Richard Armitage is a big Tolkien Fan
Spooks alum and Robin Hood villain Richard Armitage has spoken about his upcoming role in the eagerly anticipated two part The Hobbit prequel films.
Armitage will play the role of dwarf Thorin Oakenshield in the two-part Tolkien epic and tells Total Film “There’s going to be quite a lot more humour. The book is so focused on the dwarves, so I think it’s a chance for Peter [Jackson] and Fran [Walsh] to really look at that whole race in more detail, their heritage and what they’re like as characters.”
However, it won't be all fun and games as Armtage adds that wielding the Orcrist, Thorin’s legendary goblin sword “It’s bloody heavy! But it’s absolutely beautiful to look at. Every time they bring something new out everyone gasps. The armour that the dwarves emerge from the mountain wearing at the end of the film will be the armour of all armour.”
Armitage also reveals that he is a huge fan of Tolkein and is definatelyy in his element whilst in New Zealand shooting The Lord Of The Rings prequels stating “There was a scene in The Lord Of The Rings where they find the stone trolls, and they’re identical in The Hobbit. I love those moments, when you link into the world of the film that you’ve seen before.”
Armitage can also be seen in this summer's Captain America: The First Avenger when it opens across the UK on July 29 and the first part of The Hobbit prequels will arrive in cinemas next december and stars Cate Blanchett, Martin Freeman, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, James Nesbitt, Graham McTavish, Ian Holm, Lee Pace, Stephen Fry, Benedict Cumberbatch, Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly and Barry Humphries.
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY OPENS ON 14 DECEMBER 2012