#scribblesincrayon

Disclaimer: Harry Lloyd was my first true TV boyfriend. I watched everything he’d ever been in, made GIF sets of him, and even crossed the seven seas to meet him. (You know the picture of him on his Wikipedia page? My friend C took that while I was talking to him. Yep, that’s my claim to stalker fame, lol).

THEN

Harry Lloyd, he of the direct descent from Charles Dickens, got his first real acting break when he was as Young Steerforth in the 1999 version of David Copperfield. He shared screen space with some kid named Daniel Radcliffe.

Look at that face. OMG.

After he narrowly missed out on being the young Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry took time off to get an education, graduating from Oxford University in 2005. He spent some time treading the boards in London and then got a gig as a series regular on the mercifully short-lived Vital Signs. The show was terrible, but it did feature Harry regularly making faces like this one:

Repeat after me: it’s wrong to fangirl a boy in school uniform, it’s wrong to fangirl a boy in school uniform, it’s wrong to…ah, too late.

More memorably, he was also Baines/Son of Mine in a two-parter of Doctor Who, possibly the two best episodes of the show ever. (Ok, so these are the only two episodes I’ve ever seen).

Now you know where Will got the crazy eyes from…

In 2006, Harry was cast as Will Scarlett in the BBC’s newer (and campier) version of Robin Hood, and the rest is…history.

Initially the gang’s token angry young man, he later became its chief engineer (aka the crafty craftsman), its quiet voice of reason, and unwittingly, part of the show’s only memorable love triangle. He appeared in 26 episodes before being unexpectedly shunted off to the Holy Land at the end of Season 2. Will Scarlett was never heard from again, but hey, at least he got the girl, right?

OTP 5EVAH

NOW

After his stint on Robin Hood, Harry made a number of small appearances on TV and bigger appearances on the stage before he landed his most memorable part to date. In 2011, he was cast on HBO’s Game of Thrones as Viserys of the House Targaryen, the Third of His Name, King of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, a character exactly as obnoxious and insufferable as that title suggests. Harry was so good in the part that some fans actually regretted Viserys’ (very memorable) death on the show!

Since Game of Thrones, Harry has had a number of noteworthy roles on TV and film. He was nominated for a BAFTA for his role on The Fear and had a lead role in Nae Caranfil’s caper movie Closer to the Moon. He was a series regular on WGN’s excellent but sorely underrated Manhattan. He has also appeared in a number of independent projects, including Big Significant Things and the short film Oscar & Jim. Most recently, he was part of a stellar ensemble cast in the World War II-era film Anthropoid.

Oh, remember when we talked about this whole diarchy business? Where is all the fic?!

THEN

Anjali Jay (born Anjali Jayadev) came to the small screen in a roundabout sort of way. She grew up learning Indian classical dance from her grandparents (both famous dance teachers) and after graduating from university in India, she arrived in the UK on a Charles Wallace scholarship to study and perform at the Laban Center. She also performed in a number of theater plays, including as Juliet in a 2006 stage version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. 

Anjali’s the one on the right, by the way

But theater was clearly not her final destination. After a memorable turn as a guest star on Inspector Lynley, Anjali got her big break, a lead role opposite a pre-Star Trek Chris Pine in the rom-com Blind Dating. The movie itself was nothing to write home about, but Pine and Anjali worked well together, and her gorgeous face and her approach to the role won Anjali a lot of positive attention. 

It’s unfair how pretty this woman is! 

Fast forward. BBC’s new Robin Hood show is well into its first season when the show takes the bold step of introducing a new member into Robin’s gang: Djaq. A Saracen woman who takes on her twin brother’s identity and appearance to fight the Crusaders, she ends up in Sherwood and quickly becomes indispensable to Robin and his men. Her gender, though not really questioned, is hilariously discovered by the unsuspecting Will Scarlett in the very same episode: 

Djaq was a skilled magician, had significant knowledge of the world, and could be relied on to engineer her own escape from the castle, dress up to carry out a plan, or confront the enemy in unexpected ways. She was tiny but feisty, and always in a good way. 

Djaq was not only the gang’s lone female (at the time), but as a Saracen woman whose home has been destroyed by men like Robin, she was also central to the show’s premise: that conflict and victory are less important than humanity and empathy. 

She was, at various times, Robin’s sounding board, Much’s friend, and the object of Will’s quiet but intense devotion. But it was as Allan’s confidante–indeed his conscience–that Djaq really made her mark as a character, and it’s in these scenes with Joe Armstrong that Anjali’s talents as an actor really come through. 

Anjali was a series regular on Robin Hood, but was written out of the show after Season 2, with Djaq and Will choosing to stay in the Holy Land. 

NOW

Soon after her departure from Robin Hood, Anjali moved to Vancouver and took some time off from work. She didn’t return to television until 2009 with a guest appearance on the Andrew Buchan show, The Fixer. 

Look at those eyes! 

She has since appeared in a number of TV shows including a guest appearance on Supernatural, and as a recurring character on the Canadian sci-fi drama Continuum. 

Anjali has also been in a number of films since her Robin Hood days, including a sequel to Night at the Museum and in a supporting role in The Age of Adaline. She will be seen next in a supporting role in the new Power Rangers movie. 

I'm starting tonight, lol. Look for random posts on Tumblr!

Um, I always miss all the good stuff. :( Also I'm out of the country and don't have my DVDs handy. I can just binge and catch up, yes?

I think their reasoning was based entirely on other Comedy Central shows doing much better with the all-important 25-39 demographic.