Post by Arthur Kirkland on Jun 29, 2014 20:48:12 GMT -8
Ladies and gentlemen and those otherwise concerned, tonight we would like to proudly present our debut act...
Arthur William Kirkland
Arthur Kirkland
Prologue
England | English |
23 | Male |
Bisexual | Actor, Professional Writer |
Actor: 14 years Professional Writer: 3 years |
Act 1
Ash-blond | Green |
Pale | 174 cm |
Slender
-He is the owner of noticeably thick eyebrows. They either tend to overpower his varied expressions or add a certain severity to them.
-From his slightly younger years, he obtained a tattoo along the edge of his left shoulder blade of a subtle design of Celtic knotwork.
-Since childhood, it’s necessary for him to carry around reading glasses, whether it was at school when he was younger, attending university, on set, while studying the script, or reading for pleasure.
Act 2
Personality
• Proud: Even at a young age, Arthur displayed a fundamental tendency toward thinking rather well of himself and his achievements. This trait is a culmination of nature and of nurture (a trait shared by both parents), from his stringent upbringing to the lengthy expectations placed upon him. This sort of pride is a mixture of the less attractive appeal toward smugness and the sort of healthy pride that is well earned through hard work and dedication. On the outside, he exudes confidence befitting of the very person he strives to be: someone who is used to being heard and well-regarded. He is well aware of his tendency with protecting and nurturing his pride and makes no apologies for it.
Because of Arthur’s surety in himself, it makes it easier for him to shoulder severe criticism or to allow harsh words to roll off like rainwater. While Arthur harbours a secretly susceptible underside, easy to wound if the person knows exactly what nerve to hit, he also tends to keep most people at a distance, ensuring few glimpses beneath his sometimes abrasive front.
• Meticulous: Arthur has always been quite serious about his work, always early to functions and appointments, and always attempting to ensure that everything is where it should be. He is particularly precise with his writing, always his own worst critic, and feels the need to edit and review each piece multiple times before he allows himself some semblance of satisfaction.
• Intelligent: Arthur tends to excel in academics, and despite already harbouring a solid career in acting, pursued a university degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. For this reason, he is drawn to films that have that careful balance of creativity and intellectual backing.
• Charming: Keeping a generally positive public image and making himself a desirable individual to hire beneath the intense scrutiny of the press demands a certain level of charm. Arthur has his own brand of it, more along the lines of being the ‘perfect English gentlemen’ if it serves a purpose. He can twist his usually curt words into something a little more flattering and persuasive. Of course, there are moments where words aren’t quite as necessary to achieve his ends.
• Sharp-tongued: Sarcasm is a frequently used vessel of Arthur’s rather deprecating brand of humour. Whether it’s offering a scathing review of the latest film production or the writing of the newest novel hot off the press, or throwing back a retort, Arthur knows how to cut with his words. And perhaps a bit too well, at that.
• Stubborn: Arthur is extremely strong-willed and rarely changes his mind once it’s been made. He trusts his judgement far more over others, and would rather fail by his own decisions rather than by someone else’s folly.
• Scrappy: Arthur has a certain persistence that’s difficult to ignore—he’s always been fiercely determined with accomplishing what he sets out to accomplish. Even if beaten to the lowest of lows, he will never fail to try again, to try until he is no longer able to rise. More often than not, Arthur refuses to allow himself to become snared in the fronds of disappointment whenever something doesn’t turn out quite as he had hoped. He adapts when his situation demands it, choosing to be composed and to soldier on when the rest of the world continues.
• Cynical: Arthur tends to see the world as something that is and always will be broken—brimming with disappointment and filled with people wishing for something better. In his opinion, it’s better to find some sort of peace with a mindset that trends more on a survivalist rather than to continue to pretend and live life through a rose-tinted perspective.
• Easily susceptible to certain vices: There will always be an allure to dig his fingers into the forbidden fruits of society — whether it’s experimenting with illegal substances, occasionally flirting with boundaries wrought with stringent rules, or with simply being unconventional. It’s a personal contradiction that he doesn’t mind coming clean about; Arthur is both stringent and a rebel by his own definition.
• Fanciful: With his own professional writing, he enjoys testing the boundaries of ideas and imaginative concoctions that have yet to be explored. While he enjoys reading old classics of strange and exotic tales, he hopes to someday make his writing far more known than what he’s already managed to accomplish as an actor, a career path that was set forward by someone else.
• His Idea of Romance: Arthur has some difficulty with recognising love for what it is. In his younger years, he’s never been exposed to a great deal of genuine affection from either of his parents or even from potential friends, as the vast majority only recognised him as one of the faces of familiar child actors who made it big with a few earlier films. Reaching his adolescent years, he became well-versed in how to physically love someone, how to make advances and lure men and women into his bed, though never knew how to feel or recognise anything beyond that initial rush. This is likely one of the many downsides with children born into and nurtured in this profession. Presently he is making progress with this, though it will take some level of patience and understanding while he adapts to showing his affection in other ways.
• Possessive: Hand-in-hand with Arthur’s cynical view of the world, once he finds that one shining piece of satisfaction, he can be rather possessive over it. He’s never been one for sharing. Part of this touches upon his fear of losing what’s already been gained — particularly when he’s already felt the sting of rejection and neglect.
Quirks
Notorious taste for liquor :: He tries not to make it painfully obvious that he sometimes needs alcohol to force himself to relax after a particularly long day. It doesn’t help that he also simply enjoys the taste of it—whiskey, rum, gin, and cider are his most pleasing preferences. It is also even less desirable with the fact that he’s never been able to hold it very well despite how frequently it plagues his bloodstream. He’s either a rather passionate drunk or somewhat maudlin.
Needs to have his morning, afternoon, and evening cuppa :: Arthur is a tea connoisseur. He always keeps a widely varied and well-stocked supply. If one pays attention, others can usually detect what sort of mood he’s in by what flavour of tea he’s drinking.
Penchant for the unconventional :: Arthur is attracted to the unconventional. He likes odd things, rare curiosities, and is inadvertently won over by unique ideas, people, and circumstances. This can be included within less innocent ventures as well. He tends to be a bit daring when intimate. Even with a shy partner, he will attempt to lure them into making small, unconventional changes if the mood ever strikes them.
An Easy Blush :: Whether it’s through a compliment, being touchy, innuendos (only when they’re good), or other such similar thing, the heat will usually rush to his face. As long as the person knows what they’re doing, it’s almost always inevitable.
Act 3
Likes ⇒ Alcohol: Probably his most intimate and pleasing of vices, and most likely his worst. It’s a terrible weakness and a tempting indulgence. Whiskey, scotch, rum, cider, ale, gin. There’s a certain attachment to liquor that could very easily grow into something worse, though he would never admit to having any issues with it. ⇒ Intellectual Pursuits: Arthur enjoys activities that are mentally stimulating. He’s a reader, researcher, and greatly enjoys games such as chess, bridge, euchre, and backgammon. ⇒ Literature: He will read whatever he can get his hands on. Arthur gravitates toward older volumes, stories of mythology and legends, as well as the classics. He would never admit to it, but he may even pick up the occasional book of poetry as well. Each stanza as viewed as a convoluted puzzle — one constructed of words instead of trinkets to latch together. ⇒ Fanciful and/or whimsical stories: Amusedly combined with his oftentimes blunt and practical disposition, he enjoys reading stories about mythical creatures or of the whimsy of the likes of Lewis Carroll. There’s an odd feeling of normalcy he gains whenever indulging in this particular fancy every so often. And he can’t help but to feel endeared to the fact that despite them not existing, stories about the same beloved creatures of imagination are constantly being retold. ⇒ Tea: There’s nothing better to Arthur than getting comfortable with a soft, oversized sweater, a hot cup of tea, and a good book. One of his favourite childhood memories back in England was the smell of black tea on cold winter evenings beneath the bundled warmth of quilts and homemade sweaters. ⇒ Thoughtful gestures: Arthur’s to be won over by thoughtful gestures as opposed to grand and expensive ones. And they don’t even necessarily have to be successful ones at that. ⇒ Propriety: He believes that everyone should adhere to a certain standard of behaviour and courtesy while interacting with others, one of common sense and decency. ⇒ Needlework: Arthur is partial to needlework, sewing and repairing, He may embroider for decoration. He learned early on how to knit and crochet anything from scarves to caps and sweaters. Aside from being productive, it serves as a bit of a mindless escape. | Dislikes ⇒ Willful Ignorance: He has very little patience with the incompetence of others, namely those who he believes should know better. What truly irks him is when people continue to choose to be ignorant even after a revelation that encourages otherwise. ⇒ Being insulted: True insults are never taken lightly and Arthur has the tendency to get nasty with his own words in return. So, whenever anyone sends some his way, depending on the person, the reason, and the circumstance, then he takes it as invitation to engage back. If it happens to be a rather petty insult; however, one hardly worthy of his time, then it won’t be bothered with the dignity of a response. ⇒ His family’s antics: The Kirklands are infamous for being a favourite of the gossip column — or at least, they will be when the rest of the world discovers just how drama infused this high-profile family is. Arthur aims to avoid becoming too entangled in family drama. A wasted effort for the most part, because it happens anyway. ⇒ Invasion of his personal space: Arthur is extremely protective of his personal space. He won’t stand for it being violated — although this is closely tied with his strict sense of propriety. ⇒ Loss of control: The feeling of being caged is an effective way to raise his anxiety. Arthur thrives on control, only allowing it to slip from his white-knuckled grip if he’s with a person he indefinitely trusts. ⇒ Failure: There’s nothing that injures his pride more deeply than the taste of failure or the insinuation that he was somehow a disappointment. Though it certainly isn’t enough to stop Arthur from rising to try again. ⇒ Apologies: Arthur’s never been comfortable with admitting that he may have been in the wrong, so apologies from him are rare. Whenever he does muster up enough courage and humility to make them if they’re warranted, they tend to be awkwardly sincere. ⇒ Cheap liquor: After being indulgently exposed to high quality liquor and being able to afford to be choosey among favourite poisons, it’s difficult not to be a bit of a liquor aficionada. |
Aspirations ✓ To become more known for his writing ;; Acting started at such an early age, and it was something that had been laid out for him by his parents, both with high profile careers who expected him to achieve the same. Writing has always been something that he did for himself, and thus; it is something that he’d prefer to be known for over what he deems his predetermined career. ✓ To one day work up the nerve to advance his relationship ;; Arthur’s never been very good with relationships, whether it’s with his past tendency with acquiring short-lived ones, settling with recurrent one-night-stands, or being generally difficult and argumentative with past partners. He knows his flaws and he knows that he needs to be careful with what he currently has. He’s already worked up the nerve to take the previous first steps, and now he’s looking to eventually take the next. ✓ To live a life separate of his early lifetime influences ;; Everyone has families, or more specifically, parents that they want to avoid. For Arthur, it’s difficult to make that separation when his parents are such consistent universal reminders through the media. This is partially why Arthur is so set on doing the opposite of what they’d like, the reason for why he rebelled in his earlier years, and for why he’s presently determined to set a path that never touches theirs. | Insecurities ✖ Confronting conflicts the right way ;; The right way to approach problems is often narrow and difficult while there are several, interesting ways to screw it up. Arthur has a penchant for saying or doing the wrong thing despite his best efforts. And he’s usually left fumbling to fix something that he never meant to fracture in the first place. ✖ Losing what’s been gained ;; Arthur holds tightly onto things he fears losing the most. It may not be overtly noticeable at first, but he’s often confronted with the insecurity of not having a secure grasp over the things he’s already gained, over what he’s accomplished, and the people who love him. The idea that these things are luxuries that aren’t meant to last is an unspoken insecurity that he is always forced to challenge. ✖ Physical imperfections ;; There has always existed the classic standard of beauty in Hollywood, and then there’s celebrities known for their eccentricities. Both usually require the addition of brilliant work, though it may be more optional for the former. While Arthur prefers to focus on his work and not dwell on society’s fixation with its specific standard for beauty, the consistent reminder remains, whether it’s through tabloids pointing at his imperfections for him or hearing it from others. ✖ Loneliness ;; Arthur was the sort of child actor who grew up feeling lonely in a large crowd. He desires company that doesn’t want to be with him for any other reason than to simply be with him. ✖ That someone else will see his insecurities as clearly as he does ;; This seems to be a commonality amongst most people. Everyone is their own worst critic and every issue is always more startlingly clear to themselves. |
Epilogue
Background
Arthur was born to two well-known individuals. His father was a director who loved his women and never seemed to be satisfied with just one, particularly whenever he would make frequent visits to the British Isles. His mother was an actress who had previously studied and held roles in theatre productions. His parents never lived the domestic life, having only been married for less than a year before they were both finally able to admit that they were already too married into their work to have any real desire left for a traditional family.
Arthur never knew much about his father other than what was told to him through his mother, newspapers, or gossip columns, not that he liked reading them, but to this day, seeing his father’s name is far more common than seeing him face-to-face. It’s the only way he’s ever been able to relate to him. His parents continued to be on-and-off lovers after their divorce. So, his mother raised Arthur in Bristol, England, although the majority of the actual child fostering came from a hired caretaker. The moments when his father would come to visit them during his off-times to be with his mother were the only moments when Arthur could catch slivers of conversation or infrequent outings with him.
His childhood was marked with lofty expectations, for what his parents wanted him to be. His mother was the one who decided to invest in a second residence in the States while arranging to have her then five year old son attend several auditions while she continued on to bigger roles in film. That became their lives for a bit, between auditions and small-time performances in stage productions, they frequently lived between California and their much more familiar home in England. Arthur was eventually enrolled in a college preparatory school for working or aspiring child actors for all grade levels. The school was necessary for the flexibility offered with professional absences from school.
It was in Arthur’s young childhood when he first became aware of the fact that he had four other half siblings through his father, all with different women, making him the youngest of five. His mother reportedly got along poorly with her ex-husband’s previous wives/partners, so there was very little effort from her end to connect Arthur as a child with his half-siblings, although they were able to connect at a later age when the drama of their parents no longer ruled their decisions as to whether or not they wanted to remain in contact. Still, the strained familial relationships are difficult.
One of the more notable roles that Arthur landed was at the age of nine is where he met fellow child actor Alfred Jones while on set. The two were different in temperament, though with the increase of time spent together due to close roles on set, they began an unlikely friendship. Arthur felt free to be himself at that time without the scrutiny of others who only knew his persona beneath the spotlight. It was a genuine friendship that continued throughout the years, and it has remained one of the friendships that Arthur came to cherish the most.
It was when Arthur entered his teenaged years that things became a little more complicated. While he was able to hold his own with his acting career, securing a few big roles, everything else was slowly deteriorating. His appearance took a dramatic change, acquiring a love for piercings, for odd fashions, for being truthfully blunt (and at times rude) to the media, for staying out all hours of the night whenever he didn’t need to be on set early the next morning, and for all sorts of substances.
It would be kind to say that he had only flirted with the possibility of scandal. Just as he was ruthless to the media during his teenage years, they were ruthless back, exploiting every incident that the cameras caught, using every picture, quote, and story that included any mention of this mess. For the most part, his parents ignored his behaviour; his mother made only vague attempts to finally start being a parent before giving up altogether.
What inspired a change with where he was headed was the possibility of university, to take a break from Hollywood and to pursue something that he truly enjoyed. After graduating from high school, at the age of eighteen, Arthur took a year hiatus from everything related to acting while he applied for university, expanding his academic considerations, and reevaluated what he really wanted to do with his life.
Eventually, he settled on working toward an English degree with a concentration in Creative Writing. During that time, he began to clean his act, reverting to a much more subtle and professional form of dress. He felt a subtle sense of peace, now knowing that he had an alternate outlet for his creative energy, something that felt more like his and not someone else’s ambition.
While he began working toward a career as a professional writer, he began to once again take on acting roles. While in his second year at university, and while attending a party, he met Francis Bonnefoy. The man was a familiar name, though his face was more recognisable from his years as a model, which had inadvertently already set the tone for what Arthur expected of him. The drunk touching only aggravated Arthur’s biased opinion, which was promptly followed by a spilled drink. Suffice it to say, that night did not end well.
Of course, he was mortified to learn after accepting a role, not even a month later, that they would be working on a film together. It took a while after that for Arthur to put aside his reservations with Francis. After that was accomplished, Arthur’s prickled remarks became softer as a slowly steadying friendship was born between them. As their time together continued between filming, the friendship grew and there were even moments where the other man managed a few rare smiles from the (at times) irritable Englishman. And it was perhaps sometime after then that Arthur began to take uncomfortable notice that he was starting to feel some level of attraction for the man. It didn’t help that he could have sworn that the Francis was dropping hints every now and then, reflecting back that unspoken interest.
It was close to the end of filming when Arthur finally made the first move by awkwardly asking him out. Their first outing soon became a series of dates. And that was the start of a string of other first moves from Arthur, such as finally pulling Francis into his flat for the entirety of the evening. Eventually, it was becoming more common than not to find themselves sharing the same room for several late nights, so Arthur also came to suggest that they forgo the hassle of separate homes and start living together.
It’s been three years since then. In that span of time, Arthur finally earned his university degree and began his career as a professional writer while still acting on the side. As for the roles that Arthur tends to gravitate toward, he does a variety, although his most prominent ones are crime, historical pieces, new noir, and drama, along with the occasional horror film. Regardless, he tends to find enjoyment in his work and is quite meticulous with getting certain roles and certain writing pieces just right.
Credits
Name: Ally
Birthday: 2/20
Skype: allythealleycat
Tumblr: ask for tumblr
Birthday: 2/20
Skype: allythealleycat
Tumblr: ask for tumblr
Welcome to Hollywood
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