Casting The Hobbit will be an interesting challenge. For one thing there is no way Ian Holm could play Bilbo. I felt he was way too old looking even in TLOTR. This is not to say, he isn’t a marvelous actor. He did a grand job in TLOTR. However, Bilbo is 50 when he finds the ring. He should have looked the same age at the beginning of TLOTR. Now this is NOT a “human” 50. IMHO he would be a 35 or so looking human. Remember Hobbits live longer than humans. – Heck, age Elijah Wood a little bit and have him do Bilbo. In any case Bilbo should look to be about 35 to 40 years old, not 65 or 70. Maybe Daniel Radcliffe J – Ian McKellen should reprise Gandalf. – As to the Dwarves I would love to see John Rhys-Davies portray Thorin. It would be nice to see him not be the comic relief. – I think, Shawn Bean might do a fine “Bard.” Let him be the “good guy” here. Dark hair & beard will fit him. – Andy Serkis, of course, for Gollum. – While a friend didn’t care for Hugo Weaving as Elrond, he is too identified with the character. He will do. – Of course, there will need to be someone to play Estel/Aragorn. Estel is 10 years old when Bilbo & company arrive in Rivendell. He really does need to be there and have Elrond use his name, Estel. – I have joked with friends about having Thranduil played by Orlando Bloom with a touch of aging. Legolas does not appear in The Hobbit. He was probably off chasing Elf maidens. In any case Thranduil does NOT need to look very old. Elves don’t age the same way humans do. – I would like to make a pitch for Smaug to be drawn by Bob Eggleton. Bob does outstanding dragons. – Hmm, I think, I would make an excellent Dwarf. Please Let PJ know.
January 27, 2008 at 10:20 pm |
I agree with only 2 of your choices. Gandalf and Gollum have to be the same actors. I also don’t want to see Ian Holme as Bilbo (too old, though I agree he’s otherwise a brilliant actor..).
But I really would HATE to see the LOTR cast just switched around to be the ‘races’ they were again. All those others should be out of the question.
I could understand using Legolas as Legolas. I know he was not mentioned in the Hobbit, but we know being an elf he would have lived then. It would not be any worse to write him into the story than it was to expand Arwen’s part in LOTR. Some creative license should be used, and for those who haven’t read the books, it would probably be nice to see a familiar face.
January 28, 2008 at 12:12 am |
G’day,
Thanx for commenting.
Actually, I don’t have too much of an argument to your comments. — I’m sort of recognizing the fact, that PJ or the new director may wish to “reuse” some of the actors. If so, where would they best fit. — I do think, the casting of Bilbo will be a critical step. You need someone who can pull off the roll and not be too unfavorably compared to Holme. This will be difficult. Holme by the way did Frodo’s voice in the BBC’s abridged version.
— I don’t see any reason not to give Sean Bean a chance to be a hero and not a fall guy. He could do the role. — I do stand by my feeling that, assuming he would do it, which is not all that certain as he reacts poorly to the makeup and prosthetics, John Rhys-Davies would make an excellent Thorin and allow him to do a serious turn instead of comic. — Yes, Legolas could appear, tho I really don’t see any strong need for his character. I would abbreviate the scenes in the Elven caves in any case. Aha! I know, Legolas could be the Elf leader who brings the Elven forces to Laketown and the Lonely Mountain. Thus, he could appear briefly in the Elven cave scene. — I’d rather see a brief appearance of a young Estel/Aragorn. This would link the two hobbit films with TLOTR. — The thing to remember is that the producers have to consider just what is worth that $500,000 a minute of screen time.
January 29, 2008 at 7:52 pm |
I really doubt that PJ would ever consider using the same actors in different roles. Even for a second. That creates a strange confusion- “What’s Boromir doing in the Hobbit?” And for those of us who know the books and are able to make the jump to Bard, we would even unconciously associate him with the character Boromir. That can be a great tool if that’s what you want, but who would want to associate those characters?
Also I would argue that the only reason anyone would ever consider using Sean Bean again, would be because they are familiar with him ‘in that world’. But remember, there was a time when you weren’t.. Any other choice would be better IMHO.
Do I like Sean Bean as an actor? Absolutely! Did he do a good job in LOTR? Better than most of them I think. But he’s already somebody else in the story line.. That’s kind of like using Harrison Ford in the newer Star Wars prequels to play one of the Senators.. WTF? double take..
Cheers though, good questions, it’s fun to think about isn’t it? After all what are we supposed to do while we wait?
January 29, 2008 at 8:48 pm |
Unfortunately, While PJ might wish to sue some of the same actors, I must agree with you. Too many folk who just watch the movie would get confused. — Darn! I hate when someone else may be correct.
— True, they are vey different. — Darn! True again. Well, who would you suggest as Bard? It would need to be someone rather large & physical, burly, who would do “dark” well. — Yes, Sean Bean did do his part a great deal of credit. Ford would be a very old Senator. 
— Yes, speculation is great fun. Then the actors are picked and we say, “Crikey! Why didn’t I think of that.” — Where in this vast world are you located? I’m in upstate NY. Tho not always. 
July 11, 2008 at 5:52 pm |
I think an important consideration for the Hobbit movie would also be whose voice to use for the dragon ‘Smaug’. Richard Boone really made the character his own in the cartoon Hobbit and the casting directors should search for a suitable matching voice. They should seek that deep, gravelly tone but avoid too familiar voices like Morgan Freeman or James Earl Jones.
Also, I would like to know if they plan to include Tom Bombadil and the whole ‘living in a dingle close to the Withywindle river’. With two movies to to get it all in they could add just a touch of the Badger-folk and Barrow-wights, the power of Tom’s voice and how he captures and marries the River-spirit Goldberry. All other movies cut him out completely.
September 24, 2008 at 5:41 pm |
Hullo Felix – First, sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this. Life and running an SF con have gotten in the way of things. — Choosing voices for Smaug will be a Challenge. It will also have to have an unctuous quality along with a very real threat to it. I’ll be interested in seeing, or is that “hearing” who they choose.
As to Tom Bombadil I don’t see any reason to include him. To be honest he is not one of the characters who grabs me. He was added to the story in order to give the hobbits an adventure during the period during which Tolkien was operating in a clue-free environment as to where the story was going. Granted he did work material from the chapters into the story. As Mike Stanton notes in his “Hobbits, Elves & Wizards” there is little that Tolkien wasted in the story.
The other thing is the need to keep the movie moving. While one can sit around and natter away in a book, this is deadly in a movie. It will be very interesting to see how del Toro cuts “Riddles in the Dark.” To read the chapter aloud, as I have done for kids, it takes close to an hour. If he spends more than 10 minutes on it, I’ll be surprised. Granted there is a lot off description in the chapter that one sees in a movie, but it will be interesting to see if he keeps “all” the riddles.
The places to look for news on the film[s] are http://www.theonering.net and http://www.kristinthompson.net/blog .
My chances of working on the film[s] is now down to 1 in a Millisagan [from 1 in a Sagan] after meeting someone who knows del Toro personally. I ain’t packing yet.
January 7, 2009 at 3:18 am |
The 2nd Hobbit movie is supposed to be focused on the events between LOTR and The Hobbit right? Boromir is supposed to be leading the defence of Osgiliath at that time. Why not add that battle in? A perfect way of making Boromir a “hero”.
January 7, 2009 at 10:24 pm |
Yes, the 2nd Hobbit film, as I understand it, will comver the years between the end of The Hobbit & the beginning of TFOTR. — You make a good point here. I would enjoy seeing Boromir done up proudly. This would highlight the tragedy of his downfall. It would also allow for more input on the way Denethor looks down on Faramir. No matter how hard he tries, he doesn’t do enough or it well enough.