There has been no announcement, but McKellen implied that the actor had been chosen. He did say "Frodo," has been chosen, but many people are assuming he meant "Bilbo." He is getting old, btw .

Wait, Michael Sheen? isn't he playing Aro in New Moon or something? That, to me, hating twilight, is a bit of a turn off. I'll have to see how he does in the movie... I don't really care who they pick, because i know he'll be the one!

How bout the comedian ALAN Davies to play BILBO, he looks a bit like a hobbit already!

Call me crazy but when my sons were watching the Wiggles the other day...I saw Bilbo Baggins singing "you make me feel like dancing"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwy1x0-cZaI


------Leo Sawyer-----


He looks just like him....the right age group and has and accent to boot!!!

God, I haven't seen Leo Sayer in years. He would have made quite the Bilbo back in the day .

[b:1mv065ag]GB[/b:1mv065ag]

Oh puhlease . It's Jackson and Del Toro. Cruise and Radcliffe have a snowball's chance in hell of playing Bilbo . Thank God (and that's coming from a Potter fan too ).

And Happy Birthday B'arelyn. It's a shame we can't all get together and Throw a Hobbit Party for your Birthday. Eat some Birthday cake and think of us all at Bilbo's having a Feast .

[b:2fxcf36p]GB[/b:2fxcf36p]

I agree Radcliffe would totaly unsuit the role and I agree with GB that there very little chance of it happening. As for Tom cruise I think thats even more unlikely.

Lol I wish I could have had a Long Expected Party like Bilbo's and Frodo's joint one! Thanks and has anyone seen Dorian Grey latley?

I'd could really see Emile Hirsch as a hobbit...

[url:1se5kfuk]http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0386472/[/url:1se5kfuk]

I've never heard of Ray Winstone but ... strength and charisma? In [i:r6d4gg0r]Bilbo[/i:r6d4gg0r]!? I admit it's been a while since I read the book, but that doesn't quite sound like Bilbo to me.

[quote="lordlydragon":3airvzpi]In 'The Fellowship', Gandalf tells Bilbo: "You haven't aged a day!"...so his age really shouldn't be an issue. Also, they have already used Ian for the flashback's to Gollum's Cave, so getting another actor to fill the role wouldn't allow the films to flow together as they should.[/quote:3airvzpi]

Gandalf did use that line (one from the book if I'm not mistaken), but we know from what we SAW in the Prologue that Bilbo had indeed aged quite noticeably since the Quest of Erebor. We can only conclude that in the movie Gandalf meant that Bilbo hadn't aged since Gandalf had last seen him at some point after the events of The Hobbit.

For the movies to remain internally consistent they would have to be constantly giving Ian Holm a facelift to make him look younger, which I doubt Mr. Holm is enthused by. They can't really be consistent unless Holm wants to go through that process for every single day of shooting.

I agree with Lester Cat that the character Bilbo should be played by someone who fits the role not just because they happen to be famous, and I'm sure when it comes to casting the right guy will be chosen thanks to Del toro. The LotR films weren't filmed in a boring typical American all-action block buster and that was why the film was so successful, it took a genuine look at the LotR. The casting was good because genuine actors were chosen.

A funny example of a film in that boring style is the Carson Clay character in Mr Bean's Holiday when the credits to his film come up it just keeps saying his name over and over.

actors were chosen to be easy on the eye,rightly or wrongly, i believe wrongly.Safe bets were chosen every time.
Yosser hughes should have been Aragorn,right age , persona, etc.
There's nothing 'kingly' about Viggo, good though he is.
The glossy sheen that permeates LOTR just doesn't sit right with me.

I disagree that Viggo was wrong for the role, although the beard he had didn't really suit a king, needs to be much bushier.

[quote="Gandalfs Beard":3ceg26ov]I can't find it now, but I drew a picture of Aragorn back in High School (1980s). It looked just like Viggo . Frodo looked a lot like he is pictured in Bakshi's film (and much how I imagined him. The whole cast looked very much how I always imagined the characters so I don't have a problem at all. But to each their own .

[b:3ceg26ov]GB[/b:3ceg26ov][/quote:3ceg26ov]

I very much agree with you on this one GB. I was afraid that when they anounced they were making films of LOTR I was really worried cuz I've been a fan of the books since i was in middle school (so a LONG time ) but I was pleasantly suprised that for the first time I think ever the actors cast looked quite similar to what I had imagined as I did when I first read the trilogy. And for the record I love how Viggo portrayed Aragorn although I do agree with B'arelyn Dwarf that I wasn't a big fan of the beard either.... should have been clean shaven or quite a bit bushier.

...And in Titanic!

If y'all go back and check your extended edition DVDs (I know you've got them ), you will note that the scraggy goatee turns into a full fledged kingly beard by the time Aragorn is crowned. Indeed the Beard symbolizes his current state of mind. After Aragorn wholeheartedly embraces his destiny, his Beard graciously follows suit.

[b:37mb7r9n]GB[/b:37mb7r9n]

Edit:
By the way [b:37mb7r9n]Inahole[/b:37mb7r9n], welcome to the forum. I agree that a cameo as Older Bilbo might be in the cards, which makes choosing someone with similar features even more important.

I think that the choice of Young Bilbo should come down more to acting style and ability than appearance, and that innate personalities and characteristics of the actors are important factors. I also agree that the role should be played by someone who thoroughly understands the nuances of British English (i.e. the part requires someone from the British isles). Colm Meaney and James McAvoy could both carry the part very competently, but I'd lean more toward McAvoy because he projects more of the naivete (he is after all much younger than Meaney) that one might expect from a 51-year-old hobbit (which, with regard to life-cycle stages, is roughly similar to a 30-year-old man). Meaney, on the other hand, would make a fine Thorin Oakenshield (the character whose avarice and stubbornness almost single-handedly produce the tensions leading up to the Battle of Five Armies).

I disagree Inahole, that Colm Meany would fit the role of Thorin Oakenshield, I think Meany looks too much like a hobbit to be a dwarf. I also think although I had thought that MacAvoy would be perfect for the role before, that MacAvoy wouldprobably be too young (although Frodo doesn't look 50 in the LotR).

I'm going out on a limb here, Lester Cat, but I believe Aragorn was 87-88 at the time of LOTR (making him about 10 at the time of The Hobbit). Maybe someone can pin it down for us. Anyway, I can't see the Aragorn character being of any consequence in The Hobbit, although he was certainly in the vicinity during the visit of The Company to Rivendell.

Are there any substantiated rumors regarding potential plots for The Hobbit movies beyond the book text. If we're speculating on which actors might appear in various roles, it seems like fair game to also speculate upon which roles might be available beyond those found in the text of The Hobbit. It seems to me that Legolas (Thranduil's son) and Gimli (Gloin's son) would be too tempting to pass up because their presence could be so easily explained.

Um its totally irellevent but I just wanted to ask Inahole about Montgomery, because its where Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks lead the Bus Boycott, I know very little about Montegommery, and I know I should go check this out my self in Google earth but is it a big city or just a small town? You must be red hot on your facts about Dr.King. I am half way through a Geography GCSE course, suppose there's no hope of me getting A* lol. Exuse my English ingnorance!

Have you seen Pan's Labyrinth Odo? It's one of the few movies that is the exception to my "happy endings" rule (though I choose to believe the Phantastic ending is the real one). But it is a masterpiece of modern film-making. And it is the reason I think the Hobbit films will be brilliant. I can't imagine Del Toro making a bad Hobbit movie, or choosing a Hollywood Glamour-puss to play the lead.

[b:k8o9xey8]GB[/b:k8o9xey8]

Gandalf's Beard, if you really do believe the fantastical ending to Pan's, then you are surely missing out on the whole heavy weight narrative, (for want of a better description), missing the point by a country mile?

Thanks very much Inahole, the info you gave me was very helpful . Thanks for replying!

Btw Pan's Laberinth is a great film, it has such an original storyline! It was a film in which I didn't ever know what was round the next corner, unlike typical hollywood films, which tell of sad tales. The ending, despite the violence and suffering throughout the film, was pretty happy and it really satisfied me as a viewer. Although it was happy, it wasn't Hollywood happy and I think that endings should be like that, ending on a plus and a minus. The film had a really brilliant atmosphere about it aswell, really creeps you out! I agree with GB that although I thought the film was brilliant, because it was so disturbing and sad, I don't think I'd watch it again.

I also have no doubt that Del Toro will pick the perfect Bilbo Baggins and that, in a agreement with GB, he won't be a Glamour-God with teeth that sparkle when he opens his mouth (although I think it's a possibility that he will choose someone who is already world famous, although I don't think this is why he will choose him). Although I really hope The Hobbit isn't filmed in the same sinister way that Pan's Laberinth was filmed, I think having Del Toro directing The Hobbit, it will be a very good film!

Do you mean the guy who was on [i:14ez6iut]Skins[/i:14ez6iut] in the old series?