Martin Freeman = Hobbit. Yes?
Finally! Hobbit casting rumors…and we hope this one is true.
EW is reporting that Martin Freeman has been offered the role of Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s two part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s (rather slim, one volume) book, “The Hobbit.” Ian Holm played an older version of the character in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
Okay, Martin Freeman isn’t the hugest name out there, especially in the US. But for those of you who have seen the original, British version of “The Office,” well, Martin Freeman played Tim, the character who became Jim in the US version of the show.
Apparently Freeman was offered the role of Bilbo earlier, but declined because of his commitment to the BBC show “Sherlock” (he plays Dr. Watson). However, it seems that Jackson & Co. came back to Freeman with a schedule that would allow him to stay with Sherlock and film “The Hobbit.” This is interesting, considering that I don’t think there’s a start date for ”The Hobbit,” and I actually don’t think it’s even been greenlighted (we know it will, but they can’t start until it is), as MGM continues to be in flux. So how did they give him a schedule? Well, I guess Jackson is clearly saying they’re willing to work around him.
Anyway, I think it’s good casting. I hope we get some confirmation of this soon.
