English actor Rob Kazinsky departs cast of 'The Hobbit'

By Anthony Pearson Apr 24, 2011, 10:01 GMT

Robert Kazinsky on the Bag End set of "The Hobbit."

Peter Jackson has confirmed that English former EastEnders actor Robert Kazinsky who plays the dwarf Fili in "The Hobbit" has now departed from the production due to personal reasons.

This news come as the latest in a series of misfortunes surrounding the pre production & production of the 2 part "Hobbit" movies. However Sir. Peter went onto say that this latest unfortunate event will not effect the production of "The Hobbit" at all and that they are already actively looking for a replacement to play Fili.

In a statement on his Facebook blog Peter Jackson wrote;

"I am sad to report that Rob Kazinsky, who was cast in the role of Fili, is having to leave The Hobbit and return home, for personal reasons. Rob has been terrific to work with and his enthusiasm and infectious sense of humour will be missed by all of us. I should say that Rob's departure will not affect ongoing filming of The Hobbit, nor will it impact work done to date, as we had yet to film much of Fili's storyline. At the moment we are shooting scenes featuring Bilbo without the Dwarves, which will give us time to find a new Fili."

Robert Kazinsky can be seen rehearsing for his role with the other dwarfs in the behind the scenes video below;



In a previous blog Peter Jackson also announced some welcome news that 79 year old English actor Ian Holm will return to the cast to reprise his role as the older Bilbo Baggins. Martin Freeman will play Bilbo for the most part in the two part film, so I am presuming that Ian will take on a role looking back at the events from "The Hobbit."

"The Hobbit: Part I" is expected for release worldwide from December 2012, while "The Hobbit: Part II" is set to hit exactly a year later.