Northern Irish actor, James Nesbitt (Outcast, Cold Feet) and Dubliner Aidan Turner (Being Human, The Clinic) have joined the ensemble cast of upcoming epic films, ‘The Hobbit’. James Nesbitt, a BAFTA and Golden Globe nominee and IFTA winning actor will play Bofur, a disarmingly forthright, funny and occasionally brave Dwarf in the two features; whilst Aidan Turner will play a young dwarf called Kili.
Aidan Turner’s role was finalised at the end of October and earlier this week producers announced Nesbitt’s role as Bofur. The films’ director, Peter Jackson (The Lovely Bones, The Lord of the Rings trilogy) commented on the decision to cast the Irish actor, saying: "James's charm, warmth and wit are legendary as is his range as an actor in both comedic and dramatic roles. We feel very lucky to be able to welcome him as one of our cast." Jackson said of Turner “Adian is a wonderfully gifted young actor who hails from Ireland. I’m sure he will bring enormous heart and humor to the role of Kili.”
James and Aidan will join the previously announced cast members who include ‘The Office’ star Martin Freeman in the title role, alongside Richard Armitage (Frozen), Rob Kazinsky (EastEnders), Graham McTavish (Secretariat), John Callen (The Man Who Lost His Head), Stephen Hunter (All Saints), Mark Hadlow (King Kong) and Peter Hambleton (The Strip).
After much speculation ’The Hobbit’, which will be released in two parts, received a final green light on October 15th of this year and release dates have been set for December, 2012 and December, 2013. The two features are being co-produced by New Line Cinema and MGM, with New Line managing production, Warner Bros Pictures handling domestic distribution and MGM distributing internationally.
Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh (King Kong) and Carolynne Cunningham (District Nine) are producing the films, with Phillipa Boyens (The Lovely Bones) serving as co-producer and Ken Kamins (Valkyrie) as executive producer. The production team of Jackson, Walsh and Cunningham has carried on from ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy which grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office.
Earlier this month, New Zealand's parliament passed legislation amending labour laws in a bid to securing the production for the country after industrial unrest put the film’s shooting location there in jeopardy. New Zealand has been confirmed as the shooting location but as of yet no production dates have been announced.
