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THE HOBBIT NEWS

Martin Freeman is Reportedly Set as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit

by Alex Billington
October 17, 2010
Source: Deadline

With production finally officially getting the greenlight, it's time to start getting into the nitty-gritty details of this highly anticipated adaptation. While they haven't officially announced any casting on Peter Jackson's The Hobbit yet, Deadline has been saying some very interesting things about what to expect with casting. First, we know that Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis will be back as Gandalf and Gollum, respectively, but who else is in? British actor Martin Freeman is said to "soon be set to play Bilbo Baggins," confirming rumors from in September that he'll be playing the lead in Peter Jackson's forthcoming two-part adaptation.

Besides Freeman, McKellen, Serkis, Deadline also reports that Irish actor Jimmy Nesbitt (Bloody Sunday, Match Point, Five Minutes of Heaven, Coriolanus, "The Deep") has been offered a role, and that apparently Jackson is also pursuing Michael Fassbender (Hunger, Fish Tank, Inglourious Basterds, Centurion) and David Tennant (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, "Doctor Who"). Some big names from England, but all of them talented actors. None of their roles had been identified yet, but it sounds like Jackson is putting together quite an excellent cast, choosing strong British actors over more commonly known American ones. Shooting begins in 3D next February on the two films with a reported production budget of $500 million. We'll definitely continue to keep you updated on The Hobbit, as this is one project I'm very excited to follow.

Explore tags: Casting, Hobbit News, Movie News, Opinions

Mark

I certainly hope he's Bilbo. That would be perfect casting.
Jericho

cool...who played Bilbo in the other movies?
Toucmyinfection

Wasnt Ron Perlman rumored to voice Smaug?
Iknowall

I can confirm that Freeman will be Bilbo.
Xerxex

@Jericho it was Sir Ian Holm in Jackson's LOTR.
PhilJ

It all looks good. But, of course, David Tennant is Scottish, not English.
tri na nog

And Fassbender is Irish/German....Freeman is perfect,would love to see Tennent in this,he would fit right in.
Bash

Simon Pegg, in a recent interview, also confirms this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/oct/17/simon-pegg-interview
Jake

Tennant is amazing, I'd love to see him in a big ticket movie like this, hopefully with a few more lines than he had in Harry Potter, which was all of about 4.
beavis

agree on MF casting...........excellent choice.
trev

martin freeman would be an aweful choice , he has no range at all , he plays the same character in all his roles . besides , this is a huge film and freeman could not carry it , he just isn't a good enough actor .
The Kidd

I hope David Tennant has a big part. He is great, my favorite "Doctor".
Guy

Hopefully MF works for this roll, but judging on just appearance though, he looks like a frigin Hobbit already. lol
Guy

Alex, any idea which digital 3D camera system they will be using for these films?
good casting

What about the friction with the NZ union? That's still not sorted out yet. Green light, red light, green light...
les

It would be great if David Tennant and Sylvester McCoy (another persistant rumour) were both cast in the film. It would be very interesting to see two 'Doctors' together outside of Doctor Who.
Daniel Sharp

Sounds like Warner wants to pull out of NZ at this stage, union being idiots. However Warner execs coming over next week and out vulturous PM has said he is going to grovel to try and keep the production here so who knows.