666 replies to this topic

[mustbekarma]

This man has gone the Full Monty, played Hitler, and killed an enemy via stampeding dinosaurs. This man has had an interesting and varied career, and I just love his Rumpelstiltskin.

Here's the Rumpelstiltskin bio from the official Once Upon a Time web site. Apparently, he's so awesome that Rumpelstiltskin is even in the spell check.

[Featherhat]

Here's the Rumpelstiltskin bio from the official Once Upon a Time web site. Apparently, he's so awesome that Rumpelstiltskin is even in the spell check.

Apparently "Rumpelstiltskin" was one of the top searches on google yesterday, which is cool. And it is dang hard to get right even if you think you know how to spell it. ;)

Robert Carlyle is, as always, doing a potentially interesting job so far. He was barely in the pilot but I am looking forward to R/Mr Gold and what he knows. I think it was a good move to use him sparingly in the first ep for effect. I'm glad he's got another chance to crack the US via "ambigious guy" after being by far the most interesting thing about SGU, not that that was a difficult thing.

[Colonel Green]

He looks to be a standout in the cast, though, as I said in the original comments thread, Rumpelstiltskin has typically been portrayed as a little person, so his casting threw me at first. But I can see why they did that (apart from his acting ability); they want the character to have more physical presence.

[HelenBack]

I was impressed, and liked it, that he actually scared me a little. Both in Fairy-Tale Land and in Maine!

[ReverseFleckerl]

He looks to be a standout in the cast, though, as I said in the original comments thread, Rumpelstiltskin has typically been portrayed as a little person, so his casting threw me at first. But I can see why they did that (apart from his acting ability); they want the character to have more physical presence.

While not a little person, he's pretty darn short and slight. He actually fits my idea of a real human Rumpelstiltskin perfectly.

[Serenachan]

I wish they would pick a spelling for his name and stick to it. The official website spells it 'Rumpelstiltskin', but the press releases and official posters spell it 'Rumplestiltskin'.

[QueenofCups]

According to IMDB, Robert Carlyle is 5 foot 8 inches, which is fairly close to average height for a Scottish male. He's not John Lithgow but he's not Danny DeVito either.

[ReverseFleckerl]

In a landscape populated by lots o' corn-fed American girls and boys, he's a tiny thing. (Josh Dallas is five inches taller, and he doesn't come off as hulking.) It's just a matter of amusement to me that one person can look at Carlyle and see a super-sized Rumpelstiltskin while another sees a perfectly cast wee little man.

[HelenBack]

On spelling, "Rumpelstiltskin," as in the title here, is correct. But it seriously is a hard name, I'm not surprised some official items are showing it incorrectly. (Just think, how many people can still spell "nickel"? And that one's easy compared to this!)

I never thought of Rumpelstiltskin as a dwarf, necessarily, just sort of smallish and knobby, from illustrations. Carlyle fits, for me, since he seems to be sort of somehow making himself smaller for the part, or maybe that's the magic of good cinematography. Either way, he manages to appear a good deal smaller than 5'8", to me!

But I kind of wonder what he's doing here since I thought he tore himself in half out of sheer rage?

Maybe he hasn't met the miller's beautiful daughter yet.

[farvel]

Apparently "Rumpelstiltskin" was one of the top searches on google yesterday, which is cool. And it is dang hard to get right even if you think you know how to spell it. ;)

This doesn't surprise me at all. I've been meaning to google him myself. I can't remember the story of Rumpelstiltskin. I asked my teenager and he looked at me like I was from Mars. Then I felt guilty, maybe I didn't read to him enough when he was a kid.

What does it mean when Rumpelstiltskin know your name?
I'm going to look it up right now.

Ohhhhh. Here's a link to the story if anyone is as forgetful as I!

http://www.eastofthe...Books/Rum.shtml

[QueenofCups]

Knowing someone's name gives you power over them. There's a very enjoyable short story by Ursula Le Guin about that called The Rule of Names.

Edited by QueenofCups, Oct 30, 2011 @ 1:54 PM.

[Eris]

That's a common theme in fantasy, although I think Le Guin's use of it might be the best known. I wonder if there are existing cultures with the same idea?

And of course knowing Rumpelstiltskin's own name gives a little bit of power over him, if only in the original story. I highly recommend Vivian Vande Velde's book The Rumpelstiltskin Problem - in the introduction she explains all the things that bother her about the original story and then she provides six new versions of it. (I love VVV.)

[mustbekarma]

Mr. Gold is so manipulative, it's awesome. He's going to make a compelling villain. I always love when a simple word like "please" can exude such menace.

[liaso]

Rumpel is my favorite character on this show. I love characters whose motives are hard to discern and/or are morally ambiguous. (Snape was my favorite Potter character because he was the only good guy who didn't like Harry.)

I think it is awesome that Rumpel is pulling all the strings. I hope they dole out information regarding him in bits and pieces, so I can continually guess about him.

There are some interesting theories about his relationship with the queen in other threads (in regards to her last name being Mills, is she the miller's daughter etc.). I'm not sure I buy into them yet, but it might make a good twist.

[Featherhat]

Though last week that he'd be the Morally Ambigous character to the Black Evil Queen, but it looks like it might be the other way around and he's pulled all the strings to get them where they are. I loved the scene with them at the end. Robert Carlyle is very good at being charismatically creepy and is clearly having a blast with the role.

[thuganomics85]

Right now, I'm loving Rumpel/Mr. Gold the most. And Robert Carlyle is doing an amazing job. What I really love is how different he is with Rumpel and Mr. Gold. Rumpel is pretty hyper and crazy with a capital C (although, Carlyle manages to not be too hammy about it, IMO), but Mr. Gold is calmer and more subtle, but can still produce chills with simple words and phrases like "Please" and "Enjoy your stay."

And I like that he's a man who will do whatever it takes to further his own goals, because it makes him so unpredictable and dangerous. He's with the Evil Queen now, but I can easily see him siding with Emma or Snow White, if he feels he can get a better deal with them.

[QueenofCups]

That's a common theme in fantasy, although I think Le Guin's use of it might be the best known. I wonder if there are existing cultures with the same idea?

I didn't mean to suggest that the concept originated with Ursula Le Guin, only that this story illustrates and explains it very well and is also very enjoyable.

[Eris]

Oh I know! I'm an Earthsea fan myself.

[lbl37]

In a landscape populated by lots o' corn-fed American girls and boys, he's a tiny thing. (Josh Dallas is five inches taller, and he doesn't come off as hulking.) It's just a matter of amusement to me that one person can look at Carlyle and see a super-sized Rumpelstiltskin while another sees a perfectly cast wee little man.

On behalf of all American men (including my husband) who are 5'8" thank you for referring to them as tiny things when in actuality that height is considered to be on the low end of average for an American man -- average being 5'8" to 6'0" last time I checked. Why is it so important for tall people to be superior over something that no one can do anything about? It's not as if tall people chose to be tall and shorter people chose to be shorter! Oh well, rant over! As to Robert Carlyle, I've never seen him in anything before, but I think he is superb as Rumpel. Rumpelstiltskin has always been one of my favorite fairy tales!

[MDKNIGHT]

The offical bio for the show has Rump being described as "gnomish" but of course that is not saying that the character is a gnome. But he doesn't look fully human either (in Fairyland). What, if any, non human species do people think he is? All the apple stuff between him and the Queen in her orchard made me start thinking of Satan and the possiblity that Rump is a demon that is motivated by his demonic nature to corrupt people's souls (like the Queen, offering a powerful curse for her losing her soul by killing her father) rather than my first impression from the first ep which he was an oportunist seeking money.

[sleekandchic]

Carlyle gives off a menacing kind of intent in all his scenes. His eyes seem to glow. Scary guy. I love him here as Mr Gold.

[blinky29]

I absolutely LOVE Robert Carlyle in this show. He is phenomenal as Rumple. I was a huge fan back when I watched the full monty and it took me a while to realize it was him playing Mr Gold. IMO, this is a casting coup almost as much as Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow.

[Geo Gal]

Robert Carlyle is doing a smashing job with Rumpelstiltskin, and makes the character, which could come across as cartoonish, malevolent and creepy. It's very much the same sort of characterization that you find in John Connolly's 'Book of Lost Things', which I highly recommend if you like dark and creepy (and sometimes hilarious) re-imaginings of fairy tales.

[corvus13]

His Fairyland appearance is very reptilian -- greyish green skin and reptilian-looking eyes. Very creepy.

[HelenBack]

His Fairyland appearance is very reptilian -- greyish green skin and reptilian-looking eyes. Very creepy.

Yes. I was reminded of Gollum.

[Featherhat]

IMO, this is a casting coup almost as much as Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow.

It was a great coup. He's definitely making the character more mysterious and creepy and not too cheesy. I assume someone noticed he was already in Vancouver playing a sort of similar character on the now cancelled SGU and snapped him up. Well at least something good came of that show. ;-)

I also like that he has completely different manerisms and speech patterns for Rumpel and Mr. Gold but (even without recognising the actor) there's still similarity there, not just in the writing.

[morrigan2575]

Though last week that he'd be the Morally Ambigous character to the Black Evil Queen, but it looks like it might be the other way around and he's pulled all the strings to get them where they are. I loved the scene with them at the end. Robert Carlyle is very good at being charismatically creepy and is clearly having a blast with the role.

After watching The Price of Gold I've come to the same conclusion, everyone is Rumple's play thing, he's manipulated the whole thing from start to finish. I'm also convinced that he's doing it for a laugh, he's not good or evil, he's always upfront about the price that has to be paid (for using magic). He plays on people's ego's, arrogance and short sited view of the world. It's very cool. I never read the original story or any story about Rumple but whenever I see a version of the fairytale I kind of side with Rumple.

Edited by morrigan2575, Nov 14, 2011 @ 6:42 PM.

[Nighteyes2]

everyone is Rumple's play thing, he's manipulated the whole thing from start to finish. I'm also convinced that he's doing it for a laugh, he's not good or evil, he's always upfront about the price that has to be paid (for using magic). He plays on people's ego's, arrogance and short sited view of the world. It's very cool.

I completely agree. I just posted on the episode thread about my theory that, rather than the traditional Rumpelstiltskin character, I wonder if he's going to be more of a Trickster/Anansi/Raven character. Someone whose job it is to teach people the error of their ways, and not necessarily in pleasant ways. The whole talk with Cinderella (after killing her fairy godmother) was about taking charge of your life, and making the changes that you want, and he cautioned her against magic. Now, while it could be read as a temptation of sorts, it didn't feel like that to me. He cautioned her again, when she faked that contract with the twins, that "Magic always has a price". She didn't learn that lesson the first time (when he tried to tell her about using the wand to change her life), or when she had to give up her kid. I mean, really, it could be seen as a life lesson - he tries to tell her to take charge, and not use the "easy way out" (i.e. magic), but she really pays no heed to his warnings, and barrels on to ask for wishes.

I really hope that they don't make him too evil. I don't want him to be good either (Robert Carlyle does such an amazing job of being creepy), but I feel like it would be a cop-out if the show just made him evil.

[morrigan2575]

Nighteyes2 - ITA and I really do hope they go that way, I'd prefer that he's more mysterious/grey then full out good or evil. I do love the way Robert Carlyle play's both characters, it always makes me pause and try to figure out his angle and how much he actually knows/remembers.

[Camera One]

He reminds me of gollum too and the actor is very good with showing creepiness and mischief.

But I really hope they don't give this character too much power. It's quite common with shows where the "villain" becomes so popular that the writing caters to them. It was already a bit disheartening to see him shoe-horned into Cinderella's story, and already having "power" over Emma by her owing him one favor. I hate it when the supposed "heroes" of the stories are made to be dimwits just to show the slyness of the villains.

I do want him to have a few more shades of grey. Right now, he just seems like a blatantly selfish character. He wasn't really warning Cinderella. He was toying with her. Ultimately, he just wanted her baby, or for her to break the deal, which would have the consequence of making her life miserable, which Rumpelstiltskin would no doubt take joy in.

I'm glad the latest episode did show Rumplestiltskin has one weakness - he sometimes can't resist a deal even if it's bad for him.

Did he really already know the Quill was cursed? I couldn't tell from what happened.