MARTIN FREEMAN IS BILBO BAGGINS, AND THE WORLD REJOICES - Page 3

They must not have found anyone for Balin yet. He is the most important dwarf casting outside of Thorin since he is Bilbo's closest friend of all the dwarves.

For reference, the Bilbo of the main story thread has already aged somewhat visibly from the Bilbo of the prologue.

Wonder which of the very lucky actors already cast....gets replaced by Jackson after the first few days of shooting.

*nerd hat on* The White Council believed that it had destroyed Sauron in that particular confrontation, at the time. Gandalf, however, was about crossing all Ts and dotting the Is. The "dragon treasure" quest was not ever about riches (for him), but rather about eliminating a major potential weapon for Sauron should he re-emerge. The need for this is underscored when Bilbo pops up with a magic ring. That can easily be explained, if Jackson goes there. *nerd hat off*

He's too young and there's nothing I've seen in his acting (other than a sort of boyish charm) which suggests he's capable of the character.

For some reason I've always thought Jonathan Pryce is the ideal Bilbo (he even played a Bilboesque figure in Brazil).

Forty is too young? A hobbit comes of age on his 33rd birthday, and Bilbo was only 50 when he first said "good morning" to Gandalf - if anything I'd say Freeman is almost too old.

Gods, according to the books, Frodo was the same age as Bilbo when he set out on his very different adventure and Elijah Wood was only 18 when cast in that role. Even if you take the idea the films pushed that he was only 33, there's still a huge difference between Woods at 18 and Freeman at 40.

Have you seen HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE? A meek bumbling character forced from his comfort zone to go on a grand adventure and save the day...

RD already addressed the age thing.

The make-up team from the trilogy was absolutely first-class. Once Freeman receives the Hobbit treatment and is absolutely in-character, I have a feeling that he will look remarkably like a younger Ian Holm - at the very least, close enough that there won't be a serious continuity issue.

Considering Freeman is great in pretty much everything he's in, I'd say this was a pretty good choice.

Have you read "The Hobbit"?

Bilbo isn't meek and bumbling. Or at least those aren't his only virtues. He has the Took in him and can be quite spiky and brave.

Freeman is a good comic actor who works best in ironic and satirical roles. But he is not charismatic in a heroic sense and he certainly didn't command the Arthur Dent character.

He's doing really well at spiky and brave on Sherlock.

Have you sent a message to the producers? I'm sure they didn't really consider how he'd fit within the confines of their flick.

Anyway, sure he's a comic actor. But he's a good dramatic actor too. He's funny on The Office, but it wasn't all laughs. He turned in some great dramatic work on that seriers. And he was, along with Dawn, the heart of that show.

Plus, he's short.

They are lucky to have him. And they must have really wanted him....because they had to work around his schedule.

Anyway, if you're really disappointed, there's always a chance he'll be fired first week. A fairly common Jackson practice.

Arthur Dent isn't a character that necessarily calls for bravery. Even in the moments where he stands up for himself, there's an undercurrent of "What the hell am I doing?" Freeman was able to convey that because he's, well, an actor. So I'm sure he'll be able to act spiky and brave as well.

I think if Elijah Wood and Sean Astin (and 2 actors that weren't known until they were cast) can pull it off, Freeman will do just fine.

And yeah, I read the Hobbit. Several times. "Charismatic in a heroic sense" isn't really how I would describe Bilbo. He rises to the occasion in the face of rough odds and uses his wits more than anything. He uses sting in a bit of hack & slash here and there, but Bilbo's no Errol Flynn.

I think the entire UK Office series shows Freeman's got more range than just "ironic" IMO.

You think he's the right man. I'm happy with that. Why you're unhappy with my opinion (to the point where you feel compelled to resort to sarcasm) I'm not sure.

He was good value in "The Office". Since then I've seen him in a number of similar roles and he's been perfectly adequate. However, in parts that have demanded different attributes he has, to me at least, delivered a mixed bag. Hence my doubts over whether he can deliver Bilbo - or my memory of him (which I concede may have dimmed with age).

Perhaps if the thread title hadn't included the phrase "... the world rejoices" I wouldn't have posted. It practically suggests he was born to play the role - a bit like De Niro in "Taxi Driver" or Anthony Hopkins in "Silence of the Lambs". IMO, big statements require big evidence and looking purely at Freeman's body of work I don't think it is there.

I'm sure this is factor. But given what can be achieved with digital FX and/or perspective chicanery I can't imagine it is a major one.

He's got the job. Good luck to the man. If he is canned it won't be because I've wished misfortune upon him.

My issue with Freeman in HGG wasn't due to a lack of bravery. He just didn't deliver a memorable performance. So much so I forgot he even played Arthur. I accept that the best lines in the film (and the book) generally go to characters like Zaphod and Marvin, but I can still remember Simon Jones' pin-sharp performance today and the last time I watched the TV series was over twenty years ago.

I'm not saying Freeman is a bad actor. He just wasn't the man for Arthur Dent. I should say that I think Simon Jones is at best an average actor (I watched him in theatre years ago and he was utterly dreadful). But he had precisely the right characteristics for the Arthur Dent of the TV series. Horses for courses.

I simply cannot agree that just because someone is an actor he must therefore be capable of expressing the whole gamut of human expressions, emotions, mannerisms and characteristics. If that were the case there would be no need for casting departments. You could simply hire anyone to play Han Solo one week and Hamlet the next - with complete success.

Geoff, just out of curiosity, were there any of Jacksons casting decisions for LOTR that you vehemently disagreed with or didn't think worked?

When the first movie hit the casting stage I did have some modest reservations about Ian McKellen. I never doubted his acting abilities but I wasn't sure if the role was right for him. I was a huge fan of Michael Hordern's Gandalf in the excellent BBC radio series and it was tough to mentally let go of his investment in the character.

In reality my worries were groundless as McKellen gave arguably the best performance in FOTR. I don't recall any other issues. But then we are talking some time ago now.

I'll be honest with you and say since ROTK my affection has kind of waned a bit. To the point where - here and now - I'm not sure if I'll watch them again.

I think a lot of this is down to over familiarity. I've seen them so many times (especially the first). Moreover, as the romance has faded I've begun to pay closer attention to the acting and some of the lines. Little things that now grate - like Orlando Bloom (who compels me to fast forward), Merry & Pippin, the Ents (which seem out of place) and even Viggo Mortensen.

I don't want to hate on the films because I'm sure if I watched just about any other movie as many times I'd probably find similar criticisms. I guess I'm just worn out with them.

Perhaps The Hobbit will re-ignite my interest.