The Hobbit : Dream Cast

[zxcvbn]

Disclaimer: I know there's probably been a thread about this sometime in the distant past, but I thought that since the movie has only recently been confirmed, we should start over.

Okay, who do you think should play the various characters in the Hobbit?My humble opinions:

Bilbo : Sir Ian Holm(for the sake of consistency; let them use the de-aging process that was used in X-Men 3 to make Magneto and Professor Xavier younger; otherwise they can have a Beowulf-esque CGI Ian Holm)

Gandalf: Sir Ian McKellen(No Question)

Thorin Oakenshield: Liam Neeson(A mature, middle-aged actor, but not yet in the 'wrinkled old men' league.

Thranduil: Jason Isaac(that arrogant sneer is befitting of the Elvenking)

Elrond: Hugo Weaving

For the White Council Scenes:

Galadriel: Cate Blanchett

Radagast: Michael Gambon

These are my thoughts for now. I'll post more names later. Any suggestions?

[Sauron the White]

My two cents - I would love to see some sense of continuity with these two films and the three LOTR films. That would mean having McKellen back as Gandalf and Serkis doing Gollum. Those two are definites. If there are roles in the second bridge film for people like Aragorn, Arwen, Legolas or others I would like to see the same actors. I did not like Hugo Weaving in the first films but mostly because I think his delivery of lines is extremely wooden and he acts in a style that seems more at home in a Cecil B. DeMille biblical epic. If that can be toned down I would favor giving him a shot for the sense of continuity.

Now to Ian Holm --- sorry but he is just too aged for Bilbo. They need somebody else who looks at les three decades younger and is physically capable of a more athletic performance with all Bilbo does in the films.

Okay - now this may anger some who like to play the casting game but that is as far as I want to go. I get extremely bored by all the wild speculation that so and so should play so and so. "Gee, wouldn't W.C. Fields be great as the Big Wahoo?"

Actors are just so much eye candy who are trained to read lines and deliver a performance that is prodded by a director wielding various treats and threats. I expect them to be professional, to be competent and to be good. If they are not, I expect the director to send them packing ala Stuart Townsend and then recast the role properly - ala Viggo Mortensen.

So speculate away but I have faith and confidence in the team putting this together and will not waste my time worrying about if the Harlem Globetrotters can really play all the Dwarves.

[zxcvbn]

STW, you have a point, but us poor fans need something to tide us over while we wait for news of the film's development. What can we do but speculate idly?;)

Here's more:

Balin: Bill Nighy

Saruman: Sir Christopher Lee(If he's still alive, and they'd better shoot his scenes first)

[Sauron the White]

zxcvbn... my apologies for looking like I am trying to rain on your parade ... and I do not mean to do that. There are exercises like this going on all over the boards that discuss Tolkien or film related topics. It is a favorite pasttime and certainly gives people something neat to do.

I wonder if you went back to the pre-LOTR casting days and read the posts in such a thread on something like torn or torc , what would you find. How many people do you think would have picked Viggo Mortensen for Aragorn? How many picked Ian McKellen for Gandalf? I wish I had a dollar for all the Sean Connery suggestions then I could buy a new car.

But have fun and maybe somebody will come up with a real gem beyond the obvious. Maybe you will even convice me ;)

[Quempel]

As long as Jack Black doens't get cast as Bilbo.:mad::p

[Lalwendë]

As long as Jack Black doesn't get cast as Bilbo.

Hey I think Jack Black's funny. But yes, not as Bilbo! ;)

OK - if not Ian Holm as Bilbo (and note, the guy is not all that old [how rude!]) then I think Martin Freeman has the right tone and can do the little Englishman to a tee. Of course, Ian McK as Gandalf and Andy Serkis as Gollum. Etc.

Some more choices for my Dream Cast:
David Tennant voicing Smaug, Ray Winstone as Beorn, Johnny Depp for Thranduil (why not? ;)), Richard Armitage as Bard, Gordon Kennedy (currently in Robin Hood) or Philip Glenister (yes, Gene Hunt) as Thorin. For the rest of the Dwarves, an assortment of interesting faces older and younger as appropriate - which could include Jack Black if he could drop his Hollywood accent! Though he'd probably be far too expensive of course and I suspect Jackson would do some scouring of British telly for ideas again.

[Sauron the White]

Rude? Rude? Since when is giving a factual bit of information considered rude. You may want to not that Mr. Holm was born in 1931 making him 76 as of now and he will be 78 when they need him for filming. Plus the man has had some admitted health problems over the last couple of years.

Rude? Sorry. Let me be polite. Ian Holm is only 45 and in great health and has the same genetic make-up that Dick Clark did. Oh yeah, there is this painting in his attic....

[Lyta_Underhill]

I don't think it would be too far out of line to suggest John Rhys-Davies as Gimli's dad Gloin, eh? On a slightly creepier note, what if they used Orlando Bloom as Legolas' dad Thranduil, too? ;)

[Lalwendë]

Rude? Rude? Since when is giving a factual bit of information considered rude. You may want to not that Mr. Holm was born in 1931 making him 76 as of now and he will be 78 when they need him for filming. Plus the man has had some admitted health problems over the last couple of years.

Rude? Sorry. Let me be polite. Ian Holm is only 45 and in great health and has the same genetic make-up that Dick Clark did. Oh yeah, there is this painting in his attic....

Yes but my own dad is 74 and that's not so old at all! He hates being counted as "an old man", even if he is.

[Sauron the White]

Lalwende ... no offense intended towards your father. At 74 he is in the prime of life compared to where people used to be fifty years ago. My remarks were geared for the standard applied to actors where age is not always considered an asset. Pity the poor actress who is considered over the hill and washed up once she hits forty.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

I'm not sure which specific roles I would assign, but the cast should definitely include

Arnold Swarzenegger
Kevin Sorbo
Hulk Hogan
"The Rock"
Andre the Giant (so what if he's dead?)
Brian Bosworth
Chuck Norris
Jet Li
Jackie Chan
Possibly Bruce Willis- except sometimes he can almost, not quite, act.

And most definitely as Thorin: Martin Lawrence.
With Paris Hilton as the Elvenqueen. Or Pamela Anderson.

[Sauron the White]

from WCH

Possibly Bruce Willis- except sometimes he can almost, not quite, act.

Ahhhh - I see someone has been dipping a bit early into the Christmas cheer and it has made them exceptionally happy!!!

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

I don't think it would be too far out of line to suggest John Rhys-Davies as Gimli's dad Gloin, eh? On a slightly creepier note, what if they used Orlando Bloom as Legolas' dad Thranduil, too? ;)
Ha! That would be very hilarious, but I think that a lot of people wouldn't like that very much!

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Hey, I'm not unopposed to Willis.

How about this cast, then?

Bruce Willis
Sam Jackson
John Travolta
Ving Rhames
Uma Thurman
Amanda Plummer
Tim Roth
Harvey Keitel


Working title:

Kill Bilbo, Vols. I & II.

[Sauron the White]

Uma Thurman is one one actor who would force me NOT to see a Middle-earth film.

[Lalwendë]

Lalwende ... no offense intended towards your father. At 74 he is in the prime of life compared to where people used to be fifty years ago. My remarks were geared for the standard applied to actors where age is not always considered an asset. Pity the poor actress who is considered over the hill and washed up once she hits forty.

Well Christopher Lee is now 85 and still going strong (and long may he continue - he reads Children of Hurin for the audiobook).

Age is only a concern to actresses really, who are chosen more for looks than talent unless they have the luck to be Judi Dench (who I hasten to add, is not bad for her age in looks too ;) ). For actors, age doesn't matter.

[Lalwendë]

Hey, I'm not unopposed to Willis.

How about this cast, then?

Bruce Willis
Sam Jackson
John Travolta
Ving Rhames
Uma Thurman
Amanda Plummer
Tim Roth
Harvey Keitel


Working title:

Kill Bilbo, Vols. I & II.

Incidentally, Philip Pullman's choice to play Lee Scoresby in The Golden Compass was Samuel L Jackson. That would have been fab. So long as there were no snake Daemons in his balloon or it might have got a X cert - "Get these **** snakes off this **** balloon"

:D

[Sauron the White]

Yes --- but when an actor would be asked to play someone three decades younger - and that is in human terms - and do a physically strenuous role like Bilbo walking all across the wilds and mountains - then that rules Mr. Holm out.

Lee would be fine- much more than fine actually, and God willing he can be with us to do it again with the White Council scenes that have been rumored.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

I have given a lot of thought to this ever since I saw the Lord of the Rings Films, having recently read The Hobbit... My first thought was of the Dwarves. A few of them were amusing and a few of them were serous considerations of who could play the rolls...

Thorin: Brian Blessed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Blessed) (Come on! You know he'd be perfect!)

Some other dwarves could be played by...
Dwalin: Tony Robinson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Robinson) (Played like Baldric from Blackadder, obviously)
Balin: Bill Baily (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Bailey) (The musical scenes would be so much funnier)
Bombur: Collin Baker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Baker) (Because he's FAT)
Bifur: Tom Baker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Doctor)(Because he is ACE)
Dori: David Mitchell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Mitchell_%28actor%29)(Why not?)
Kili: Julian Barrat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mighty_Boosh)(One part of the double act)
Fili: Noel Fielding (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mighty_Boosh)(the other part of the double act from The Mighty Boosh)

Dáin Ironfoot: Billy Connolly (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Connoly) (with a banjo)

Beorn: Oliver Reed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Reed)(after seeing him in Baron Munchausen, I thought he'd be good for the roll)

Bard the Bowman: Christopher Eccleston (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninth_Doctor) (Because he SHOULD be northern)

Smaug: Vic Reeves (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vic_Reeves)(Of course)

Thranduil: Rowan Atkinson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan_Atkinson) (No idea why, the concept just amuses me)

Drunken Elf: Dylan Moran (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Moran) (Obvious, really)

Not entirely plausible. But it would be a darn fine film!

[Gwathagor]

Rude? Rude? Since when is giving a factual bit of information considered rude. You may want to not that Mr. Holm was born in 1931 making him 76 as of now and he will be 78 when they need him for filming. Plus the man has had some admitted health problems over the last couple of years.

Rude? Sorry. Let me be polite. Ian Holm is only 45 and in great health and has the same genetic make-up that Dick Clark did. Oh yeah, there is this painting in his attic....

Ian Hom is not too old to be cast as Bilbo. The Ring kept his appearance relatively unchanged, so that the Bilbo we see in The Fellowship of the Ring is essentially the same in appearance as the Bilbo of The Hobbit.

[Gwathagor]

I would probably cast Brian Blessed as Beorn. Anyway, Oliver Reed is dead.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Anyway, Oliver Reed is dead.

Ah, is he? I didn't know.

[Sauron the White]

Ian Hom is not too old to be cast as Bilbo. The Ring kept his appearance relatively unchanged, so that the Bilbo we see in The Fellowship of the Ring is essentially the same in appearance as the Bilbo of The Hobbit.

Ian Holm looked and was great in Bilbo in all but a single scene - the one where he was much younger, is in the mountains and discovers the Ring. Sadly, that is the role for the entire HOBBIT movie. Holm looked badly made up in that scene. I cannot imagine a 77 year old man who has had serious health problems over the last few years performing a physically taxing role that the HOBBIT would require of him.

And Brian Blessed gets my vote for Beorn. The man is also a bit older but in great shape and is a mountain climber. Tremendous actor who could really get his teeth into that role ... sorry but I could not resist.

[Quempel]

Thranduil: Rowan Atkinson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan_Atkinson) (No idea why, the concept just amuses me)



Mr. Bean does Thranduil. :D
This is one of the funniest things I have read in a long time.

My vote for Thranduil would be Daniel Day-Lewis. :)

[Thenamir]

How many picked Ian McKellen for Gandalf?
Actually, back in the day, my two top picks for Gandalf were Christopher Lloyd and Tom Baker...but I was hooted out of the board by the Connery faction.

[Thenamir]

I've been giving this some thought, though apparantly not as much as some...however, provided that the principals from the LOTR movies are used as appropriate (Weaving/Elrond, McKellan/Gandalf, etc.), I offer these ideas as conversation-fodder, as most of them have not yet come up:

Mayor of Lake Town - David Bradley (Filch from the HP movies)
Thranduil - Marc Warren (or Johnny Depp, if you've got the budget)
Fili and Kili - For some reason James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley) keep popping into my head -- properly made up, of course.
Voice of Smaug - Ian McDiarmid
Voice of the raven Roac, son of Carc - Gilbert Gottfried
Bard - James Purefoy
Thorin - Dadgummit, I can't get the voice of Hans Conried (from the Rankin-Bass version) out of my head.
Bombur - Mark Addy (Roland from A Knight's Tale)
Beorn - Timothy Spall

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

Mr. Bean does Thranduil. :D
This is one of the funniest things I have read in a long time.
That would be hilarious, my sister owns that show on DVD and he is really funny, but let us not kill the skwirelz by my mindless banter.;)

[Nogrod]

Alan Rickman would make a believable Thranduil with some make-up (forget the HP films and just look at the man himself). Sadly Clint Eastwood is a bit too old now. Ten years ago he would have been one to consider!

Robbie Coltrane could be a bit too baby-faced & nice to be a fit Beorn but he might make one of the dwarwes... not Thorin or Dwalin perhaps but one of the others Jackson & team will bring forwards from the rest.

Daniel Craig could make a good Bard the Bowman - just imagine him a full beard with your mind's eye and you get it...

I do agree with Hookbill: Brian Blessed would be perfect as Thorin! Or you could possibly make him Beorn as well...

Kenneth Branagh as Bilbo? Mature enough but not too old...

[Thenamir]

The list I put together is of slightly lesser known actors, that hopefully wouldn't blow the entire casting budget. Of them, James Purefoy, who played Edward Prince of Wales in A Knight's Tale makes a perfect picture in my mind of Bard, especially when I envision him running through the flaming Lake-Town amid the chaos of the Dragon attack:Then Bard drew his bow-string to his ear. The dragon was circling back, flying low, and as he came the moon rose above the eastern shore and silvered his great wings.
"Arrow!" said the bowman. "Black arrow! I have saved you to the last. You have never failed me and always I have recovered you. I had you from my father and he from of old. If ever you came from the forges of the true king under the Mountain, go now and speed well!"I get shivers thiking of that scene -- they'd better do it up right.

[Nogrod]

The list I put together is of slightly lesser known actors, that hopefully wouldn't blow the entire casting budget.You have the right attitude here. I hope they could hire these people whom the general public doesn't know yet from blockbusters or soft-drink advertising... Like Andy Serkis who was picked from something like total anonymity... only because of his talent. That's the way it should go.

Sadly few of us Finns have any idea about the lesser known actors in England or the States...

---

I just saw Jean Reno in TV. He would make a nice mayor of the Lake Town... ;)

[Hammerhand]

I think Sean Connery as Thorin would be the ultimate...

...also, i think Joachin Phoenix with the right make-up would be a fantastic Thranduil.

Someone mentioned Liam Neeson earlier in the thread; i think he would be a very fitting Balin, Bifur or Bofur.

[zxcvbn]

Say, how about Russel Crowe as Bard the Bowman?!

[Thenamir]

Crowe as Bard would almost, almost be sufficient grounds for me to boycott the movie altogether.

Cary Elwes as Thranduil -- ditto.

[Lalwendë]

Crowe as Bard would almost, almost be sufficient grounds for me to boycott the movie altogether.

Cary Elwes as Thranduil -- ditto.

And me. He was fabulous in Master & Commander (can watch that film over and over, but then I loves me tall ships...) but I don't think I can forgive him for the atrocity he is about to commit with Nottingham which casts Robin as a baddie and the Sheriff as a goodie. Some things, you just do NOT mess with!

Anyway, some inspired ideas from Thenamir and Hookbill both here! James Purefoy is another great actor who's emerged lately. And some inspired choices from character actors and comedians: Mark Addy (also from The Full Monty), Timothy Spall, Bill Bailey, Tony Robinson, Vic Reeves...How about a couple of the guys from The League of Gentlemen too? Mark Gatiss? But please, NOT Matt Lucas or his mate!

I've now got a yen to see a cast of dwarves made up of our finest comic and character actors...I can imagine them all sparking off one another and making for some great viewing. I saw Hot Fuzz the other night and one of the great things about it was seeing a cast of well known actors and comedians in small roles making the whole thing work as a team - if they did this for the dwarves it would be fantastic.

I fear though we'll see cast of unknowns and unpopular actors - can you see all these dream stars being prepared to disappear to t'other side of the world for a year, to play a small part? I certainly can't! I reckon trawling the cast lists of some of our (and Australia and New Zealand's) cheesier cop dramas and soaps and so forth would bring up your likely cast :(

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Gee, what about Ricky Gervais as Bilbo?

And Thorin- well, try thinking Bob Hoskins in a beard....actually works, doesn't it?

[Sauron the White]

With the exception of Thorin, I would much rather see seasoned professionals from the stage or indy film work as opposed to big name stars looking for a payday.

[Lord Halsar]

Voice of the raven Roac, son of Carc - Gilbert Gottfried



Ahahahahahahahaha! Are you serious? His voice on another bird (be it animated or CGI, I don't care which!) would take all of the seriousness out of it for me! Everyone coming out of the theater would be saying, "A movie with a talking bird I can stand, but another one where HE does the voice is just wierd...":eek:

[The Saucepan Man]

I have been lurking here for a while, but the time has come to reveal my hand. I have shamelessly borrowed some of the ideas previously put forward, where they appeal to me. So, here it is, my dream cast:

Director: Terry Gilliam (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000416/)

He would be my first choice, though he would be unlikely to get it as he is not the most popular director in Hollywood. I love his films, and I think that he would get the right mix of fantasy, whimsy and darkness. I see a film of The Hobbit as being similar in tone to the likes of Baron Munchhausen and The Brothers Grimm. If not him, then Tim Burton might well provide the right touch. Jackson, while I am a fan of his, would be too unsubtle and has too much of a tendency to the epic for this project (as director, that is).

Bilbo Baggins: Martin Freeman (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0293509/)

Ian Holm always will be THE Bilbo for me, as for many others. But, with the best will in the world, I can’t see him being cast, nor particularly wanting to do it, now. Lal has, however, suggested an ideal substitute. Martin Freeman is an excellent character actor and excels at these ‘everyman’ characters. Bilbo is, in many ways, quite similar to Arthur Dent. A quintessentially English bachelor drawn somewhat reluctantly into an adventure and rather bemused by it all.

Gandalf: Ian McKellen (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005212/)

Unlike Holm, McKellen is both capable and willing to reprise his role. There simply is no other choice.

Thorin Oakenshield: Geoffrey Rush (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001691/)

The role of Thorin requires a strong character, but not a heartthrob. Geoffrey Rush would be capable of combining majesty and prickly stubbornness in the right measures, while still making him a sympathetic to audiences (if he can make an Elizabethan spymaster with a nice sideline in torture sympathetic, then he can do the same with Thorin).

As for the remaining Dwarves, I fear that their number may be cut back in the film version, to save time and make it easier for the audience to pick up quickly who is who. I have assumed, however, that we must cast the full complement.

Balin: Bill Nighy (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0631490/)
Dwalin: Stellan Skarsgard (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001745/)

Of the Dwarves, the role of Balin would probably be the most important, other than Thorin himself, and so merits a major actor. Bill Nighy fits the bill for me as the kindly but serious Balin. I have liked Stellan Skarsgard in most things that I have seen him in and he comes across as a natural Dwarf. With make-up, he could look sufficiently similar to Bill Nighy to play his brother.

Dori: Jeremy Renner (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0719637/)
Nori: Ray Stevenson (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0829032/)
Ori: Michael Klesic (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1645646/)

Other than Fili and Kili, I see these three as the youngest of the Dwarves, so the actors should be younger than the likes of Rush and Nighy. I picked three actors who I have seen recently, who aren’t ‘big names’, who look relatively Dwarfish and who could be made up to look quite similar. I am not sold on them though.

Oin: Kevin McNally (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0573618/)
Gloin: John Rhys-Davies (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0722636/)

I like the idea of John Rhys-Davies playing Gimli’s father. With a sufficiently different make-up job, the family resemblance could be caught, without him being identical. Kevin McNally is another refugee from the Pirates series who I can see making a good Dwarf (it’s the ‘craggy-faced’ look I’m going for, when casting my Dwarves).

Fili: Oliver Phelps (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0962360/)
Kili: James Phelps (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0962359/)

Hmm, I am not sure that Fili and Kili are identified as twins in the book, but I like the idea. Thena suggested the Phelps twins, so I have gone with that as I couldn’t find any other suitable actors who are twins. OK, they are not ‘craggy-faced’, but Fili and Kili need to look younger than the others, to my mind. I wonder, however, whether they are sufficiently strong actors. Fili and Kili have to make an impression for their deaths in the Battle of Five Armies to be moving enough. I should imagine that there are other good, relatively young actors who could be made to look sufficiently similar, so remain open to suggestions.

Bifur: Bill Bailey (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0047155/)
Bofur: Gordon Kennedy (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0448053/)
Bombur: Robbie Coltrane (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001059/)

I like Lal’s idea, inspired by Hookbill, to have comedy Dwarves. But to have comedians play all of them would be too much. I see these three as the comic relief (ideally cleverer and less unsubtle than Jackson’s variety), particularly given the scrapes that Bombur gets himself into. So, three comedians to play these three roles. Bill Bailey is a natural Dwarf and Robbie Coltrane is the right - er - dimension. Kennedy, who started in comedy shows, feels right too.

William Huggins: Richard Ridings (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0725956/)
Bert: Mackenzie Crook (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0188871/)
Tom: Lee Arenberg (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0034305/)

What is it with the Pirates series, that its actors keep popping up in my ideal cast? Arenberg is Crook’s sidekick in the Pirates films and Ridings his sidekick in The Brother Grimm. All three specialise in grotesque characters, although some CGI enhancement might be necessary to turn them into Trolls. Comedy Trolls? Well, I think that the chapter is rather funny, if darkly so. These three would be perfect.

Elrond: Hugo Weaving (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0915989/)

I am not entirely sold on Weaving. I thought him rather too grumpy in Jackson’s trilogy, and he needs to be even lighter in this film. But, if he can manage that while not playing the character completely differently, I could live with him for the sake of continuity.

Goblin King: Timothy Spall (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001758/)

Another actor who can play grotesque characters well. Perhaps too small a role for him, but he could make a great cameo out of it.

Gollum: Andy Serkis (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0785227/)

Who else?

Beorn: Ray Winstone (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0935653/)

Brian Blessed looks the part, but I am not sure that he is ‘serious’ enough for the role. Ray Winstone would bring out well the ‘geezer’ bear inside the man. :D

Thranduil: David Tennant (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0855039/)
Galion the Butler: Dylan Moran (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0602836/)

I like the idea of casting David Tennant, and think this role would suit him best. To my mind, he would capture the right combination of lightness and gravity, and he looks Elvish to me. Hookbill’s suggestion of Dylan Moran for the drunken butler was an inspired one. That could provide another great comic interlude.

Bard: Daniel Craig (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0185819/)
Master of Laketown: Jonathan Pryce (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000596/)

Although he doesn’t come into it until the latter half, Bard is the ‘hero’ role and requires a heroic actor. Daniel Craig was the first name that came to mind, although I can also see Clive Owen or James Purefoy in the role. The common quality is that none are ‘pretty boys’ in the Orlando Bloom mould, but can give the role the brooding, dignified power it requires. Jonathan Pryce has always been my pick for the Master of Lake Town (although a younger Pryce would also have made a great Bilbo). He has the corrupt dignitary role down to pat in films such as Baron Munchhausen and The Brothers Grimm.

Smaug (voice of): Alan Rickman (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000614/)

With Jeremy Irons as my second choice. Both can get across the sheer, malign intelligence and arrogance that drips from Smaug’s words.

Dain Ironfoot: Brendan Gleeson (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0322407/)

Another natural Dwarf and, since the other Dwarfish roles were taken, I have put him here.

Note, I have gone with the cast as it is in the book. If I had my way, there would be no young Aragorn, no Legolas and no Arwen. They simply do not feature enough in the story to make it worth including them without a major (and unwelcome) rewrite. I would not object to the inclusion of the White Council’s attack on Dol Guldur, if the story itself is to span two films, but the roles of Saruman and Galadriel would not be an issue, provided that Christopher Lee and Cate Blanchett were prepared to reprise their roles.

Indeed, Cate Blanchett might be essential, to provide at least one strong female role. I would not be happy with a rewrite to provide a love interest for Bilbo. A female Bard? Perish the thought! :eek: :D

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Beorn: Ray Winstone

Brian Blessed looks the part, but I am not sure that he is ‘serious’ enough

You missed Blessed's star turn as Exeter in Henry V? Grim, intimidating, and horrendously strong. (When, on the verge of Agincourt, his squire hands up his weapon and it's a mace, not a sword, one can only think "Of course!")

[Sauron the White]

Brian Blessed would be terrific as either Thorin or Beorn. After thinking about it, I would much rather see him as Thorin due to the much larger part and he can really do some serious acting - providing the Dwarves will be allowed to be serious and not buffoons.

[Thenamir]

I'll have to admit, Alan Rickman as the voice of Smaug could work very nicely, but like James Earl Jones, I hear his voice in my head already for too many characters, from Severus Snape to Marvin the Paranoid Android. Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious, in case you've been living in a cave for the last 30 years) is a classically-trained stage actor, and as long as he doesn't go into that "Sidious croak" I think he could pull off a similar quality of sneering disdain, as he did playing the doctor in Sleepy Hollow.

Just my two cents worth.

[Gwathagor]

"Tennis balls, my liege."

Christian Bale would be good as Bard, too, but I think we should try to stick with obscure British actors and avoid the really popular fellows, though I have a great deal of respect for Christian Bale (who was also good in Henry V).

[The Saucepan Man]

You missed Blessed's star turn as Exeter in Henry V? Grim, intimidating, and horrendously strong.Well, if that was the Brannagh film, I have seen it, but cannot now recall the Blessed performance.

My main recollection of Brian Blessed, I am afraid, is as King of the Hawkmen in Flash, the King in Blackadder the First, and in other similar roles involving him being hale and hearty and shouting a lot. More recently, I have only seen him in occasional television appearances (as himself), involving him being an outrageous luvvie and, er, shouting a lot.

I see Beorn as being a more subtle character than I am used to from Blessed. While he has his moments of merriment, he is first encountered as a grim and dour man whom Gandalf paints as rather fearsome. I could never find jolly old shouty Brian Blessed fearsome. :D

Added to that, he is something like 70 years old now and, while make-up and SFX can do wonders, that may be a bit of a stretch for Beorn.

Don't get me wrong. I have a great soft spot for Brian Blessed. But, as far as LotR is concerned, he will always be the Bombadil that never was to me. ;)

[Sauron the White]

Saucepan ... Blessed is a mountain climber who is in great physical shape. But his age is a fact that cannot be denied. Perhaps that makes him a stronger candidate for Thorin Oakenshield rather than Beorn.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

"...that if requiring fail, he will compel.
So much his claim, his threatening, and my message.

Unless the Dolphin be herein?

Dau: The Dauphin- I stand for him.
What to him from England?

Exe: Scorn, contempt, slight regard, and aught else that
might not misbecome the mighty sender:
That doth he prise you at.

[from memory, so I don't vouch for every word. But a great scene greatly played, esp. by the redoubtable Paul Scofield. And Blessed.]



_____________________________________________

Whoooooaa! Just had a lightbulb moment: what about Sir Derek Jacobi as Bilbo? Christ, he'd be brilliant! Of course, I can't see him taking that much time away from the stage.

[Gwathagor]

Those are pretty nearly the lines, and Brian Blessed is REALLY scary when he delivers them.

[Sauron the White]

Some cold water for the Del Toro lobby from IGN Entertainment news

The director's name has already been mentioned for the last hurrah of the bespectacled boy-wizard, and he did nothing to quash speculation by saying he was "definitely interested" in the project and that he enjoys the darker tone of the recent movies, saying "after Alfonso Cuaron directed Prisoner of Azkaban, the movies have evolved greatly into a very nice universe to play at (in)." He also said how Dickensian he feels the Harry Potter series is, and said the last line of Deathly Hallows was a "beautiful, subdued way" to end the book.

Regarding The Hobbit, meanwhile, del Toro revealed he's heard rumblings, but nothing concrete. He said: "I keep an open mind, but nothing is official." Peter Jackson is on-board as producer for two Hobbit movies, though the Oscar-winning New Zealander has stated he won't direct the Tolkien-penned prequels.

Going back to Frankenstein, assuming the project does ever see the light of day, don't expect it any time soon. The Mexican helmer already has several projects on the go, including the H.P. Lovecraft adaptation At the Mountains of Madness, spooky Spanish-set horror film 3993 and possibly a Tarzan re-make.

His latest effort, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, is set for release on 11 July in the U.S. and 22 August in the U.K.

It looks like his schedule may be even more bust than Jacksons.

[Lalwendë]

Well, if that was the Brannagh film, I have seen it, but cannot now recall the Blessed performance.

My main recollection of Brian Blessed, I am afraid, is as King of the Hawkmen in Flash, the King in Blackadder the First, and in other similar roles involving him being hale and hearty and shouting a lot. More recently, I have only seen him in occasional television appearances (as himself), involving him being an outrageous luvvie and, er, shouting a lot.

I see Beorn as being a more subtle character than I am used to from Blessed. While he has his moments of merriment, he is first encountered as a grim and dour man whom Gandalf paints as rather fearsome. I could never find jolly old shouty Brian Blessed fearsome. :D

Added to that, he is something like 70 years old now and, while make-up and SFX can do wonders, that may be a bit of a stretch for Beorn.

Don't get me wrong. I have a great soft spot for Brian Blessed. But, as far as LotR is concerned, he will always be the Bombadil that never was to me. ;)

I agree completely!

Blessed is ace, but he's just TOO obvious. It would be like casting Sean Connery as Gandalf in my mind. He looks and sounds the part but his Brian Blessed-ness would overwhelm the role. Beorn is too serious a character for Blessed who is more suited to Tom.

However I also think Alan Rickman is too obvious for Smaug, having been typecast in such roles just as Brian Blessed has, and I'm gunning all out for Richard Wilson.

If Ricky Gervais rears his ugly smug face again I'm doing a boycott.

[zxcvbn]

Blessed is ace, but he's just TOO obvious. It would be like casting Sean Connery as Gandalf in my mind. He looks and sounds the part but his Brian Blessed-ness would overwhelm the role. Beorn is too serious a character for Blessed who is more suited to Tom.

Why is he 'more suited to Tom'? Because his previous roles have been 'less serious'? A good actor's strength is in being able to handle different types of roles, and Blessed, I think, has enough experience to do a serous role. For example take Ben Kingsley who played both a saint(Gandhi) and a great sinner(Don Logan in 'City of God') amazingly well.


However I also think Alan Rickman is too obvious for Smaug, having been typecast in such roles just as Brian Blessed has, and I'm gunning all out for Richard Wilson.

I'm tired of hearing this 'typecast' nonsense. How the public percieves an actor doesn't affect his performance. I repeat, A good actor's strength is in being able to handle different types of roles. And in my opinion anybody who sees an ctor in a film who's previously played a memorable role and sees ONLY those earlier roles throughout the film isn't really paying attention to the film at all.

[Sauron the White]

zxcvbn does have a very good point in reminding us that a good actor should be able to handle different roles. I do think that there are some actors who are so completely identified with a role or a sound (of their voice) that it would be quite a handicap to cast them in HOBBIT. Imagine James Earl Jones as the voice of Smaug. What is the first observation that is going to me made by a good percentage of the film audience? "That is the voice of Darth Vader".

I do not think Blessed has that type of liability. First of all, and sad for me to admit, he has almost no visibility at all in the States. So there is no stereotype at all for him to live up to or live down. But Blessed is so amazingly perfect for either a Dwarve - Thorin I would hope - or Beorn that it would be a great tragedy if he were not offered on of those roles.

[zxcvbn]

zxcvbn does have a very good point in reminding us that a good actor should be able to handle different roles. I do think that there are some actors who are so completely identified with a role or a sound (of their voice) that it would be quite a handicap to cast them in HOBBIT. Imagine James Earl Jones as the voice of Smaug. What is the first observation that is going to me made by a good percentage of the film audience? "That is the voice of Darth Vader".
That would indeed be the initial impression. But unless the viewer is shallow minded, he/she will be able to get over that initial recollection and enjoy the rest of his performance on its own merits. They won't think 'Ah! Darth Vader is talking.' for the entire duration of the film.


I do not think Blessed has that type of liability. First of all, and sad for me to admit, he has almost no visibility at all in the States. So there is no stereotype at all for him to live up to or live down. But Blessed is so amazingly perfect for either a Dwarve - Thorin I would hope - or Beorn that it would be a great tragedy if he were not offered on of those roles.

Likewise. I say Thorin Oakenshield.

[Sauron the White]

If Jackson needs an actor to play a much younger Aragorn in some scenes of the bridge movie, he would do well to check out Taylor Kitsch who plays Tim Riggins on the excellent TV series FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS in the US. Although he was born in 1981, he plays a high school senior on the show and his ability to underplay scenes is amazing. He acts from much the same school as Viggo Mortensen. Plus he has the facial structure to make him believable as a young Aragorn.

www.taylorkitsch.net

[zxcvbn]

I think Viggo Mortensen can play the young Aragorn quite fine. he may be pushing 50, but he's quite fit and buff(watch Eastern promises).

[Sauron the White]

Can Viggo play someone in his teens or early 20's? I have no idea but it might be a stretch that gets in the way of reality. Of course, all depends on just what they want to do with that second movie as a bridge between HOBBIT and LOTR.

[Hammerhand]

Sean Connery looks and sounds like Thorin for me - i think Blessed would be better suited to Balin or Dori...

[zxcvbn]

No. Sean Connery doesn't have the emotional range required for Thorin Oakenshield. When I think of the scene of Thorin's deathbed, Sean Connery saying his last words totally ruins it for me.

Hey, I've got a brainstorm! How about James Earl Jones as the voice of Smaug?

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Because of the endless "Darth Smaug" and "Dragonlord of the Sith" jokes that would follow.....

[Lalwendë]

Why is he 'more suited to Tom'? Because his previous roles have been 'less serious'? A good actor's strength is in being able to handle different types of roles, and Blessed, I think, has enough experience to do a serous role. For example take Ben Kingsley who played both a saint(Gandhi) and a great sinner(Don Logan in 'City of God') amazingly well.

I'm tired of hearing this 'typecast' nonsense. How the public percieves an actor doesn't affect his performance. I repeat, A good actor's strength is in being able to handle different types of roles. And in my opinion anybody who sees an ctor in a film who's previously played a memorable role and sees ONLY those earlier roles throughout the film isn't really paying attention to the film at all.

I know full well that Brian Blessed can do all kinds of roles, I've seen 'em ;) I simply think he would be altogether too obvious for Beorn, a character who I think deserves some more subtle casting as his is a subtle and intriguing character.

And typecasting is important in this context as it will be an ensemble cast in an ensemble piece. Someone like Alan Rickman could play any role very similar to those he has already notably played and get away with it were he to have the whole film in which to develop that role. But he wouldn't in The Hobbit so it would stick out like a sore thumb.

And besides, Richard Wilson would be the better Smaug anyway. :D

And the endless "I don't belieeeeve it!" jokes that would follow would be good fodder for Crazy Captions...

[Hookbill the Goomba]

If I had my way, the Film poster would look something like this...

http://i19.tinypic.com/6ybcnra.jpg

[Hammerhand]

No. Sean Connery doesn't have the emotional range required for Thorin Oakenshield. When I think of the scene of Thorin's deathbed, Sean Connery saying his last words totally ruins it for me.

Hey, I've got a brainstorm! How about James Earl Jones as the voice of Smaug?

Sean Connery doesn't have an emotional range?! what heresy is this :mad:

[zxcvbn]

These days, Connery's performances ARE lacking in emotion. Have you watched League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? He showed only two facial expressions throughout the film. I can picture him enacting Thorin's last moments: with a blank look instead of the tender, regretful expression Thorin would have had.

[Azaelia of Willowbottom]

Can Viggo play someone in his teens or early 20's? I have no idea but it might be a stretch that gets in the way of reality. Of course, all depends on just what they want to do with that second movie as a bridge between HOBBIT and LOTR.

No. I don't think he can. He's about 50, and I think he looks his age, maybe a little younger, even if physically he is more than capable. He can definitely play 40s. He might be able to manage 30s, but 20s is just a little too far, and teens are right out of the question. His face is a little too angular or something. He might be able to do the bridge movie--life in the wild makes Aragorn weather-beaten and scruffy, and I'm sure they could age him back a bit, just not all the way to his teens. I could see him doing the tracking Gollum stuff. Time in the movies is shaky, anyway. But if they were going to do the meeting of Aragorn and Arwen, they'd probably have to cast a younger actor. Audiences suspend disbelief, but I doubt they can suspend it that far. Good luck to the casting directors on finding someone who looks like Viggo. They'll need it. :p

I don't like James Earl Jones for Smaug. His voice has too much attached to it, unfortunately. No matter how competent an actor he is, he's not going to be able to escape Vader. Unfortunately, typecasting happens, and I think he'd be "typed out" because his voice is so, so connected to one of the most iconic villains in cinema.

Alan Rickman, I wouldn't mind, even if he might have some trouble escaping Snape, particularly with the young teen age group. I do like him for Smaug, regardless. I think he's a great actor, and he'd probably have a grand old time with that role.

However, I like the idea of Ian McDiarmid the best so far. He's mainly a stage actor (and director!), so he knows how to use his voice to its full potential. I was lucky enough to see him on Broadway a couple years ago, and that performance was not only a laugh riot, but so vocally (and physically, emotionally, and psychologically) different from the Emperor that I believe this man can do just about anything.

[Groin Redbeard]

Jason Stathom, as Bard

John Wayne, as Thorin (if it was possible)

Sam Elliot, as Gandalf

Hayden Christensen, as Thraundil

Ian Holm, as Bilbo

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

It's been a long while, but I was looking at an article about The Hobbit movies, had a thought, and knew you vigilant posters would have a "Cast "The Hobbit"" thread!

So, here are my thoughts. Some of them are pretty obvious recasts from LOTR, but hey ... hopefully some are clever.

Bilbo Baggins - Dominic Monaghan! A few years have passed, so he'll be a tad less youthful, more apt to play a 50-something Hobbit. Basically, I looked at the shot of Ian Holm with his face all stretched back to clean up the wrinkles ... and I thought to myself ... "hey, actually he looks a fare bit like Dom Monaghan ... how 'bout that?". Not to mention, their voices aren't dissimilar.

Gandalf the Grey - Ian McKellan, the no-brainer.

Thorin Oakenshield - John Goodman, of "Roseanne" fame. He can be really fun and really cool ... but did you ever see those episodes of Roseanne where he flipped out in anger? (Quite a few of them, actually) Terrifying. And PERFECT for Thorin. You'd buy him as the toughest, most bitter dwarf of all.

Balin - Jonathan Pryce. He can do something of a Scots accent like JRD did, anyone who's seen Ronin can attest to it. (Where he played an IRA terrorist leader ... hey, Sean Bean was in that flick as well). Plus, he can play the kindly old man of the dwarves part, really well.

Dwalin - Billy Connolly. The guy is funny, and it'd be funny to see the moderately light-hearted Dwalin interact with his over-burdened, sorrowful older brother, Balin. Plus, Billy Connolly eats up scenery and only makes movies better. A highlight might be him playing the fiddle at Bilbo's home.

Gloin - Get John Rhys-Davies back to play his own father. Give he and Balin a ton of screen-time, just as the two dwarves Bilbo talks to the most. Balin, naturally as the oldest and wisest, Gloin as the most seasoned warrior of all 13 (save Thorin, perhaps).

Oin - Not sure here ... but we're talking about the brother of Gloin, and so he has to resemble John Rhys-Davies. Call it the least original idea, but I'd say Robbie Coltrane (Harry Potter's "Hagrid") could fit. He's a little smaller than JRD, but they both have that kind of jovial, but fierce look.

Dori - The biggest, brawniest of the dwarves. And grumbling non-stop. Get Vinnie Jones (Juggernaut in X-Men 3, Sphinx in Gone in 60 Seconds). He'd make a good pessimist, and I don't think carrying Dom Monaghan through some caves would phase him much. He's worked with Ian McKellan before so he might be happy to work with him again.

Bombur - Clive Russell, "Helfdane the Fat" of The 13th Warrior, and a swords and fantasy movie mainstay! Comes with a Scottish accent built in! Big, cheerful looking guy. Grows a good beard naturally. He's 6' 5".

Elrond Half-Elven - Hey, how about that Hugo Weaving guy?

The Great Goblin - How about Jed Brophy?

Gollum - Hey, how about that Andrew Serkis guy?

Beorn - Ron Perlman. Hey, the Guillermo Del Toro connection is there, and with that "Grizzly" voice and look of his ... he'd make an amazing Were-Bear. Guy is perfect for this role. Ironic that some of the dwarf actors are bigger than him, but hey, they have to be shrunken down to scale anyway.

King Thranduil - He's an elf, so he has to be pretty. But you don't want him to be pretty like Orlando Bloom or Cate Blanchet ... Thranduil is the king of the rustics, and is a pretty petty and treacherous guy. I think Clive Owen could work. Good looking cat, but smiles and happy faces don't sit as naturally with him as a furrowed brow and a frown do. But he definitely passes off that "timeless elf" quality.

Master of Lake-town - Peter Jackson! Imagine ol' Pete in a boat loaded with stolen treasure, rowing away, where he'll run off into the wild and die! Quite a laugh, that!

Bard the Bowman - This requires someone grimmer, grimmer even than Aragorn. Totally, utterly pessimistic - that is until he hears that bird talk. I say Christian Bale is the man for the job. Although he practically already played that character in "3:10 to Yuma". (Self-despising, cynical, downtrodden, and hey - an expert shot!).

Smaug - CG does wonders these days ... but Smaug's voice needs to impress. I'm sure whoever does the movie will no doubt tweak the voice to make it booming and dragonish, but as a base ... and this could be way off ... howsabout Dani Filth? (Of the black metal band, Cradle of Filth, for those who don't know). The man has the most ridiculous vocal range on Earth, from highs to lows. Either that or in some bizarre twist of fate ... Leonard Nimoy.

Dain Ironfoot - For Dain I think I'll agree with somebody's decision that Brendan Gleeson is a good pick. Quite so!