I never even noticed that...he's very agile!

I saw Ben and Johnny Depp's bit of The Graham Norton Show yesterday on Kodi and loved it.

I thought Benedict was his funniest, relaxed self, playing along with all the silliness and really doing a bang up job of the otter memes.  My favourite of those was the threesome.  Ben looked so adorable in the centre between Depp and Norton.  I like the otter pix.  I know some don't, or think it has been overdone, but to me they are done with affection and come from a positive, funny place, so why not just let it be.

And with so much negative, harpy bullshit going on about him lately (the skeptics/haters' vile blogs, the refugee reactions in the comments sections, the ridiculous petition against his cameo in Zoolander), it feels really good just to smile about something that is so simply innocent and harmless. 

Ben didn't seem to mind doing the new ones at all.  He actually looked really enthusiastic and really put an effort into it.  And we know from other incidents (about him doing impersonations of other actors) he doesn't always go along with some schtick if he thinks it has been played out too much.

The only time Ben look even a bit uncomfortable was when Graham asked him about the Sherlock Special being a "one off" and Ben just went blank for a moment and then there was an awkward pause.  Ben immediately apologised and explained that reaction came from the fact that he is so used to not revealing anything about projects that he just had a momentary lapse in remembering what he could talk about concerning the special. 

I also thought Johnny Depp was for the most part very funny (but in a totally different way than Ben was - they played off of each other nicely).  His deliberate, drole way of speaking to Norton may have been because he just isn't used to the show or the host.  His words seemed very measured but still he had moments of really funny comments.  My favourite bit was when he "confessed" that he wrote the gushy fangirl post about BC's form and attire (and his Cumbermusk!!!).  It seemed to me as the show went on Depp became more relaxed and in tune with the silliness. I also thought it was very touching when Depp talked about his daughter's illness and how significant it is for him to visit hospitals because of that personal situation.  As well it was lovely that both Ben and Johnny signed the big bear to have it auctioned off for the Great Ormand Street Hospital charity.  Such a sweet gesture.

Ben is just one of those types of people who takes naturally to being a "class clown" when the occasion calls for it - gregarious, active and thoroughly engaged.  Not all actors are like that.  I have seen plenty of actors who are really noticeably nervous about being on display in an interview show situation.  Some are painfully shy about it.   

The bit about the jumping and mugging of the teddy bear was just Ben being Ben I think.  I laughted and just shook my head.  He can be so mischievous and I think he likes to surprise folks just to see them react.  And he has been quoted before that he loves throwing himself around a set and being really physical. 

As for the difference between some of the pre-show quotes and what we saw in the broadcast show... I think some of the remarks had been edited.  There was one point just after Ben mentioned that he got married as well as becoming a father that Norton sounded like he was going to mention the part about his work and having his son but then the conversation made a sudden turn to a clinking of glasses and congratulations.  I got the feeling that they may have gone back to that thread of thought but that may have gotten cut in the edit before air.  Just my speculation - no hard evidence.  It does happen.

-Val

I really liked how Johnny Depp seemed to try and defuse the situation by "admitting" to having written that fan post. He seemed to be a bit in the defense about Ben, I loved his "Some people have a lot of time on their hands"-comment, which I thought was a very simple way to show how silly and out of proportion this otter thing has become.

Yes, Daniel and James were hilarious too, I laughed so much when they talked about their experiences with some fans.

Vhanja wrote:

I really liked how Johnny Depp seemed to try and defuse the situation by "admitting" to having written that fan post. He seemed to be a bit in the defense about Ben...

I have to ask, just purely out of curiosity (and not saying you are wrong about your views) - why do you say Depp "seemed to try and defuse the situation"?  What was there to defuse?  Do you think that the situation was tense and needed to be defused somehow - or am I just misinterpreting what you are writing there?

What I saw was a very funny bit and Ben seemed to be laughing his head off about the nonsense that some people write about him on the Internet.  To me Depp's "confession" just reinforced the silliness of it all. And that was brought full circle later when Ben was talking about wearing the cheek prosthetics and working at getting more broad looking for the role and Johnny was feign groaning about it.

-Val

Tense was perhaps the wrong word, but I thought it was clear that the more Graham read, the more Ben seemed to become so embarrased he didn't know what do do with himself. 

Thanks Vhanja for answering my question.    Like I said I wasn't criticising you for using that term - it was just that it didn't fit at all with what I perceived when I watched it, so I was curious as to why you said that.  No big deal. 

I didn't see any embarrassment on Ben's part.  I just saw the total humour of the situation.

I actually thought Ben was laughing so much that he might pee himself.  Either that or pass out from lack of oxygen -  he was laughing so hard I think he was finding it hard to breathe. Because it really is funny (sometimes cringingly so - on their part, not his!) what some people write about him. 

I loved his reaction to the hat comment too!  The man likes his hats!   

I think from all the interviews I have read it is pretty clear to me that Ben doesn't take all that sort of stuff seriously.  And thank goodness he doesn't!  His ego seems to be in a perfect balancing spot - present enough so that he feels confident in who he is as a person and yet not too large to believe the OTT sort of gush that surrounds him so often.

-Val

The best thing about the Reddit post was Johnny's comment. 

Sometimes I get a bit creeped out reading OTT gushing from fans about BC's physical presence.  I know most of it is said in a positve way and isn't harmful (and I am not suggesting that the reddit post wasn't anything except an adoring fan letter), but to me that sort of thing is more tiring than the otter memes.

I don't mind a bit of it - but too often it reminds me of things I have seen (by accident mostly) on the hater blogs where they drool endlessly about his physical attributes (his eyes, his butt, his arms, his... everything) and then turn around and also call him weak and malleable, say he was high on drugs when filming Sherlock, say that he is faking his marriage and child and say that he hates Sophie, etc.  It just makes me feel that too many people view him as just a piece of "meat" and don't care a whit for what type of a real person he is - beautiful inside. It seems so immature and superficial.

I like to focus on his consummate skill as an actor and enthusiasm for his work, his passion as a father and husband, his loyalty for his friends and family, his seemingly boundless empathetic humanity when he does charity work.   

Yes, he has got lovely expressive eyes, an interesting combination of facial features and a physical grace that makes him appear very athletic.  He is very appealing to watch on screen.

But IMO, to dwell on such things, and write volumes about them, seems to almost to reduce him down to just a pretty picture and not a real flesh and blood person. 

Again, I am not saying that the reddit post did this - but this is why I do get rather uncomfortable when I read too much of that sort of material.

And yes, I realise that it was the gushy fan letter that the whole joke rested on so in a way it was crucial to the humour of the moment.  But I am just saying that I don't really like too much of that sort of adoration of Ben.  I know it has it's place in fandom but I would rather it was just kept to the "bear" minimum - oops! I meant bare minimum! 

-Val

Ah-chie wrote:

But IMO, to dwell on such things, and write volumes about them, seems to almost to reduce him down to just a pretty picture and not a real flesh and blood person.
-Val

Amen to that!
Besleybean - to be honest I was expecting something funny and intelligent. At least a little bit. I have very mixed emotions about this one.