#i'd love to see him as iago in a film :)

[ansonmountdaily]

Anson Mount interview for Instyle Magazine

Q: What is some advice you'd tell your younger self? "All of that angst and all that questioning and all the worry is going to do absolutely no good because you're actually in charge of very, very little. So, just enjoy the ride. Enjoy your youth." - Anson Mount

Source: Instyle interview, June 14 2023

[pynkhues]

Thinking about the IWTV actors doing theater is fun. For me, I am a nerd about Shakespeare, so for any actors I really love, especially ones who have a particular facility with language, I want to see them in Shakespeare plays. And Assad has already worked with the RSC! He did Winter's Tale and they filmed it, though it feels a bit odd because they had to film it during the pandemic without an audience. 

I've thought the most about Jacob and Sam since we've been watching them (as the same characters, vs. Rashid/Armand) since season 1 (we've been watching Eric too but he has such a specific voice, if that makes sense lol, that it's harder for me to imagine him in different roles -- but I'd be delighted to see him onstage in anything). Really ANY Shakespeare role with either Jacob or Sam would be thrilling. But two of my absolute favorite male Shakespeare roles, the ones that I maybe most want to see any actor I love do, are Macbeth and Richard II (not III, though I love III too). So if I could pick any role for them to do, it would probably be Sam as Macbeth and Jacob as Richard II. But vice versa would be amazing too (I'd REALLY love to see Sam's take on Richard II in particular, actually). Hamlet, Henry V, Benedick, Leontes, Brutus, Coriolanus, Iago (would be interesting to see either of them play a truly evil character), Richard III -- any really meaty role would be a dream. Also, I've seen Shakespeare productions with all-male or all-female casts (thinking of ones with Mark Rylance and Harriet Walter in particular), and those can work so brilliantly and give actors a chance to play opposite-gender roles without having to make the text accommodate a gender swap. So, with that in mind, I'd love to see either of them play Rosalind (I know Adrian Lester famously played Rosalind in an all-male production), Beatrice, or Lady Macbeth. If I'm dream-casting them in the same play, lol, an all-male production of Much Ado in which they play Beatrice and Benedick (could see either of them in either role, though I might gravitate toward Jacob as Benedick and Sam as Beatrice if I had to pick) would most likely kill me. 

Non-Shakespeare plays: Do you know Venus in Fur by David Ives? I saw the nyc production a decade ago with Hugh Dancy and Nina Arianda and it was one of the most astonishing things I've ever seen, and the main male role is extraordinary, just such a fascinating mix of masculine and feminine and submission and dominance. It feels like a role Sam would just utterly kill. Arcadia by Tom Stoppard is one of my absolute favorite plays, and if I could cast a production of it, I think I would cast Jacob as Valentine (he's a very funny, acerbic mathematician with hidden depths) and Sam as Bernard (though onstage, where he could easily read a little younger, I might want to cast Sam as Septimus. He would be hysterical as Bernard and both hysterical and devastating as Septimus). 

My brain keeps wanting to cast Jacob and Sam in plays together lol -- they just have such spectacular, unusual acting chemistry, even apart from their insane physical/romantic chemistry, that I just want to see it as much as possible. So I found myself daydreaming about how incredible a production of Betrayal (with Sam as Robert and Jacob as Jerry, I think) could be. 

Also, the Broadway production of Purlie Victorious introduced me to a play I hadn't heard of, and it blew me away. It's so funny and so sharp and so moving, and I think Jacob would be absolutely brilliant in the role of Purlie (and based on things he's said in interviews, it seems like a play/part he might really love). 

I could keep going, but this is already way too long lol. Basically I just really want both of them to do theater. I would LOVE to see Delainey in a Shakespeare play too -- she looks so young, so I would still love to see her as Juliet. Viola or Olivia would also be amazing, or Rosalind, or Innogen (from Cymbeline).

OH ALSO for Delainey: Nora in A Doll's House

I love this ask sooo much, and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to reply! All your picks are amazing. Funnily enough, Much Ado About Nothing and Sam and Jacob as Beatrice and Benedick was one was one of the ones I'd thought about too! That play's been a bit front of mind recently just because I watched Anyone But You recently and realised about half an hour in that it was a (pretty mid, but not charmless haha) MAAN adaptation. The other one that maybe weirdly springs to mind is actually Assad in A Midsommer Night's Dream? I feel like he's got such a playfulness when he's not playing Armand, and I'd love to see him play to that, maybe as Puck?

I totally agree about Eric's voice being so specific when it comes to thinking of roles for him, but it could be cool to see him in something like 12 Angry Men but that probably will be him playing to type quite a bit, haha. Oh! Actually, he'd be great in Death of a Salesman too.

But gosh, Jacob and Sam - - I'd love to see them together in something too. A lot of this is probably going to be Australian-focused sorry, as that's what I often end up watching here but like, I'd loooove to see them in Holding the Man with probably Jacob as Tim and Sam as John, but that could go either way (actually on that note, just because both deal with the AIDS crisis, Angels in America would be amazing as well).

It'd be awesome to see them in something like Breaker Morant too, which can be such a phenomenal play depending on the cast and director (and was turned into a pretty exceptional film in 1980), and I was actually talking to someone at work a few weeks ago about how it feeles like Ray Lawler's Summer of the Seventeenth Doll should be coming up for a revival soon, and I love the thought of Sam and Jacob in that as Barnie and Roo (either role!) It feels especially interesting as a potential adaptation because while it's a very 1950s Australian play (in fact is considered to be the play that created Australian theatre), it was really embraced by Black communities overseas in the 60s and 70s too.

Oh, anything Oscar Wilde too, haha.

Love your picks for Delainey too! Especially Juliet and Viola or Olivia. Totally cliche, but I'd really love to see her in The Crucible as well, and I got to see Meet Me at Dawn earlier in the year too, and would looove to see Delainey and Roxane in that as a two-hander.

[forcebewitht]

Force's Disney Geek Master Theory: Why Twisted Wonderland Is Called Twisted Wonderland

We have all grown to know and love various Disney characters over the years, correct? Yet, I believe a lot of us can argue that not many characters have the same effect on us even as adults today as the Villains do within their respective movies. In the game Disney: Twisted Wonderland as we all know and love, the select boys to Overblot are supposed to have the "souls" of their Villain counterparts, right? But...why is it called "Twisted" Wonderland, then? The truth may lie within something that has been right in front of us all along, my friends: the meaning of a mirror. Ready to buckle in for this one? If so, then here we go!

We have seen all of these guys share character traits, looks, etc with their Disney counterparts, correct? Well, what if I were to tell you that things in terms of the "main" guys that we are supposed to pay attention to aren't exactly what they seem? This could be analyzed in a few different ways, honestly, yet the most prominent way is this: the differences in their personalities- they are reversed. Let us take this bit by bit, shall we?

Ah, yes. The Queen Of Hearts. The ranting, raging, bundle of red, black, and gold we all know and love. (or else heads would roll, I'm sure) One of the things that everybody knows about her is that she's extremely hellbent on the crazy rules that she makes up and is prone to anger honestly very easily. Yeah, you can connect that to Riddle- but think about it for a second. While that rage and the rule thing is still there, it isn't as prominent with him as it was with her, is it? With the Queen of Hearts, her whole "issue" was that she wished to make everybody listen to her and follow her every command- but Riddle was essentially always following the rules of another- not his own. This seemed to make Riddle a little more calm most of the time in terms of how he handled and oversaw things. It wasn't until he actually Overblotted that the "listen to me and only me" thing came out- buuuuuuttttttt I'll get to that part in a bit.

Next: Leona and Scar. While we honestly didn't get to see a lot of what went on behind the scenes in the Outlands in terms of how Scar even met the hyenas to begin with at all, one thing can honestly be said- Scar worked very hard to get where he was. I mean, it's not like you can get an entire pack of rabid, hungry hyenas onto your side in the course of a single day, or maybe even a week (especially as a lion, no less). No, something to that extreme takes careful planning, wording, and stringing along to ensure that nothing goes wrong along the way. The way Scar spoke to Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed made it seem as though he had known them for a looooonngggg time before this- that's where that behind the scenes planning comes in. And then...you have Leona. Leona, from what we can tell in Chapter 2, planned the idea for the "endgame" alright- but he didn't actually act upon any of the plan for himself. Ruggie did. Even in the Lion King, we see that Scar had no problems whatsoever getting his paws dirty a little within his own scheme to take his "rightful place" at the head of Pride Rock- but Leona quite honestly did not a thing once Ruggie was in motion. See where this is starting to head?

Azul and Ursula. Ursula, the Disney baddie queen of my heart Ursula, the Sea Witch. She was known all around the ocean floor for helping out poor little merfolk in secret, wasn't she? Yet, nobody ever really seemed to catch wind of the whole "her turning those who didn't quite fit the bill into polyps" thing, did they? That was one of the things that made her such a honest threat to Ariel herself- because Ursula was cunning. She did things behind the scenes, and sure- we could catch onto it out in the audience (annnddd maybe Sebastian and Flounder as well), but nobody else really seemed to, right? Azul is the complete opposite in this standpoint. He instills direct fear into his "workers" and those even beyond and within his dorm. Like- basically most knew that this dude was bad news to begin with. Azul, mostly, seemed to hide his cunning facade behind a fake yet still seemingly "soft and genuine" smile and act. But all in all, he didn't really attempt to "hide" anything- hell, he even proclaimed his entire plan of what everyone with those things on their heads were gonna do for him in the open! At least when Ursula sang as Vanessa, she was in an almost perfectly enclosed room with nobody else around.

Jamil and Jafar. This comparison here, given what occurs in the movie Aladdin, is honestly one of the biggest possible indicators of this reoccuring theme I shall clarify in a bit. Jafar, while being sneaky, was known for being a more "out there" Disney Villain in terms of his personality alongside that of his partner Iago in the film. He would smile in a sinister way, he would crack jokes out in the open, and let us not forget his crazed yet oddly interesting laughter. Jamil? He's the exact opposite. Given his past and what he has had to dealt with growing up with Kalim, he is much more reserved and barely releases a chuckle or cracks a smile at all. His personality is a lot more repressed than that of Jafar himself throughout the film. Jamil has been so used to having to hold himself back thanks to his parents in favor of Kalim's family, he doesn't seem to know how to "let go" whatsoever. Yet Jafar, while still maintaining that sneaky side of him as well, has no problems whatsoever letting a little hang loose whenever he so chooses to.

Vil and the Evil Queen. This one honestly may be a bit more self explanatory than the others- but the difference between these two is their expressions of themselves. The Evil Queen was the very first animated counted Disney Villain within Disney's history- yet, she barely had any lines throughout the film at all. Her ranges of expression were almost little to none thanks to the era in which the movie was released in- but she always looked like she was pissed, huh? Vil is the exact opposite of her in this sense. He is able to fully express himself through his various facial expressions, theatrical abilities, musical experiences, fashion style, and even how he behaves. Vil is able to do so much more than the Evil Queen did or could do within that time period, that it's almost a little staggering if you fully picture it.

Idia and Hades. Now, now. We haven't honestly seen too much of the flaming blue boy yet in TWST, but one thing is apparent here right off the bat- in terms of his personality? He is the exact opposite of Hades. Idia is much like Jamil but to a more "geek" degree- he's extremely introverted, shy, a bit snippy, yet mainly keeps to himself and his gaming tech. Hades is most often renowned as the Disney Villain with the most personality- and the best humor. Hades has no problem whatsoever being "out there" with his crazy puns, sassy remarks, anger, and even mocking behavior. I mean, please, guys- I haven't been this choked up since I got a hunk of moussaka caught in my throat!

Finally, Malleus and Maleficent. Ooooohoooooooo boy. We have to count out the live action movie Maleficent for this one (sorry horned queen fans). One thing that basically everybody even with their toe in the water in that of Disney movies kind of knows this fact- Maleficent is c r u el. She's got a bizarre set of dark powers and an even blacker heart than that. Hell, we basically had to "soften her up" a little bit in Maleficent thanks to just how seemingly irredeemable her character is in that of Sleeping Beauty. I mean, c'mon now- cursing an infant? And we get no explanation for that in the original? C'mon, now. Anyways, Malleus? As we all can tell by now, this dude is the compleeettteeeeeee opposite. Sure, he has those repressed bits here and there too, but it is evident that this dude has a heart crying out for the MC and it is big, bold, and golden to the core once you look past how he looks. He sent the MC a card for winter break, for crying out loud. Yeah, let me know the next time you see Maleficent do that smh.

Now, I have avoided using a certain word up until this point to see if anybody could catch on to what exactly is happening here. Did you figure it out? Reverse. The boys that either have Overblotted already or intend to Overblot soon stop holding out on us, Chapter 6 have had the exact opposite personalities compared to that of their Villain counterpart- until one prime point in their "character arcs". Their Overblot.

Riddle wished to have all bow before him and obey his rules.

Leona led his entire dorm into ruin and nearly sanded away the entire school in the process.

Azul let himself finally free of his personal shackles entirely and "took what was his".

Jamil finally let himself go and opened up more in his personality, almost seeming to be driven insane in the process.

Vil wanted to become the most beautiful one of all and would kill anyone within the way of that goal without any hesitation whatsoever.

The moment that the boys' Overblotted, that was the exact moment when the "soul" of their Disney Villain counterpart took control. Keeping that idea in mind, that should mean that this will happen in the upcoming chapters and their Overblots:

Idia will show off all of the personality, powers, and intelligence that he has been keeping down within this introverted self of his.

Malleus will become so broken by being left out and alone in the cold for the final time that he will turn into a completely cruel Fae and possibly nearly kill either the MC or the representation of Prince Philip within that Chapter in the process.

(Hello, my dear Readers! Guess who is trying to get back into her bigger pieces of writing? This gal right here~ feel free to drop a comment and tell me what you think of this theory- I'd love to hear your thoughts! 💕)

[ultimate-muscle]

I know it's a strabge request but...what historical author like Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll and so on, would Kevin like more and why? - Cristy ;)

I actually discussed this with Alkaid last night XD

Her opinion is that she can't see him as a big reader, and he strikes her as the sort to have more a manga collection (as it's been established 'Tatakae!! Ramenman' exists in canon, then I'll argue that would be the series he reads in such a case . . . maybe some Dragonball and Bleach, got to love the shonen classics)!

Personally, I think he's be more into plays/scripts . . .

Like, he's been shown to have a relatively short attention span (unless it's something connected to his current hyper-fixation, which is usually wrestling), and he's been seen to quit at the first hurdle too (needing to be pushed onward by Chloe), and seems a more kinaesthetic learning style (how he trains versus his frustration with how Robin trained him). He's also very much into action, drama, and fighting (with little patience for emotional displays and slow-paced activities, especially the internal dilemmas of others).

Scripts have the advantage of being read at your own pace, with your own interpretation (like how Iago is the protagonist and Desdemona the antagonist in some rare versions of Othello, or how Romeo and Juliet can be a satirical comedy as much as a tragedy). It also tends to be faster paced, being designed for a stage and audience, and it lacks pages of introspection and inaction.

Oscar Wilde has some amazing plays, but I can't see his novel/essays appealing much to Kevin (except 'Sins of the Cities of the Plain', if one believes he wrote it as claimed *coughs*). Shakespeare requires an understanding of Old English, as well as a huge amount of historical context (and we have to remember Kevin either ran away at 8 or around 15, depending on the various retconned imagery). Lewis Carrol strikes me too abstract and fantastical for one so literal-minded to relate . . . it's why I'd lean to maybe Tennessee Williams?

I mean, Williams seems something Kevin might like . . .

It often deals with abusive and domineering male figures, issues of repressed sexuality (although that's more my headcanon related to him), abused and neglected women, addiction, mental illness, and also - while dealing with the internal - still has a great deal of external plot and faster-pacing than say something like Samuel Becket or Chekhov. I think it'd be in a format he can digest, with themes that he's experienced and can understand, and with a great variety of content. Plus, he's one that's so famous that he could also digest the content via film or theatre, and constantly be exposed to new interpretations (keeping it fresh and keeping him invested).