WHITECHAPEL, finally, and Penry-Jones is wonderful.
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Rupert Penry-Jones
nfaust1 — 14 years ago(November 30, 2011 11:23 PM)
Seems almost as if WHITECHAPEL had been developed for Rupert Penry-Jones. A neurotic man placed in a position of pseudo-power, strong, intelligent, but not confident: qualities that this actor's credits all support. And yet, as the first year, three-part series develops, Penry-Jones takes the character to the expected mark, and beyond. Am particularly interested in the way he is able to convey an almost subliminal sense of inner indignation, confusion, and pampered assertiveness, all without really DOING anything, but merely being what the guy is supposed to be in any given moment. Take, for example, the bit where he tells the other investigators to clean up: his indignation comes genuinely hot and aggressive, but clearly this moment does not easily spring from this character. Here you have a big, strong man-actor with a temper moment, and Penry-Jones plays it like a hissy fit! Which is every bit within the character, supporting the later moment when it's assumed the this man is gay. Of course, we get how the other guys might think he1c84's gay because of the way he's been in other scenes. The gay question, again, brings out a torrent of underlining responsive reactions in the way Penry-Jones insists that he's not gay. In that one response, you see the question has come up before, you see the character shuffling about, trying his best over come what, in all actuality, seems to be a lifelong fear of being considered homosexual. And he does all this without really DOING anything. He's just in the moment. And the moment he plays here is very different than moments I've seen him play in other pieces.
I mention two specific bits in WHITECHAPEL to illustrate why I'm so fond of this man as an actor. WHITECHAPEL has a lot of energy and style; the ensemble playing in it is terrific; but I think it's what Rupert Penry-Jones brings to the show that makes this (the only part of the show I've seen so far) special.
I think he is a wonderful actor. -
speedo58 — 14 years ago(December 14, 2011 09:53 AM)
I agree with you completely. I think I've watched everything he's in, and this was definitely memorable. There were many more scenes that he played so well it made you wonder if he's like that in real life. This character was the complete opposite of Adam Carter in MI5 and he did both characters to perfection.
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Electric_Light_Manatee — 14 years ago(December 14, 2011 07:55 PM)
I agree with you and think RPJ is under-appreciated as an acting talent and I actually think he sells himself short a bit too. He really has a lot of talent and I think it is shown off best in "Whitechapel". He plays that role with skill and feeling