THE HOBBIT NEWS

Stephen Fry Revealed to Play The Master of Laketown in 'The Hobbit'

by Ethan Anderton
May 18, 2011
Source: Facebook

It's hard to believe that the cast of Peter Jackson's anticipated adaptation of The Hobbit could get any better, but here we are with another casting update straight from Jackson himself. The director revealed on his Facebook page that famed British comedian Stephen Fry would be joining the cast as The Master of Laketown. Described as being greedy, but not undeserving of his position in terms of intelligence and charisma, The Master of Laketown is in charge when Bilbo Baggins and and his companions roll into town. In addition, Jackson also revealed Ryan Gage and Conan Stevens had landed roles in the adaptation.

Here's what Jackson had to say on the new cast members and their roles in the film:

Some more 'Hobbit' casting news today. As we near the end of our first shooting block (we have a break in less than three weeks to get some editing and visual effects work done, plus prepare for very big scenes coming up), we are looking at characters featuring in sequences that take place a little later in the story.

We are thrilled to confirm that Stephen Fry will be playing The Master of Laketown. I've known Stephen for several years, and we're developing a 'Dambusters' movie together. In addition to his writing skills, he's a terrific actor and will create a very memorable Master for us.

The Master's conniving civil servant, Alfrid will be played by Ryan Gage. Ryan is a great young actor who we originally cast in a small role, but we liked him so much, we promoted him to the much larger Alfrid part.

Last, and certainly not least, is Conan Stevens, who will be playing an Orc called Azog (Orcs are never called Roger or Dennis for some strange reason).  And yes that's his name—Conan! Isn't that cool? Azog is played by Conan! Here's a photo of Conan and I together… I'm pretty tall, probably at least 6'5" or 6'6" I would guess, so that gives you some clue how tall Conan is! You can learn all about him at www.conanstevens.com.

If you want to see a picture of Jackson on set with Stevens (who was recently seen in "Game of Thrones" on HBO) for the real size comparison, you can see that at the director's official Facebook page as well. He's quite a hulking guy to be playing Azog, and I'm sure he'll be even more intimidating when he's in full make-up and wardrobe. Honestly, as expansive as this cast is, we may have to start writing about who isn't cast in the film as opposed to more updates about whose joining the cast every week. What do you think of the new additions?

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