Billy Connolly Cast in Final Major ‘Hobbit’ Role

So despite the dozens upon dozens of new and returning cast members to Peter Jackson‘s return to Middle-Earth, the two-film adaptation of The Hobbit, one small, but key role had not been cast: Dain Ironfoot, cousin of the dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield (who is being played by Richard Armitage).  Dain has a significant part toward the end of the novel, so it was a bit of surprise that nobody was set for the role.

But in a bit of casting news that definitely brought a smile to my face, it was announced that Billy Connolly (The Boondock Saints, The Last Samurai, and a lot of much funnier films) will be lending his Scottish accent and his already-impressive facial hair to the role.  While it is curious that Connolly, who is nearly thirty years Armitage’s senior, will be playing Thorin’s younger cousin it isn’t something dwarf makeup can’t take care of, right?

You can see Thorin and the whole gang in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which is set for a December 14, 2012 release, but we’ll probably have to wait until The Hobbit: There and Back Again. which is set for a December 13, 2013 release, to see Connolly.