THE HOBBIT NEWS

'Flight of the Conchords' Star Bret McKenzie is Joining 'The Hobbit'

by Ethan Anderton
April 4, 2011
Source: Variety

If you haven't learned anything today, well now might be the time. Were you aware that one-half of the comedic musical duo "Flight of the Conchords" had a very, very small part in The Lord of the Rings? Bret McKenzie briefly appeared as an elf in Fellowship of the Ring and was actually given a speaking park with Liv Tyler in Return of the King (watch the clip here). Apparently the character was dubbed Figwit (which has something to do with a fan saying "Frodo is great. Who is that?") though in actuality the character McKenzie played is Lindir, an Elf of Rivendell, and he'll be reprising this same role in The Hobbit as well.

The Lord of the Rings Wiki describes the characters as thus:

Lindir was a listener at one of Bilbo's poetry readings at Elrond's house. After Bilbo finished reciting the Song of Eärendil, he implied that he could not tell which parts were written by Aragorn and what parts were written by Bilbo. He may have been a minstrel or a musician.

So I think it's safe to say that this may not be a pivotal role, but it's a nice nod to the fans, and a great return for the New Zealand native. The Playlist first learned about this information last week, but Variety has now confirmed. Now there's no doubt I'll be waiting for McKenzie to appear in The Hobbit. Whether it's going to be in the first part of the story in 2012 or the second part in 2013 remains to be seen, but it's certainly an honor to be part of such a big film with such an amazing cast. If only Jemaine Clement looked a little more like an elf they could appear on screen together. Thoughts?

Filed under Casting, Hobbit, Movie News

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