“Just One More Thing” – More Martin Madness

{Header image a screencap from this Yahoo! interview for The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug}

“I could probably write another 1,000 words going into the various reasons why I am fascinated by the actor and the characters he’s played.” So I wrote at the tail end of my “Why I’m (Somewhat Unhealthily) Obsessed With Martin Freeman” article, delving into the whys and wherefores of Martin’s attraction for me. While this is only 700 words, it still applies.

You see, last night, I realized I left out the most important aspect. In a weird way, he’s partially responsible for why I’m here in London now.

Last year, I had been accepted at USC for their master’s program. I had actually been accepted the prior year, but had to decline because I didn’t have the money for the move. But then finances had changed somewhat, and I had a job that was actually paying pretty decently. So I reapplied, and was re-accepted.

But I still debated back and forth as to whether I actually was going to do this. It was, after all, going to be a big step. My husband and I would leave our friends and family, and while my job was technically a temp job, it was the best job I had ever had and there was talk on the horizon of it becoming more permanent. But on the other hand, I had gotten to that point in my life where I realized I was settling. My life, while not bad, was simply ‘good enough’ – and taking this huge step might be the way to feel like I was accomplishing something extraordinary with my life.

One of the things that crossed my mind while contemplating this big step was an interview I had read/seen with Martin Freeman during the press junket for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. He was asked about if he had any concerns about taking on such a huge part, a part that would take up so much of his time to boot. His response was something along the lines of that he did indeed worry about taking on a role that would take so many years of his life, and the gamble that it could not pay off for him. And that HE had himself looked at the character of Bilbo Baggins, and that Bilbo – in the end – had warranted that the adventure would be worth it. He knew he would regret it if he didn’t do it. Good or bad, the journey would be what counted.

And as my husband and I discussed and debated the pros and cons, we – in the end – realized that the adventure would be worth it. Whether I got a job out of it or not, whether I would ever be able to pay back the student loans I would have to take on, whether I would actually learn anything that would help me – the simple fact was that coming to Los Angeles to do it would be an adventure worth having, and that I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t go for it.

As I started my journey at USC, I found out they had a summer international internship program. And that London was one of the locations I could go. I signed up for it, and was accepted. And as the date for leaving got closer and closer, I started to feel nervous: as with my decision to go to LA in the first place, going to London was a big step. There were so many ways this could go wrong, and I would be adding on even more debt. Not to mention that there was no guarantee that an international internship would make me more employable.

But in the end, I realized that London, like LA, was going to be all about the adventure. It is, after all, the journey that counts.

So, while I don’t actually think Martin Freeman is directly responsible for me having the chance to see him live, he definitely had an impact. Thank you, Mr. Freeman: I have been having quite the adventure.