HALO. Hi there. Howdy. Sup.
He’s cute. Kind of innocent looking.
Uh oh.
A short epistolary interlude wherein I provide a caveat to Mr. Berry
Dear David,
May I call you, David? Thank you.
Do not get a Twitter account.
If you must do, pattern all of your interactions after one, Tobias Menzies, lately of @tobiasmenzies.
Yours in Navigating All Things Outlander,
Beth, aka @bethorne
Who is Lord John Grey and why do we care?
This one is for you, Kyle. Lord John is a character who popped up briefly in book 2 of the Outlander series. Remember the young British kid who tried to brain Jamie while he was peeing and in return got treated to a Ravishment Play by The Fraser Family Actors? He will come back with a vengeance in season 3 (slightly older, still just as easily shocked and scandalized), and will fix his place in the Outlander world for season 4 and onward.
Lord John becomes so prominent, in fact, that he has his own spinoff series of mysteries and adventures entitled, if I remember correctly, The Hardy Boys.
Lord John is a British aristocrat, second son of an earl (and he really cares that you use the correct honorific because it’s not Earl Grey, ok? … that’s tea), a redcoat officer but one relegated to a governorship of a lackluster prison in the wilds of Scotland. He’s honorable and steadfast and all of that makes him not all that fun.
Lord John is blonde with boyish features and a bit shorter than average (which always made me picture him at around 5’5″ … as in shorter than the average male height for that day). He’s cute.
Who is David Berry then?
An actor! A handsome one! He’s from Australia, studied opera on a vocal music scholarship but also has a PoliSci degree. He was recently nominated for a Logie Award, which I leave to you good people to decide whether that is a big deal or not. He’s married (sorry, shippers) with a baby on the way.
His biggest role to date is as James Bligh on A Place To Call Home, where he plays a troubled and closeted gay newlywed from a prominent and wealthy family who (I think) dallied with his brother-in-law before falling for a really philosophical doctor type.
So … playing closeted, troubled, wealthy, handsome gay men is like his thing now. Here for it.
I’m not sure what the title “Straight Mate” means in Australia. Is that like an ally?
My favorite tidbit about David, other than the handsomeness because the handsomeness is really nice, is his stint (current, ongoing, former … I don’t know) in the all male singing sensation, Scream and Shout, formerly known as Jersey to Motown.
I don’t know if you can still book them or not (do they get understudies while they are off making international television, and will someone please update their squarespace site???), but that promo makes me wish I had a Bat Mitzvah to plan. At least as Scream and Shout, it is evident that their production value went up.
Hands in, aca-bitches!
A video posted by danieljbelle (@danieljbelle) on
Ahhhhh, his aca-buddies seem so cute and funny and fun. I want Richard Rankin/David Berry impromptu concerts at the next Euro-con. YOU HEAR ME, BOYZ?
But can Lord John and David Berry meld into one on my flatscreen?
This is not the place where we debate whether or not he’s capable of portraying Lord John based on his looks. Come on, guys. That never goes well. Let’s rise above such nonsense and remember they have hair dye and costumes and dialogue and such.
But for those of you who are slightly confused or sad, I’m sorry that Benedict Cumberbatch was off making huge blockbuster movies and incredible television. I apologize that Charlie Hunnam was all, “Giant fandom with a whip-cracking authoress at the helm? I thought I already passed on that.” God apologizes that Jude Law is now 20 years too old for the role, and that Rupert Friend got un-hot after Pride and Prejudice. It’s all very tragic.
Because David is tall! And Australian! And brown-headed! And kind of buff! HOW WILL THAT GEL WITH ALL OF THE MYRIAD PICTURES WE EACH HAVE OF BLONDE, BLUE-EYED, CUTIE PIE JOHN WILLIAM, ESQUIRE?
It’ll work out.
And if you don’t believe me, check out this really hot, tortured scene from A Place to Call Home.
Even if you don’t like Lord John, you gotta love that. (But PS, blondes do have more fun).
Welcome to the Outlander fandom, David Berry. Here’s hoping one day you get your own spin-off!
