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macfalk
Valinor
Dec 1 2012, 9:08am
Post #1 of 16
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40-year-old Bilbo
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Looking back, I almost forgot how thankful I was at the time when Martin Freeman was finally cast as Bilbo. 40 may not be 50, like book-Bilbo, but it matters not. In hobbit years, 40 is pretty damn near 50. It's perfect.
I remember a couple of years back with all the rumours of actors playing Bilbo. They were all young, very young, too young for the part. Daniel Radcliffe for instance. Most folks around here, including me, were sort of prepared for a young Bilbo and I remember some heated debates here that Bilbo's old age is much more important than Frodo's for the story. Even I said something along the lines of "We won't get a Bilbo that is older than 30 years, no point in hoping." Martin Freeman's name was nominated early but it was never much more than a pipe dream, there was not really any real rumours around him being Bilbo then, at least not compared to McAvoy, Radcliffe, Tennant and Maguire (who was cast, remember? According to The Sun  )
With all the reports of how fantastic Freeman is in the movie, we should remember what might have been! Thank you, PJ & co.
The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.
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Welsh hero
Gondor
Dec 1 2012, 9:10am
Post #2 of 16
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Some of these rumors was hopeful fans
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For example David Tennant was rumoured to most parts in the film.............
-Irfon
Twitter: @IrfonPennant
middle earth timeline FB: https://www.facebook.com/MiddleEarth1
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Crunchable Birdses
Rohan
Dec 1 2012, 9:28am
Post #4 of 16
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The rumours of Radcliffe and Maguire were made up by moronic tabloids who thought Bilbo was Frodo's dad or something, and expected an actor with similar looks to Elijah Wood. I'm sure those actors never even auditioned.
The only legit-sounding rumours were Freeman and Tennant.
* crunch *
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Cave Troll
Rivendell
Dec 1 2012, 9:46am
Post #5 of 16
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Perhaps an unpopular opinion...
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...but Tennant would have made an awful Bilbo, in my opinion.
He's a great stage actor but, personally, I think he overacts on screen. Just the hint of a wisecracking Doctor Who-type Bilbo would make me shudder.
Freeman's understated Englishness should be perfect.
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Pousette
Rivendell
Dec 1 2012, 9:51am
Post #6 of 16
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Well, 50 is the hobbits' 40, since they often live to become about 100 years old :) //
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jtarkey
Rohan
Dec 1 2012, 11:24am
Post #7 of 16
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I was rooting for Freeman the whole time
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I still remember, right after seeing Hitchhikers Guide, excitedly showing my friends and family the perfect Bilbo Baggins. I take a lot of pride in calling that one out so far in advance.
It's also really made the experience of seeing the films come together that much more enjoyable. I always just pictured Freeman as Bilbo anyways, so it's such a magical dream come true to see it happen. I couldn't be happier. I was never worried about them casting a younger Bilbo.
And I remember when GDT said that him and PJ said the name of the actor they wanted at the same time. It was then that I knew it had to be Freeman. There was no other name that could just immediately pop into my head like that.
"You're love of the halflings leaf has clearly slowed your mind"
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dubulous
Rohan
Dec 1 2012, 11:25am
Post #8 of 16
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Freeman is wonderful and I'm sure he will make the perfect Bilbo.
I wouldn't want to even imagine the horror of someone like Daniel Radcliffe in the role. He was so wooden as Harry Potter (although I'm sure that because of that comparison he could never have been cast anyway). Someone like McAvoy might have done decently, but I think Martin Freeman is the perfect choice. I think casting is one thing that has been done amazingly well for all of these movies (and I'm including the LotR trilogy here), with only a few of misses.
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Lightice
Lorien
Dec 1 2012, 1:05pm
Post #9 of 16
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I've never heard of Tennant being considered for Bilbo's role...
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...but Tennant would have made an awful Bilbo, in my opinion.
He's a great stage actor but, personally, I think he overacts on screen. Just the hint of a wisecracking Doctor Who-type Bilbo would make me shudder.
I did hear that he had been considered for Thranduil, though. But either way, you really shouldn't judge an actor based on one, single role. Doctor Who requires hyperactive hamminess, it's been a defining quality of the Doctor for decades in varying degrees, and Tennant did an excellent job with it. But just because he hams it up for one role doesn't mean it's the only thing that he can do. He made an excellent brooding Hamlet, for example.
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macfalk
Valinor
Dec 1 2012, 1:12pm
Post #10 of 16
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I have only seen Tennant in Harry Potter
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And his portrayal of Barty Crouch Jr made me think just one thing - this fellow isn't Bilbo.
The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.
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Elenorflower
Gondor
Dec 1 2012, 2:32pm
Post #12 of 16
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Tennant is a wonderful Doctor, but he lacks the vulnerability and awkwardness of martin. Tennant is a bit too glamour boy. and he's too young. 
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Arthael
Lorien
Dec 1 2012, 2:46pm
Post #13 of 16
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In one of Empire's first Hobbit specials
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back in 2009 they mentioned some of the actors that Jackson and Del Toro were interested in, and Freeman was among them. I'd only seen Hitchhiker's, but I was totally taken with the idea. A baffled Arthur Dent get's pulled into a universe-wide quest and doesn't even have time to take off his bathrobe (or grab his towel!) just like poor baffled Bilbo runs out the door without his hat.
"There are no safe paths in this part of the world. Remember you are over the Edge of the Wild, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go."
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Lusitano
Tol Eressea
Dec 1 2012, 3:15pm
Post #14 of 16
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suggested Radcliffe as Bilbo must have been as high as Caradhras. 
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Silverlode
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Dec 1 2012, 7:40pm
Post #16 of 16
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He's a perfectly capable dramatic actor
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I've seen him in roles that cover quite a range, and I'm a fan. However, I agree that he's not the Bilbo type at all. Just not very hobbity. He might have been an interesting Thranduil, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what Lee Pace will do with it. 
Silverlode
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