I agree with you that Martin Freeman would have been superb for such a scene,
Zigūr. I'm also thinking of when Bilbo and Gandalf first meet Beorn, and when Bilbo gave the Elvenking a necklace as compensation for the food and drink he stole.
But then, I feel he was sidelined in the Jackson adaptation. The book centred around one hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, and
his experiences; yet the films gave too much emphasis to the experiences of others, including those of a character out of fanfiction...