Travis Fimmel a neato actor !
Neither heard of Travis Fimmel nor saw his photos before the Vikings resurged in March this year.
Born and raised in northern Germany i was always interested in nordic history and mythology.
Then the whisper went around that an underwear-model was supposed to play the lead character in a historical serie about nordic men.
Ohhhhh, Nein!!!"
After the first Vikings-episodes were aired i gave it a try - curiosity strangles the cat - and was intrigued from the very first minute.
Great!!!
Little inaccuracies dont bother cause many details of that time are unknown and leaving much space for phantasy.
It´s more important that the story is well told and it definitely is!
In wonderful pictures with credibly actors.
And most important: Travis Fimmel has a new loyal fan now!
For sure his fan community will increase, especially when the Vikings are coming to Germany in two weeks. My brother is loving the serie also and had problems to get his three sons away from the screen.
Fortunately this time the Vikings are coming up on a Video-on-Demand-Channel" and not on a longship.
Unfortunately it is not shown on public TV cause many here are still only watching public service broadcaster what is expensive enough (everybody has to pay even if you dont have a TV set).
The recent weeks i read and watched much about his work before the Vikings and dont understand at all why there is so few information about him and his actor-actions.
Shy?
Bad promotion?
Hidden or open foes?
Conspiracy?
(the last was a joke, though some particulars made me think about it)
Tarzan (2003) was a nice show and cancelled after a few episodes for reasons i do not understand. The auditorium was big enough, but ok, i dont know the internal calculations and accounting.
In The Beast" (2009) he did a very good job, got mainly good critiques and to some of the bad ones:
He was supposed to be an unexperienced young cop.
So what is wrong about it, that he appeared young and unexperienced?
Convinced me even more that he is a very good actor who can slip into many roles.
In the horror movie Needles" (2010) he is the older brother and a crime scene photographer.
Me and my neph enjoyed that unusual australian film very much. I liked the most that there was no woman screaming the whole time around Is it you, Billy?!" and needed to be saved by a man.
Mr. Fimmel was my prime suspect -wonderful cruel look sometimes- but dont want to spoiler here.
Harodim" (2012) is an interesting movie of an unconventional thinker and the three main characters are nicely played. Easy rider Peter Fonda as the father of Travis Fimmel has something.
And Mr. Fimmel as the arrogant ex-officer who becomes more and more humble was very impressing.
For me the best redneck in The Baytown Outlaws" (2012) is an Australian (Travis Fimmel).
Funny absurd movie!
Probably a german cannot know how a real redneck has to be. Then again some guys in the Southern States appeared very similar to me, though barely understood what they were saying.
The nordic English was easy to understand for that very reason i liked the Viking´s accent.
Mr. Fimmels voice is basicly smooth but as Ragnar" he can be loud and provoking too.
He knows how to use his voice!
Ragnar´s troop feasting with the King of Northumbria is one of my favourite scenes.
And be careful, Ladies! Possibly he is a wolf in a sheep´s fur.
Mostly i liked the different expressions on his face and how it changed in the situations.
People who are not able to see the differences in the various smirks are explaining to me why so many guys suddenly get their noses cracked out of the blue.
You know, even in northern germany a smile is not always friendly meant.
As a Northman (Norseman sounds for me like a horse with a big nose) so, as a Northman you have mildly facial expressions except you just want to scare somebody to death, in a combat for example. Nowadays sometimes still used in verbal battles.
There is little room for big gestures like e.g. best known from italian opera singers.
Not to blame italian opera singers but can you imagine Ragnar kneeling down and belting out to Lagertha O sole mio!"?
By the travel through the times it was well to see how Mr. Fimmel grew up and improved his acting talent. It´s a matter of taste if he was looking better as a boy-beauty or as a grown up man. Personally i prefer a grown up man and now he certainly is a man.
Why he is suspected to look like many other blonde (green-) blueeyed men i dont understand either.
Yes, beside his shining eyes he has a mouth and two ears and the nose is in the middle of his face.
With this frame he is a dead ringer for all caucasian men?!
What a pity that i did not see a doppelgänger of him on german streets.
Would have invited him to a stylish honey wine.
Independant if he appears on screen or on the street:
Travis Fimmel is an appearance!
Can hardly wait for the second season of Vikings and hopefully Ragnar will not raid Paris too soon. His appearance is finished short after the Paris raid (according to legends his life ends the same year in the Northumbrian snake´s pit ).
See Naples and die!"
Ok, ok, that´s a different chapter.
In the meantime will try to figure out, from where it´s possible to order Southern Comfort" (2006) and Ivory" (2010). The too sweet liqueur you can get in every supermarket, alas not the movies.
Until then:
Cordial thanks to Travis Fimmel for the forceful Northman Ragnar" who is often caught between Hel and the deep blue sea!