I honestly thought the three Warleggan family members the best thing on Poldark. Their acting was quite good and I enjoyed the performances of the actors for George, Elizabeth and Uncle Cary, immensely.
I could find little on Philip (Pip) Torrens even browsing through the British papers, though YouTube yielded a few interviews. He has a long and varied career — starting with Oxford Blues (a comedy c. 1986) to Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens ( 2015) and now the Poldark Series (2016-2019).
Bloxham to Cambridge
Torrens went to public Bloxham School, and then onto Trinity College where he read Literature. That worked out well, as he realized rather than either reading or writing it, he wanted to re-enact it, and attended London Drama School to learn the trade. He and his Poldark nephew George (Jack Farthing’s CV is quite similar) were the only two major figures in the show that shared a classical training, and it is what made them such compelling anti-heroes.
Traditionally that has been the difference between British and American talent — over there they get the academic foundation and rigour of Shakespearean training (another nativity highlighted was Patrick Stewart, who had been a Shakespearean stage actor before the Hollywood break), while in the US it is on-the-job training or coach mentoring — like the famous Lee Strasberg Method School in New York City, or directorial supervision as in the famous cases of John Wayne, Jack Nicholson, Errol Flynn, and Leonardo di Caprio.
The Hollywood difference
This is why Hollywood actors, except for the very finest, have no career after 40 — once their looks go they have little to commend them, so they turn to directing or producing films for income and celebrity.
Obviously, Pip Torrens has used his education and hard work (sixth house Moon-Pluto conjunction) to make a meal ticket that will last longer, and with Saturn in the tenth house and the sixth house trine, it was solid, older characters that he made his fortune — not dashing young leading stars. The Capricorn stellium there cements the deal.
A good memory helps
Torrens was born in Bromley, a farming town in southeastern London — and actually the only agricultural town in the borough on June 2, 1960, at what I pegged around 2:30 in the morning. This gives him an ascendant of 03 Aries 46, a symbol of “Boldness” with a midheaven of 01 Capricorn 43, or “Seriousness” — both à propos considering his film roles.
The midheaven symbol also suggests ambition, which I think is born out in his change of career. His part of fortune is in the tenth too, at a degree particularly helpful for actors having to memorize their roles: 10 Capricorn 46 (keyword Memory)
Footnotes
- This page was updated with a full astrological essay on October 3rd.
- This was originally a Chart-Only page.
