in the same room, they might come up with something like this—forking paths that diverge and converge, labyrinths of spies and alter egos.
Lloyd describes Quayle Alpha and Howard Prime as an “unhappy couple, both caught in this lie, who must rely on each other even though neither likes or respects the other.” On the flip side, Lloyd continues, “Quayle Prime and Howard Alpha have a completely different relationship” such that playing his character’s “other” feels “like a completely different job.”
There’s a cerebral, granular detail to Lloyd’s musings when I ask about the characters, fictional or real, that he draws from in portraying the two Quayles.
He explains that while on break between filming the Berlin and LA portions of season two, he and Justin Marks discussed the aesthetics of Alien 3. Marks envisioned Echo, the interrogation facility in dimension two, as a “penal colony, rather than a hospital or prison. The relationships between the inmates and officers draw on that” psychological dynamic.
In conveying Quayle’s “slightly unhinged” persona, Lloyd takes cues from other classics: Billy Bibbit from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a “somewhat childish figure who looks up to McMurphy,” and Dennis Hopper’s character in Apocalypse Now, who harbors a manic obsession with Marlon Brando’s Kurtz. Lloyd incorporates elements of these characters in Quayle Prime’s dynamic with Yanek, a warden at Echo—there’s an “evangelical fervor, where you sense [the character’s] loss of contact with reality.”
Season two of the show delves deeper into the deceit, paranoia, and existential quandaries inherent in navigating and manipulating two worlds. (It seems no coincidence that the writers chose Alexander Pope as the name of the character who trains sleeper agents—a little learning is a dangerous thing.) I ask Lloyd about the techniques he uses to keep his Alpha and Prime personas from getting jumbled.
“In terms of playing two parts for the first time, I’m lucky in that Quayle Prime exists solely in the Echo location, so we were able to do all that filming in a couple of weeks over the summer,” Lloyd tells me. “This season, we started filming in Berlin and ended in LA, so having a new location, new set,” helped keep the two characters separate.
Lloyd can’t discuss more details from season two without risking plot spoilers, so we pivot to other projects. I mention the internet speculation over whether Viserys Targaryen makes a comeback in the next season of Game of Thrones. “Really?” Lloyd replies with a mix of curiosity and incredulity. “That death seemed pretty final to me—I’m not sure how he comes back from that.”
I explain that the Reddit murmurings refer more to flashback scenes, and then ask Lloyd about filming his character’s grisly exit.
“That was pretty much the last scene I filmed on that show, and I remember that day very well,” Lloyd says—the amusement is pronounced in his voice. “It was freezing cold. We shot quite early in the morning, and I had to act drunk. Doing that so early in the day can go horribly wrong,” he explains, as you don’t want to overact it. But with a death scene like that, where the would-be king is “crowned” as molten gold is poured over his head, Lloyd could really let loose with the screaming—a finale that’s seared into fans’ minds.
Lloyd draws out nuances in his characters through deep-dives into their back stories. When filming the Game of Thrones pilot, he kept George R.R. Martin’s books under his chair for ease of consultation. As the filming continued, though, Lloyd wanted to get beyond Daenerys Targaryen’s narration of Viserys as the “brute—the petulant, unkind older brother.”
In Lloyd’s view, that perspective discounts the whole of Targaryen history: “This character feels the weight of his family on his shoulders. He’s had a terrible childhood; his parents are dead. He has no family apart from a little sister who doesn’t understand the gravity of the situation. He carries these scars, and by re-writing the narrative as the ‘Chronicles of Viserys Targaryen,’ we start to see how Viserys justifies his cruelty.”
Lloyd pauses briefly, mulling over this re-framing: “That’s the job of an actor—to give your character a mouthpiece” and guide the audience as to where our sympathies should lie.
“It’s a great time to be an actor,” Lloyd continues. “I’m lucky to be working with people I’ve admired for years, and to arrange projects [in a way that allows me] to explore different avenues. I hope it stays like this—there are so many more stories to tell.”
Our conversation drifts to more meta territory—how technological evolution continues to reshape the way we consume and relate to art and storytelling. Lloyd is democratic in his engagement with cultural mediums—he enjoys audio books and made-for-radio plays, and he’s fascinated by the future of VR. He loves the stage and recently played the lead role in The Good Canary, John Malkovich’s London directorial debut. Lloyd has also been on the other side of the camera, writing and directing “Supreme Tweeter.” The short web series, made in 2015, is premised on a cheeky concept that came to his co-creator (and now wife), Jayne Hong, in a dream: What if North Korea’s Kim Jong-un suddenly follows you on Twitter—what absurdity might ensue and what are the implications of treating your identity as a commodity, a “brand”? (I point out that this satirical take on social media as propaganda was an eerily prescient concept, given our current Tweeter-in-Chief—a topic that Lloyd diplomatically sidesteps.)
With streaming services supplanting cable and the proliferation of social media content, it’s a challenge, says Lloyd, “to hold erratic attention spans for more than a moment.” Among the tech-driven transformations that he references is how long-form television shows like Counterpart, with intricate plot lines and character arcs, are replacing the novel as a way of enjoying long-form stories. He also observes that interactive video games are looking more like films, with complex narratives and attention to visual detail and cinematic soundtracks, and vice versa—there are online films that contain a choose-your-own-adventure component with multiple plot lines. These various forms of entertainment may all be converging, Lloyd hypothesizes, as “new audiences have a desperate thirst for full immersion.”
For all these innovations, though, Lloyd jokingly refers to himself as a “fuddy-duddy” who loves to read books and has a record player back home in London. That doesn’t rule out throwback video games, though—for Christmas, Marks gave him a miniature version of the original Nintendo system, preloaded with all the old NES games. His favorite? “Super Mario 3, where Mario gets to wear the raccoon tail.” And continuing the theme of constant evolution, Lloyd points out that players now design new levels for these old games, which everyone can then upload to their own handheld consoles.
For now, though, there’s not much by way of free time. Lloyd is a new dad, and it’s entirely endearing how his tone and manner warm to the point of giddiness when discussing fatherhood. “Long story short, it’s phenomenal, beyond description,” he says. “There’s definitely a lot to learn,” but he’s enjoying the daily agenda, which includes “a lot of singing and chatting and mimicry” with the baby—spending time “staring at each other, making each other laugh, communicating in this pre-language way, just getting to know each other.”
As for audiences just getting to know Lloyd, the depth and versatility he brings to screen and stage promise many more dimensions beyond Quayle’s Alpha and Prime selves to be explored. Lloyd doesn’t rule out anything when it comes to collaborations and characters—as he puts it, “the more you give, the more you get out of the experience.” And more of Harry Lloyd is a very good thing.
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Tag Dumps Pt. 20
Rex Howard’s Tags
VISAGE: moonlight in his eyes (rex’s appearance) CHARACTER STUDY: worked while they all played (rex‘s headcanons) WRITINGS: here we are ; don’t turn away now (rex‘s threads) REFLECTIONS: throw me to the wolves and i will return leading the pack (rex’s musings) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: woof (rex’s asks answered) CHERISH: the omega (rex‘s likes) YEARNING: a wish on the moon (rex’s desires) STYLE: sheep’s clothing (rex‘s wardrobe) INSPIRATIONS: not all monsters do monstrous things (rex’s aesthetics) INFATUATIONS: the omega (rex’s crushes) LOVERS: ‘cause i’m a fool for you and the things you do (rex’s ship content) ASSORTED: the omega (rex’s miscellaneous content) OOH LALA: the omega (rex‘s kinks ; themes of nsfw) OPEN THREADS: the omega (rex‘s starters) INNER SECRETS: this is what an alpha looks like (rex’s monster) RELATIVES OF: the omega (rex’s family & relationships)
#the husky wolf (rex's tag dumps)#VISAGE: moonlight in his eyes (rex’s appearance)#CHARACTER STUDY: worked while they all played (rex‘s headcanons)#WRITINGS: here we are ; don’t turn away now (rex‘s threads)#REFLECTIONS: throw me to the wolves and i will return leading the pack (rex’s musings)#ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: woof (rex’s asks answered)#CHERISH: the omega (rex‘s likes)#YEARNING: a wish on the moon (rex’s desires)#INSPIRATIONS: not all monsters do monstrous things (rex’s aesthetics)#INFATUATIONS: the omega (rex’s crushes)#LOVERS: ‘cause i’m a fool for you and the things you do (rex’s ship content)#ASSORTED: the omega (rex’s miscellaneous content)#OPEN THREADS: the omega (rex‘s starters)#INNER SECRETS: this is what an alpha looks like (rex’s monster)#RELATIVES OF: the omega (rex’s family & relationships)#dumping my trash on the dash (tag dump)
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S2e5 - Shadow Puppets aesthetics
#counterpart#Counterpart spoilers#counterpart aesthetics#god I feel so much for Peter----especially Prime!Peter#and Alpha telling him 'do you think that maybe you're the better man?' and that sweet smile as Peter shoots him down...I tear up every time#also what Prime tells Alpha!Peter to do literally made me scream 'WHAT THE FUCK' at the top of my lungs jsyk#;;muse: howard (alpha)#;;muse: Howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (alpha)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (crossings)#;;general: Counterpart
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S1e4 - Both Sides Now aesthetics
#counterpart#Counterpart spoilers#counterpart aesthetics#I say aesthetics but all this really is is me ripping my heart out and slapping it on my blog#because this sequence??? it made me cry like a baby#it's more of a character study than aesthetics but work with me---it's one of my favorite episodes and it really stuck with me#;;muse: howard (alpha)#;;muse: Howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (alpha)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (crossings)#;;general: Counterpart
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S1e2 - Birds of a Feather aesthetics
#counterpart#counterpart aesthetics#blood tw#drugs tw#this one's a little ehhhhh but hey it's content#;;muse: howard (alpha)#;;muse: Howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (alpha)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (crossings)#;;content warning: blood#;;content warning: drugs#;;general: Counterpart#(the goal is to keep these Howard centric obviously; but some will be better than others! bear with me)
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S2e9 - You to You aesthetics
#counterpart#counterpart spoilers#counterpart aesthetics#listen I fucking------just----#I'm going to ramble in the safe tags just gimmie a min#I'm glad that both Howards share the affectionate gesture of forehead touching#I'm just so...so happy that that's an affectionate gesture they share between them??? it's so fuckin sweet and endearing#plus bitches jelly about these things--I'm bitches. obviously#the relationships between both A & P Howard and A & P Emily are so complicated---all of them hurt my heart to an extreme amount#ok...muse tags now#;;muse: howard (alpha)#;;muse: Howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (alpha)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (crossings)#;;general: Counterpart
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S2e8 - In From the Cold aesthetics
#counterpart#counterpart spoilers#counterpart aesthetics#gun tw#this is more character driven that aesthetics driven I'll admit but COME ONNNNNNN#if you press your ear to your screen while on this post you'll hear me screaming at the top of my lungs#also hahaha he snaps a man's neck with his forearms hahahah hahaha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa#this episode!! this fucking episode!!!!!!!!! goddammit#It makes me a puddle on multiple levels and I scream every time#please come talk to me about how the fucking gentle scenes in this ep----and Simmons fucking forearms---reduce me to a puddle#this ep just makes me release one big scream#and a lot of other incidental squealing and etc fffsss#;;muse: Howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (prime)#it's almost.....cruel to tag Alpha omfg#;;muse aesthetic: howard (alpha)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (crossings)#;;general: counterpart#;;content warning: gun
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S2e2 - Outside In aesthetics
#counterpart#counterpart spoilers#counterpart aesthetics#this episode beat the shit out of me and left me a mess on the floor#....and it drank my pepsi and made me drink my tears instead#;;muse: howard (alpha)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (alpha)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (crossings)#;;general: Counterpart
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S2e1 - Inside Out aesthetics
#counterpart#counterpart spoilers#counterpart aesthetics#nobody touch me nobody look at me nobody do anything I need to go cry#I could (and do) scream about this ep soooo muchhhhhh#;;muse: Howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (alpha)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (crossings)#;;general: Counterpart
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S1e9 - No Man’s Land (Part 1) aesthetics
#counterpart#counterpart aesthetics#counterpart spoilers#one of these is a vague af spoiler---but even so#and yes...Howard focus#;;muse: howard (alpha)#;;muse: Howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (alpha)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (crossings)#;;general: Counterpart
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S1e8 - Love the Lie aesthetics
#counterpart#counterpart spoilers#counterpart aesthetics#you wonder why I based this on a single scene? it's because this scene is fucking everything#it's powerful and moving and is; legitimately; one of the best scenes in the entire fucking show#if he didn't win an award just for this scene alone I'd kill a man tbfh#everything about this scene is fucking perfect I s2g#I could fucking RANT about how strongly this emphasis their characters and just how much I love it and utilize it while musing#;;muse: howard (alpha)#;;muse: Howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (alpha)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (crossings)#;;general: Counterpart#emphasizes*
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S1e1 - The Crossing aesthetics
#counterpart#counterpart aesthetics#I have to fill tags up to 5 so my muse tags go untouched lmao#none of these are gonna make sense to anyone but myself and my two pals but...Howard#he needs more aesthetics and whatnot on this blog!!!#;;muse: howard (alpha)#;;muse: Howard (prime)#;;general: Counterpart#;;muse aesthetic: howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (alpha)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (crossings)
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S2e10 - Better Angels aesthetics
#counterpart#counterpart spoilers#counterpart aesthetics#gun tw#whoooooo finally doneee....time to scre a m#ok so holy shit aaaaaaa I cried like a baby#the fact that they 'met' at such a charged point and not only did both walk away alive but they both walked off better is so good#Prime nurtured his inner empathy with Alpha's help and Alpha nurtured his inner strength#they learned from one another and I'm glad that's showcased in both subtle and dramatic ways#these tags are extreme tl;dr---I can be coherent about what I'm trying to say just not...right now#;;muse: howard (alpha)#;;muse: Howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (alpha)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (crossings)#;;general: Counterpart
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S2e4 - Point of Departure aesthetics
#counterpart#counterpart spoilers#counterpart aesthetics#I love it how these posts slide from legit aesthetics to character studies;#and me screaming in the tags and surrounding posts ofc hahaa#;;muse: Howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (prime)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (alpha)#;;muse aesthetic: howard (crossings)#;;general: Counterpart#I wanted to have Alpha this post but I was focused so he'll get the spotlight next post!
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