Arty Froushan Twenty-One Times

I think I know my audience. And my audience consists of the kind of people who are screaming "Make out!" at Arty Froushan and Charlie Cox whenever their characters share the screen on Daredevil: Born Again. I know all of this because it's exactly like that old T.V. commercial for the Hair Club For Men -- I'm not just the President of the "Screaming 'Make out!' at Arty Froushan and Charlie Cox whenever their characters share the screen on Daredevil: Born Again" Club, I am also very much a member. King of the members!

Anyway with the triple hit on my sensibilities that Arty's landed this past year -- a faggy fop in the last Downton movie, a terrifying sociopath on Daredevil, and Patrick f'ing Bateman in my beloved American Psycho: The Musical (unfortunately only in the U.K., so far) -- it's no surprise I'm quickly finding myself entrenched in the obsessed camp. And these exrtemely cheerful and adorkable photos (very Pushing Daisies!) for Bean Magazine  are only cementing that. You can read the interview at that last link, but if you just want to get oglin' you can hit the jump...

Good Morning, World

Considering how much posting I did when Benjamin Walker starred in the American Psycho musical on Broadway (to date the only time I've gone to see a Broadway show three times!) you'd think I'd have posted about Daredevil and Downton Abbey actor Arty Froushan's run by now -- I guess since it was in the U.K I will cut myself some slack, but still. Every time Arty has popped up on this season of Daredevil I felt a twinge -- well okay several competing twinges -- that I didn't get to see him give us his Patrick Bateman best on stage. SIGH. That show has now ended its run but -- and I can't believe I haven't posted about this news yet either! -- it will be staged here in New York again in 2027! It's not going to Broadway -- it's happening at some venue in Brooklyn that I am unfamiliar with but that thrills me because I can hopefully afford to go see it repeatedly again then! I have my doubts that the U.K. cast will carry over, but they can feel free to prove me wrong! I'd love to see Arty in the (bloodied) flesh. Anyway I've only posted about Arty a couple of times here on the site (see here) but I will hopefully get lots more chances to revisit the subject of him -- and he was kind enough to share some swoon-worthy behind-the-scenes photos from the show on his Instagram, which I in turn have thoughtfully curated for you (with some bonus shots because duh) after the jump...

This Week's Three Review Round-up

Since it's Friday and this week's new movies are actually out in the theaters today let's glance back at the week that was in movie reviews by yours truly, since three of them dropped earlier this week and you might've missed them. First and foremost there's the long awaited gay romance The History of Sound starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor from Moffie and Living director Oliver Hermanus -- read my review right here. I think it's a beautiful film, well worth your time.

Is that a gigantic microphone, Dev Patel, or are you just happy to see me? Next up there's Rabbit Trap, an eerie folk horror about a pair of married musicians who stumble through a faerie circle and into a trippy nightmare -- click here to read my review of that sublte slow-burner. I found it kind of funny nad strange that I ended up writing about two movies about people going into the woods with sound recording eqipment this week! Not every day that happens.

And finally there's the third and finaly Downton Abbey movie -- read my thoughts right here. All obviously very different films, but each of them good in their own way -- a good weekend at the movies! Go see them all! And I suppose I'll use this opprtunity to remind y'all that I begin my deep dive into NYFF press screenings next week (with both NewFest and Brooklyn Horror immediately following) so it's going to be real sporadic around here, post-wise. So cling this  three review bounty to your bosoms as a raft to carry you through these turbulent times!

The Lights Are Much Brighter There...

Several reviews from yours truly are going to be dropping this week (if not today), starting right here and right now with my take on the third and supposedly final Downton Abbey movie, The Grand Finale. Click here to read my thoughts! I've been surprisingly kind to this franchise over the years, given its wealth-obsessed soapiness is not my usual beat, but I take it the same way that people during the Great Depression must have approached Busby Berkeley musicals -- a lavish distraction. And chauffeur-stud Allen Leech is my Dick Powell, I guess! As I say in my review this final film is extremely For The Fans, but it does have the good sense of gifting us with Arty Froushan's delightful turn as Noel Coward plus half-naked Alessandro Nivola. Of course I had a good time!

My review of the new Downton Abbey movie won't drop til next week but let it be known that Arty Froushan as Noel Coward is now my North Star

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— Jason Adams (@jamnpp.bsky.social) September 4, 2025 at 11:03 AM

Good Morning, Clock Twink

A couple more photos of "Clock Twink" aka actor Ben Ahlners from The Gilded Age popped up this week that I missed in my great big gratutitous post of him last week -- well I actually didn't "miss" them; the official photoshoot for V Man Magazine (thx Mac) just hadn't been posted yet so I only had a couple of these photos to share then. But now they all exist... unless there are some outtakes out there -- perhaps one without pants? Dare we dream? Perhaps I will go right back to bed and see if I can dream of exactly that? I can't imagine anything else to happen this Thursday will beat that. But it's early! Let's keep hope and Clock Twinks alive! This is the way.

Good Morning, Gratuitous Ben Ahlers

I contemplated calling this post "Good Morning, Gratuitous Clock Twink" but actor Ben Ahlers is one of those rare cases where I find him hotter outside of the costumed drama than I do on it -- usually all of those semi-fetishistic costumes with their inherent high-collared repression really snap my suspenders, if you catch my drift. But it wasn't until I recently saw Ben here...

... outside of The Gilded Age and as his own adorable (and uhh surprisingly ripped) self that he actually caught my attention. (Also it turns out that he's 6'2" which doesn't hurt either.) So what I'm saying is -- don't think I'm only into Clock Twink now that his character's gone and gotten rich! I'm an entirely different kind of superficial.

For real though... who'd have guessed it? Wish I'd been paying attention sooner. But consider my twink-blindness your success story because it means I've got dozens upon dozens of photos to share with you this morning. If anybody wants to say what they thought of the third season of The Gilded Age as a whole and its finale (which aired last night) you can do that in the comments, but let's get to the real reason we're here and hit the jump for all of those pictures, videos, and gifs...

Alessandro Nivola Twenty-Seven Times

It's always a blessed day when we get a new photoshoot of MNPP fave Alessandro Nivola! So the fact that this photoshoot for Mr. Feelgood magazine dropped on Friday when I was off meant I got to stretch (some might even say "edge" but those people would be perverts) this blessing out for three straight days -- huzzah indeed. My arms are exhausted! This sexy and talented fucker is doing press right now for his ongoing Appple+ TV series The Big Cigar (which I told you about previously here)...

... as well as technically his villainous role in the superhero film Kraven the Hunter but that movie doesn't come up in the interview and I'm not even sure when that's being released now. Much to my chagrin it's bounced around so damn much! (ETA I googled, it's December 13th now.) In said interview he does name-drop his work on the Almodóvar movie though (previous post here) -- wouldn't you? -- as well as his just recently announced role in the new Downton movie. Everything's coming up Alessandro and that's just the way we like it. Hit the jump for the many many more photos...

Big Cigars & Even Bigger Estates

The New York Times chatted with MNPP faves Alessandro Nivola and André Holland over the weekend  on their new series The Big Cigar, about the unexpected friendship between Black Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton and Hollywood producer Bert Schneider back in the 1970s, premiering on Apple+ on May 17th -- read it here. But wait! There's more Nivola News! I wish there was enough Nivola News for us to have a weekly column titled just that -- Nivola News. I could make a logo and everything. Anyway he works enough that it feels like it sometimes, bless him. Anyway Deadline reported this morning that Mr. Nivola has joined the cast of the third Downton Abbey movie, which is happening. Not really a surprise, given that the last movie did well (and was pretty delightful to boot.) He joins the cast along with Paul Giamatti, Joely Richardson, Simon Russell Beale (who I can't believe hasn't been on the show previously) and Arty Froushan -- I knew that last name was familiar and sure enough I already followed him on Instagram because...

... he's one of the super hot guys on House of the Dragon. In fact he was one of the super hot GAY guys on House of the Dragon -- if you need a recap of that storyline click here; to be honest I'd completely forgotten all of that myself. I am going to need a real recap on that series when it returns later this year! Anyway I think Froushan himself is gay but don't quote me on that -- his social media and some articles seem to point in that direction but I couldn't find a definitive quote before my laziness took over. It's a real ticking time bomb, my laziness -- answers best show up fast or I'm out! Anyway whoever he's fucking in real life Froushan is a hot one...

... and I hope Downton takes advantage of that. Where did we last leave our favorite hot gay footman Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier)? I can't remember how the last movie ended. He was flirting with both the actor and the King's dresser? Am I mashing different movies up in my head? Anyway just throw Alessandro Nivola in there and bring back Charlie Cox's gay character (and as seen below Froushan is in the new season of Daredevil after all so Charlie can just jump on his back, ahem, and ride over) and then have the entire third Downton movie be a bunch of gays fighting and fucking threir way through the 1940s. We've earned it dammit!

Boy Kills Crunches

Any movie that has an entire shot that's entire purpose to to showcase an actor's abdominal muscles is a movie that's gonna grab my attention, and when the abs belong to Bill Skarsgård, and Bill Skarsgård has gotten especially shredded for the exact purpose of showcasing said abdominal muscles, well, consider me sold. 

Fact is I was already sold on Boy Kills World the first time I posted about Boy Kills World nearly two years ago -- see that here -- but it's nice that this first trailer made me feel right in my two-year-old assumptions. It looks like a total blast! And it's great seeing Michelle Dockery, Andrew Koji (mmm Andrew Koji), Sharlto Copley, and Famke Janssen running around being goofy and over-the-top in service of some action tomfoolery. Watch:

Boy Kills World is out on April 26th.

Good Morning, World

There were a few big takeaways from Downton Abbey -- and not, "Maggie Smith is awesome" wasn't one of them because we already knew Maggie Smith was awesome well before Downton Abbey. One was it would've been fine to be a sexy closeted gay butler because you got to have sex with Charlie Cox a couple of times and that would've made all of the other endless years of misery totally worth it. And another was "totally fuck your chauffeur" because Allen Leech is a prize. These gifs of Allen and his exquite ass obviously aren't Downton related -- they're from some show called Too Good To Be True that I know nothing about -- and on that front if any Brits wanna assist with information, please do! But honestly who cares? We don't need to know. Exquite Allen ass! Hit the jump for more...

George Mackay Came By

Looks like two George Mackay things slipped through the cracks on me (don't say it, Jason, don't say it...) -- number one, these photos are from the ever-reliable Behind the Blinds magazine and I'd posted a couple of them (see another one here and see a couple more here) but not the whole batch? What was I thinking? And thing number two -- George has a new movie out right now! And it's a new thriller movie directed by Babak Anvari, the director of the fabulous flick Under the Shadow to boot! 

Turns out I had actually posted about this movie when it was first announced (alongside a heap of George photos that time too) -- it's called I Came By and it co-stars Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville and it has George playing a graffiti artist who gets trapped inside the house of some rich maniac or something. I don't know, that's the general idea I have without having watched the trailer anyway...

... but why would I watch a trailer if the movie is on Netflix right now? Which, turns out, it apparently is. I missed everything about that. Huh. So I will be watching that this long weekend -- you should too! I mean probably. I haven't seen it yet but the reviews are generally positive and these are interesting artists, but you do you, baby. Can't fill in your cracks if you don't wanna! Hit the jump for the rest of the George photos...

Technically This Post is About Downton Abbey...

I wasn't sure which Downton Abbey actor I would use a photo of to grab your eyeballs with to direct you over to my review of the new Downton Abbey movie which just went up at Pajiba, read it here. Whenever Downton comes up I usually always vacillate between Allen Leech and his bulging trousers and the porcelain-pretty homosexual-footman Rob James-Collier, who once stuck his tongue in Charlie Cox's mouth to my everlasting pleasure. But then I saw the above photo of Hugh Dancy in plaid pants (okay it's houndstooth, whatever, close enough) and it was game set match even though Hugh's only just now become a Downton boy with the new movie, which has him playing a Silent Film Director who comes to Downton and bats his pretty eyelashes at Lady Mary. Doesn't it seem though like Hugh Dancy should have been on Downton Abbey ages and ages ago? How is this just now happening? Anyway the important thing is it happened. Now go read my review. But wait, I have more...

 

... I don't know where the hell my head has been but I had no idea that Hugh was in a TV series with former-Piz Chris Lowell! Did you? There is too much damned TV. The show is called Roar and it is on Apple+ and it's actually an anthology series, so Hugh & Chris are only in one episode (it's the sixth episode). They star in that episode alongside Alison Brie, which is of note because the series is from the creators of GLOW, which of course starred Brie & Lowell previously. (Oh man I miss GLOW so fucking much, you guys.) 

Lowell, a terrific photographer whose work I've posted before here on the site, posted these snaps of Hugh on his own Instagram -- I love the thought of him putting his hand to Hugh's face and turning it into the light just right, don't you? Like that scene in Clueless with Brittany Murphy holding the rose. Well these are the places my brain automatically goes anyway. 

And since we are here and I'm looking at Chris's Instagram and I'm seeing all of the sexy self-portraits that he's posted over the past few months that I have missed, well, that obviously cannot stand. So I'm gonna post those too, right on after the jump... 

Good Morning, World

It's so difficult to find good birthday boy Allen Leech gratuitous content out here on the internet that I am here this morning sharing this photo that I have no context for -- he appears to be acting on stage? If you have any context give us a shout-out, otherwise just enjoy this vision of Downton Abbey's driver-turned-dream-man Allen Leech wearing lycra spanx and nothing else. You can see plenty more of him here though, from past posts -- I particularly like this one; even though he's fully dressed there's plenty to look at. They always know what they are doing when Downton's costumers cut Branson's inseams! Speaking of I have indeed seen the new movie (out on Friday!) and I'll be reviewing it later this week but there's plenty of that to keep one's eyes out for -- those linen tennis pants he wears in the trailer (see below) on the big screen will poke your eye out, and they even get him running around in one of those old-timey bathing suits! Good stuff, I tell ya. Happy birthday, Bronson!

By This Robber Baron's Beard

Okay so who's watching The Gilded Age? I know some of you are watching The Gilded Age. I am watching The Gilded Age and I'm not even the typical audience for such a thing -- I watched some Downton but lost interest fairly fast, and all of the Broadway legends on Gilded are mainly lost on me, given I'm not a big Broadway person. I am a big Carrie Coon & Morgan Specter person though, so Julian Fellowes got me with them, and I've found these two episodes of The Gilded Age that have aired so far perfectly acceptable escapist entertainment. Downton was never anything more than an expensive soap opera and this seems to be the same -- some of the negative reactions to this new series seem beamed in from some other planet with their expectations to me! 

Anyway this is the long way around to me linking to this chat in W Magazine with Mr. Spector there, talking about the show, talking about working with Carrie Coon, talking about being married to Rebecca Hall, et cetera et cetera. I recommend reading that, and then coming back and looking at my great big "Gratuitous Morgan Spector" post right after as the mint on your pillow. Oh and one last thing, Gilded Age needs more of the gay stuff. The lack of that was Downton's true undoing! Them's my two nickels!

Brave New Alden

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Has anybody read Aldous Huxley's sci-fi classic Brave New World lately? Do they still assign it in high school English classes? That's the last time I read it myself and, uhh, it's been awhile since high school. (Cut to an x-ray shot of my bones turning to dust.) I ask because as I told you back in April of 2019 the book has been turned into a series for NBC's streaming platform (that's the one called Peacock) by Fear the Walking Dead show-runner David Weiner and comic book legend Grant Morrison, and it's premiering on July 15th (that's the one called Also My Birthday). They have just released a trailer! See:

it's looking kinda Westworldy (meets Gattaca?) but I can dig it. The show also stars Demi Moore, Downton Abbey's Jessica Brown Findlay, Game of Thrones' Harry Lloyd, The Vampire Diaries' Joseph Morgan, and so on. Here's how they describe the show:

"Brave New World imagines a utopian society that has achieved peace and stability through the prohibition of monogamy, privacy, money, family, and history itself. As citizens of New London, Bernard Marx (Lloyd) and Lenina Crowne (Findlay) embark on a vacation to the Savage Lands, where they become embroiled in a harrowing and violent rebellion. Bernard and Lenina are rescued by John the Savage (Ehrenreich), who escapes with them back to New London. John’s arrival in the New World soon threatens to disrupt its utopian harmony, leaving Bernard and Lenina to grapple with the repercussions."

And if that's the actual plot of the book you'll have to remind me, as I have literally zero recollection. Excuse me that should read, "Wassat, sonny? I ain't got my earpiece in!" Anyway I'm not angry at all of these classic sci-fi stories getting adapted at last -- see also the trailer for AppleTV's Isaac Asimov adaptation Foundation, which also dropped this week -- if there's one good side to the glut of content it's that people are digging deep for stories that haven't been told before. Plus... I just love Alden. Y'all know I do. I've been onboard since Beautiful Creatures in 2013. I'm glad he's got this lined up; I was afraid Hollywood would hold Solo against him (he was not the problem with Solo). On that Alden note you can click here for more of this photo-shoot if you like.

Jaeden Martell Six Times

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Are any of you watching Defending Jacob on Apple TV+? I feel like I should because I like Mr. Martell here well enough at this point in his career -- St. Vincent, Knives Out, Midnight Special, The Lodge, Masters of Sex, and being one of the good parts of the oft-bad It movies is a hell of a resume for a 17-year-old -- and oh right it also stars Chris Evans. A bearded Chris Evans at that! And everybody loves a possibly psycho teenager story -- I don't care what you say, everybody loves that. (All that and Bonus Points for Lady Mary.)

Anyway I am not watching Defending Jacob yet, but I feel as if I should give it a twirl, and this is me asking if you think that's a good idea. This is also me sharing Jaeden's new interview with and photo-shoot  for Interview Magazine, over here -- guess who they have him chat with? Here's a clue: his name rhymes with This Heavens. While you work that out the rest of us are gonna hit the jump for the rest of this photo-shoot...

"If It Doesn't Charge Your Phone..."

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"... or suck your clit nobody wants it."

First things first as you see there The Great Cole Escola has gifted us with an hour-long quarantine comedy special called "Help! I'm Stuck! with Cole Escola" that, if you haven't watched it yet, I say WATCH IT. I only caught wind of it this morning (it dropped on the 30th apparently) so I'm only halfway through but We Worship Cole Escola around these parts. Anybody who's alright with Amy Sedaris, and anybody who'll pose with a copy of Larry Kramer's book Faggots when asked by a total stranger, is alright by me. 

Second things second I'm taking today off from blogging. I know, I know, I just took the whole damn weekend off (although the immortal words of the Dowager Countess questioning the reality of "a weekend" have never felt more felt than now) but I got a late start today (because I actually went and exercised, give me a slow clap, folks) and I've got a ton of catch-up to play on several fronts and, in summation, it'll just be easier, and more fruitful for the week ahead, if I don't tie myself to my laptop all day long. But here, to tide y'all over, on top of all that Cole Escola here's some Patrick Wilson's bicep -- enjoy that and we'll chat tomorrow!

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Thanks @hbomax for helping entertain our quarantine crew. Some members are VERY excited for the new Elmo show. And... thank you for your generous contributions to @unicef! #GiftfromHBOMax #HBOMaxPlaydate

A post shared by Patrick Wilson (@thereelpatrickwilson) on May 4, 2020 at 8:06am PDT

Good Morning, World

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Director Autumn de Wilde's new adaptation of Emma starring Anya Taylor-Joy, thanks to the plague, has been shuffled off onto this here internet for rental already; I might not have loved it -- I reviewed it here -- but I did walk out of it convinced that the actor Johnny Flynn seen here (who plays Mr. Knightley) might just end up being...

... an excellent choice to play Dickie Greenleaf opposite Andrew Scott in the new Talented Mr. Ripley that's getting made, and honestly that was my main concern. (Besides what they did with Clueless I've never been a huge fan of Jane Austen in general.) No, Johnny might not be Jude Law, but he's got a certain something.

And no I didn't specifically mean his butt, but his butt doesn't hurt. Anyway besides leaving this version of Emma with a confidence in Flynn's, um, abilities, I also left it with an inflammation in my Downton-adjacent fetish for the sight of a gentleman and his valet being intimate with one another, so let's hit the jump for the rest of this blessed scene...
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Good Luck With That, Sam

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Part of me feels like this role won't be big in the film at hand so there's no need to get worked up either way about it, but I think it's still worth a post -- Outlander star and stacked hunk Sam Heughan is going to be portraying no less than The Most Attractive Movie Star Of All Time Mister Paul Newman, in a movie about the relationship between the tremendously talented author Roald Dahl and the tremendously talented  actress Patricia Neal. Neal was Newman's co-star in the 1963 film classic Hud...

... and so I imagine the filming of that will come into play, hence Newman being a character. But that won't be the focus, so who knows how much we'll see of Heughan; it could be a cameo, a walk-on, a "Hey look that's Sam Heughan playing Paul Newman," the end. Anyway I never would've thought of this casting but since I happen to be biased enough to think that literally anybody's going to look like a ugly jackass trying to play Paul Newman on-screen I won't aim extra vitriol Sam's way. It's not personal! It's just impossible! He is just Paul Newman!

And Paul Newman in Hud at that. A couple of years ago I asked which era of Newman's career he was the hottest during and it was right in this time period where y'all voted. So this is Prime Newman Stuff. Nobody can hold a candle. Anyway the film was called An Unquiet Life but I guess it's not anymore; I don't recognize the actress playing Neal (although she has tons of credits) but Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville is playing Dahl.
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