John Hancock portrayal

I came here just to express how much I liked John Hancock. Never having seen the actor(Rafe Spall) in anything else before, I thought he was brilliant. But if it is true what some people say, that he is acting the same way in all his work, he might not be so good after all but I still found him the most enjoyable character on the show.

I actually found him to exhibit what I can only describe as aspbergers like tendencies. Very OCD socially awkward not picking up or reacting to other people's emotions . I have only watched the first installment but I actually googled it to see if this was something I didn't know about John Hancock

From watching the entire miniseries I found Hancock to be most dynamic character. Starting out as just a rich smuggler focused on wealth he transforms into a true patriot. He did seem very socially awkward. Did anyone else notice how he would lean in on one leg in a conversation when making a point, then draw back when awaiting a response? Very peculiar, but my favorite character of the show.

I didn't care for him at first, but he definitely grew on me. Hancock was an interesting guy, but rarely gets portrayed with any depth. Who knows what his personality was like, but IIRC, Hancock was sarcastic and probably funny, so I enjoyed the quirks Spall gave him.

There have been historical references to Hancock being a bit of a foppish dandy. I've also read accounts of his social aspirations, so it may not be entirely inaccurate.

Well I for one thought that the John Hancock character was the best part of the mini series. History has taken its own liberties in the show, but I really think that Rafe Spall was one of the best parts of the series. I actually stuck by the show (after the first episode which I found a bit on the dull side) only because of him and the way he managed to make the character stand out so human and with so much personal enigma. He really manages to portray the reluctant rebel and as such he also backs up the narrative of the show: The english who go too far in extracting taxes from what they find to be a lower class: eg. the "colonists" and the conclusion of the show: That the english was actually themselves the main reason for the birth of America. So I think the character has a great importance as an embodiement of all these different elements of the revolution and how they worked together to the point of war. And also I think he serves as a window to the mentality of a lot of colonists who were split in trying to live and make money in a new land and on the other side being loyal to a king, raised with certain values like God, King and Country. I loved it.

He was definitely odd, but I kind of liked it! He reminded me of how Mozart was portrayed in Amadeus. Even if it wasn't historically accurate, I really liked his weird character.

I, too, know nothing about the real John Hancock, but I felt the actor stole the show with his portrayal. He made this character highly interesting and entertaining to me.

He struck me as a soft, rich man not used to dealing with the rougher aspects of life; and also generally trying to maneuver his way with smooth diplomacy or money. A born politician.