The Hobbit films may already have started filming, but there are a handful of key roles in the film that are still being cast. Last week I brought you word that Robert Kazinsky had to drop the role of the dwarf Fili, and director Peter Jackson and his crew wasted no time in recasting the role. Jackson announced on his Facebook page that New Zealand actor Dean O’Gorman has been cast in the role. O’Gorman is probably best known in the United States for his roles on Xena and Young Hercules, in which he played the young Iolaus in the latter.
Jackson‘s Facebook page also announced that Lee Pace (the upcoming Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn) has been cast as Thranduil, the elf king. Thranduil is an important role and father to the elf Legolas from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Orlando Bloom will reprise his role as Legolas in The Hobbit films even though the character does not appear in The Hobbit novel, so I guess we can look forward to some elf father-son time, although humorously Bloom is actually two years older than the actor playing his father!
Of course, the biggest Hobbit news of the day is doubtlessly the above photo that Jackson also posted to his Facebook page. Captioned “An old friend came to visit me on set today…”, it depicts Jackson with Hugo Weaving, the actor who played the elf lord Elrond in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and (as of now) the only original cast member of character who appears in The Hobbit novel who is not confirmed to appear in The Hobbit films yet. Seeing him on set is definitely good news — so somebody better get him in a make-up chair, quick! Jackson mentioned in his first video blog that they are currently filming some of the Rivendell scenes (which is the home of Elrond), so hopefully that’s why Weaving was on set!
The Hobbit films — which are reportedly individually titled The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There And Back Again — are set for a two-part release in December 2012 and 2013. Along with Bloom, many actors from the Lord of the Rings trilogy are returning to reprise their roles in the Hobbit project, including Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett, Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee, and Andy Serkis.
Actors new to Middle-Earth include Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, along with Richard Armitage, Aidan Turner, James Nesbitt, Graham McTavish, Jed Brophy, Ken Scott, Stephen Hunter, John Callen, Adam Brown, William Kircher, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton and now Dean O’Gorman, who will all be playing Bilbo’s thirteen dwarf companions.
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