階級這道難以跨越的藩籬

一切從下面這個視頻開始。

雖然這個視頻主要圍繞在Benny如何對自己的名字自嘲，也談談Sherlock拍片時影迷所做的一些瘋狂舉動。但我看這個視頻時，一直有種困惑，為何Benny對於自己出身於Harrow School這件事，有種說不出的敵意？（說敵意也許太over，應該說，有一種亟欲擺脫，不願多談的糾結心情？）如果我出身於一個很優秀的學校，也許我會感到驕傲？

直到我看到Tom Hiddleston最近一篇訪問：'People think Eton is full of arrogant, braying toffs. It just isn't true': Tom Hiddleston on Britain's class consciousness，我才稍稍能夠理解那種心情。（中文翻譯看這裡）。

如同Benny，Tom也系出名門。如果Benny曾有任何試圖抵抗公學的影子，也許他選擇曼徹斯特大學就是最明顯的例子。而Tom不同，他讀的是劍橋，他屬於更典型的名門子弟。那麼，他會有什麼內心的糾結？

'My father and I used to tussle about me becoming an actor. He’s from strong, Presbyterian Scottish working-class stock, and he used to sit me down and say, “You know, 99 per cent of actors are out of work. You’ve been educated, so why do you want to spend your life pretending to be someone else when you could be your own man?”’

是阿！這麼好的學歷，為什麼要選擇演員這行完全看不到未來的行業？這是多少父母都會有的心聲，他們只希望你找個穩定的工作，好好的過你自己的人生。為什麼要把自己的人生搞的這麼複雜？

相較之下，Benny成為演員這件事似乎比較沒有引起父母親的反對，畢竟，他的父母親也都是演員。只是，我相信他的父母曾經也一度會問：我們讓你讀哈羅，就是希望你能選擇不一樣的人生，怎麼你依舊成為演員？（該慶幸好在Benny跟Tom都堅持過來了嗎？XD）

Hiddleston heads a golden generation of Old Etonian actors that numbers Eddie Redmayne (My Week With Marilyn, Birdsong), Harry Lloyd (A Game Of Thrones, The Iron Lady) and Harry Hadden-Paton (who recently starred in She Stoops To Conquer at the National Theatre).

‘But I’m wary of labels,’ he says. ‘As an actor, the labels that are so easily attachable to me – like Old Etonian or Cambridge graduate or Rada alumnus – are, in a way, the least interesting things about me. I’ve had to do a lot of work taking off those jackets. The last thing I ever want is to be pigeon-holed.

‘I was meeting lots of casting directors and you’d feel the atmosphere change in the room when I said where I went to school. It’s true of everyone in this country; we’re all so much more than we’re allowed to be by this predisposition to keep people in their lane.’

看到這一段時，我終於能稍稍體會為什麼Benny對於自己哈羅的背景很不喜歡提起了。因為一旦提起哈羅，大家自動就把你規成某一類型的人，它大大的限制了你發展的空間，同時也侷限了他人對你的是也與看法。Tom也是，他努力的想要擺脫伊頓的光圈，也許如同Benny一般，他們都希望別人看到的是那個努力耕耘的自己，而不是代表某種階級地位、不是繼承什麼高貴血統或社會地位的自己。這在他接下來的談話裡特別明顯。

‘I’ve never wanted to have to transfer the credit for my actions on to anybody else – my parents, my school, my university. I’ve always understood an inherited confidence to be false.’

自信是要靠自己爭取而來的，我相信，頂著名門的光環，通常只會是更大的壓力...

Later in the conversation, he talks about Britain’s class neurosis and cites his recent nomination for a Rising Star Bafta, for which he lost out to Hackney-born Adam Deacon.

‘It was couched as Eton versus Hackney, and Hackney won. But why can’t Adam just be the more popular actor?’

忍不住岔題一下，Benny，早晚你會拿到那座獎杯的！！！

'The one thing I despise is how everything artistic, political or intellectual has to be refracted through this prism of class consciousness. It probably is more sensitive to me but everything becomes really narrow-minded and pedantic and bigoted.’

這段可以看得出來Tom對於在英國什麼東西都可以跟階級扯上點關係感到不悅。但在英國，這種根深蒂固的階級觀念，似乎一直是無法跨越的藩籬。直至現在，我覺得Benny也還在逃離這種框框。最明顯的例子在Benny2005年的訪談：William Golding's 'To The Ends Of The Earth'

“The upbringing I had was a privileged one, but by default. My grandmother paid for two thirds of my fee, so I was a very middle class kid by most standards. I was surrounded by Lord Rothschild’s son, Prince Hussein’s son, dignitaries, princes and peers left right and centre. ”

 “I was very lucky. Even though I wasn’t as rich as other people, there were loads of boys in similar positions to me at Harrow. ”

“There were those who were super rich and went off on their holidays to Aspen, and I’d go and see my grandmother in Brighton. There was a disparity in what we could afford to do on our holidays. ”

真想知道奶奶當初用什麼心情去讓自己寶貝孫子念哈羅？想必也掙扎好一陣子的吧？

而在2010年Benny決定接演《After the Dance》後的一篇訪問：Benedict Cumberbatch - stepping into the lead中，階級問題依舊是個主題。

Is it easier to come out as a private school-educated posh boy now?
這個問題主要是指Benny的哈羅學歷是否使得他接演《After the Dance》輕鬆些？

"Christ, no, I think you have to hide it more with Cameron in charge," he says. "But class has always been with us, it just moves into different areas. In Rattigan's day it was incredibly stratified. What's interesting now is how far class will be defined by money — what the tax rises and the income thresholds and the VAT increases will be."

Personally, he hopes the current instability at home and abroad will result in a more egalitarian society. Professionally, he's a bit narked that, in the UK, he's allowed to play above his social class but not below it, "whereas in America I could play everything from trailer-trash to Harvard-educated".

應該是這個原因，使得Benny對於美國導演的頻頻招手而決定轉戰美國電影市場吧？雖然部分英國媒體對於Benny這個舉動有了負面言論（我看Tom應該也會被念...）但是，對於那個去參加奧斯卡這種全球影壇盛事的場合，還能抓抓頭並說：我只是來工作！的孩子，我真的覺得沒必要擔心太多。^^

這裡可以看得出來，Benny在哈羅裡有麼格格不入（指的是他自己在主觀認知上對於周邊同學的融入感）。即便如此，常常看到報導或訪問當中，主持人或記者還是會不斷提起他是哈羅畢業生（奇怪，怎麼沒人寫他是曼徹斯特畢業生這件事？），而他也總帶著無奈的語氣，接收著來自Martin一開始的玩笑：Oh yeah, you went to fucking Hogwarts, didn't you?並大方承認，對阿！我就是念Hogwarts。

最後，來看看念霍格華滋的Benny的照片吧！

為了紀念Terence Rattigan誕辰100週年，BBC拍了Terence Rattigan的紀錄片，並請Benny擔任介紹與旁白。Terence Rattigan同時也是《After the Dance》的作家，也剛好是Benny在哈羅的大學長（還剛好同一個學院！），找Benny來介紹真是太有意義了。


明明要介紹大學長，結果先帶大家來看自己的照片是怎麼回事？XD （即便名字縮寫都還比別人的名字還要長耶！哈哈！）


Benny指了指左下角的金髮男孩說：這是我曾經金髮的證據呦！ 這孩子真的很可愛:D


這張的Benny就很好找啦！（自動忽略身旁所有人...）


BC圓圓的手指頭指的，就是大學長Terence Rattigan啦！


《After the Dance》裡Benny所飾演的David Scott-Fowler。真的是大帥哥一枚！

每次寫到Benny，就會越來越離題...

回到主題吧！雖然Benny也好、Tom也好，階級，也許真的是短期間內無法跨越的藩籬，但我真的很慶幸，這兩位孩子都是哈羅與伊頓的好寶寶。否則我們也許見不到才思敏捷、氣質無與倫比的Benny，也許也見不到那帶著點優雅、也帶著書卷味的Tom。拋開哈羅、拋開伊頓，你們依舊是兩顆無與倫比的星星，正在好萊塢，甚至是世界，綻放屬於你們的光芒！
............
同場加映天使兩位。


Ian Derry的作品。感覺Tom快要飛走了...








同樣也是Ian Derry的作品。
幫Tom與Benny弄對翅膀，就有兩位天使了...