From sweet to heavyweight

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 Twenty years is an awfully long time.

Following artists, musicians and actors for several years, always means you go with them on the road of their artistic life.

And that had been some journey in case of Mr.Freeman.

Seeing Mr.Freeman working is and always had been an enormous joy.

And its only natural, that an actor or an actress changes looks, methods and ways to express art.

But with Martin Freeman it almost feels like I have witnessed two absolute different people.

There is this young actor who people often referred to  as " cute" , a word I have never used for him.

If you have ever seen an interview with him, you probably will never use the word " cute" again.

And frankly, I'm not sure men want to be seen as cute:) 

Nevertheless, for me he was never that sweet little man who's anybody's best friend.

Its easy and totally understandable to associate him with Tim from the office, or John from " Love actually " and feeling happy and want to be friends with such a lovely " everyman" ( God I fucking hate that word)

This is a Martin Freeman blog , so I'm definitely allowed to swear.

It's kind of a society courtesy in the Freeman universe:)

Anyway, very soon in his career I discovered , that there is a lot more going on under the surface.

But twenty years ago I didn't spend much time figuring it out, it came step by step and my real eye opener had been

 " Nightwatching ".

I got tired of hearing people calling him

 " comedic " very early on, because he was never a stand-up comedian, although I totally love and respect them! 

But he is an actor, an actor who became famous in a certain role, but reducing him on this role, or even assume he would be like this in real life, is a bit shallow and you missing the opportunity to really explore Martin Freeman.

I will not go into detail on

 " Nightwatching" because this film deserves a stand alone post and it will get one.

I'm perfectly aware, that some fans and audience members think the film is crap, while the other part think this movie is pure art.

I'm most definitely in the corner of the art thinking people.

But if a turning point is necessary to convince an audience, that Mr. Freeman is much more than a cosy stand in for a porm star ( Love actually) than this would be a good start.

More than anything, this film deserves raves and accolades when it comes to the earlier stages of his acting career.

He gives us a deep, bright and nuanced performance, with lots of very pure and almost organic scenes, including some full front nude scenes.

I'm not mentioning this because of the nudity itself, I have seen a man before, but that's when he turned the film into art.

And he did it in the very first scene, and he had done it before ! 

In every role!

He made it look totally normal and natural.

It looked like he's not acting at all.

And that is exactly why I am doing this project:

Because an actor who doesn't look like acting at all is simply brilliant at his job.

I vagely remember an interview sometime in the 2000s where he said that he " hasn't really arrived yet" , and even if I can relate to this as a person, the fan inside me would widely disagree.

Later on we got two fan life changing projects and again both Sherlock and The Hobbit will get more than one mention here.

But not today, but let me please say that if someone in your environment ever come up with the nonsense that 

" Freeman always plays himself " get them to watch The Office, Nightwatching, Sherlock and The Hobbit and send them over to me afterwards.

Anyways...

Both projects, especially The Hobbit showed once more his ability to make things look easy.

People around the world fell in love with Bilbo Baggins, a role some people believe he was born to play, and felt themselves drawn into the world of Sherlock, guided through Baker Street and some moral grounding by Dr. John Watson.

The audience was John Watson, and that was only because Martin Freeman made him a man of love, loyalty and flaws with a moral compass he wants to live up to but is highly aware that things are not always that easy in life.

He made the roles special and unforgettable, but then the change happened!

And for me, it started indeed with Sherlock.

Source: Thistie/ Tumbler 

I remember the first glimpses we got on S4 of Sherlock , and for this tiny little moment I was like : " Whoa....is there a new actor playing Dr. Watson?

I had a health setback at the time , and wasn't really informed about Martin Freeman and had probably the biggest wow moment in my Sherlock fan life.

Gone were the jumpers and the short hair, and in their place were great shirts and jackets and a hair style that deserved its very own Emmy nod.

But besides the fact that John Watson was suddenly a man of style, there was a new gravitas to Mr. Freeman 's acting.

The season was heavy and hard to watch, and the last three episodes of the show ( so far) are most definitely not rank in my top three Sherlock episodes.

But from a fan's point of view it was a masterclass!

Martin Freeman gave his personal John Watson top performance!

We haven't seen so much anger, desperation and hopelessness in six years.

John Watson turned into a character study, and Martin Freeman gave us three episodes of pure analysis.

With an emotional packed baggage Dr. Watson brought emotions to the surface both in audience members and in himself.

Martin Freeman and his deep and strong acting gave the season weight and so much to think about.

I discovered the " change in acting " a bit before Sherlock S4, when I watched Fargo for the first time.

Fargo a show worth re-watch after re-watch because there is always something and exciting to explore.

I mean come on, Mr. Freeman and Mr. Thornton in one show?

What's not to love?! 

But that's when I first noticed..

It had more than a few hints that his acting found a new level of excellence, and that doesn't mean it had been not brilliant before, but there was a difference all of a sudden.

It's always fascinating to witness the journey of artists over the years, but Mr.Freeman's way in the last couple of years is absolutely interesting to see.

He was always a great actor, who seemed to know his craft very well and had a natural self-confidence and that had been a joy to watch each and every time.

But Lester Nygaard was a class of his own.

The little man who everyone thinks has the right to push around suddenly hit back.

And he hit hard!

A performance so full of layers and darkness that sometimes a look alone were enough to let the blood freeze in my veins.

Mr. Freeman delivered one mature performance after another ever since.

He turned from a great actor who knows his style and profession very well into a heavyweight!

It almost made me laugh when people watched The Responder and still were surprised that Martin Freeman can do such a deep and layered performance.

Did you live under a rock those past years?

Well, lucky for me I haven't and I'm enjoying every single role from the badass Phil Rask to Marvel's Everett Ross to the honest and loveable Paul Worsley.

Or go on a trip of no return with him in Cargo, or get your attention fixed on Graham Whittaker in Alan Bennett's talking heads.

You will never forget it!

Imagine the immensely wide stretch from Jonathan Miller to Chris Carson.

They don't even look the same.

Kind but confused Jonathan, who is so desperately open for attention and affection and realised too late that this could turn tables and make him less and less innocent and brings more evil than sweet angels.

And our favourite broken hero Chris Carson, a man so complex and a series so fantastic that we dedicate a whole week to it.

Only to name a few, because the list of work and brilliance is endless and it started so many years ago, and just got better and better.

There is a maturity mixed with the sparkle that always had been significant in his work and public personality.

Pure, honest and deep.

But now we can add a mature relaxation and a different kind of confidence that can be found in his later work.

And it is a true gift for his audience!

Thank you, Mr. Freeman.

We're ready!

For questions and suggestions or to chat please contact me: sabsigb7@yahoo.com