Movies News

British duo take up Smaug & Bard roles in 'The Hobbit'

By Anthony Pearson Jun 17, 2011, 12:25 GMT

The adventure of “The Hobbit” follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey, the character he played in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and Martin Freeman, who won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the BBC series ...more

British duo Benedict Cumberbatch and Luke Evans will take up two of the last key roles available in Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit."

Deadline.com broke the news that "Sherlock" star Benedict Cumberbatch will take on the role of the dragon Smaug. He will not only voice the character, but is touted to make the performance of the dragon his own through the magic of motion capture.

This is Benedict's second role in "The Hobbit" movies, he will also be providing the voice to the Necromancer character.

Benedict Cumberbatch, best known for his role as Sherlock Holmes on BBC's "Sherlock" will be seen later this year in Steven Spielberg's "War Horse."

It is also being reported that rising star Luke Evans will take on the role of Bard the Grim. Bard is a skilled archer, and the heir of King Girion of Dale. The king was killed by the talking dragon Smaug. The character will likely be a prominent figure in the second "Hobbit" film, as he is one of the major players in the later chapters of Tolkiens "The Hobbit" novel.

Luke, a 32 year old actor from Wales, will be seen on the big screen in upcoming movies "The Three Musketeers," "Immortals," and "The Raven" during the build up to the release of the first "Hobbit" movie, "An Unexpected Journey."

Part 1 will go by the title of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey." It will be released worldwide from December 14th, 2012.

Part 2 is called "The Hobbit: There and Back Again," and will be released a year later on December 13th, 2013.

Luke Evans (left) and Benedict Cumberbatch (right).