Richard Armitage: Actor and author on his new book, writing for audiobooks - Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

After an extensive career in Hollywood and beyond as the star of blockbusters like The Hobbit and TV series like BBC’s Spooks, Richard Armitage has pivoted. 

He’s turned his hand to the written word, releasing his first novel ‘Geneva’ in 2023, his second novel, ‘The Cut’ released just this month. 

The story is inspired by a conversation he had in a cemetery, and the novel is unique in that it’s designed to be an audiobook before a physical text. 

Writing for performance is slightly different to writing for reading, Armitage explained to Jack Tame. 

“The way I work on it is to visualise it as a piece of cinema or television, and then I write it down in a sort of visceral way.”  

“It’s slightly more pared back,” he said. 

“And I’m kind of leaning into atmosphere.” 

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