Cast for The Hobbit Revealed

New Line Cinema, Warner Bros., and Peter Jackson jointly announced the cast for the upcoming “The Hobbit” movie which was given the go ahead on October 15.

Martin Freeman (“The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”, “The Office”, “Love Actually”) will play Bilbo Baggins and Richard Armitage (“Captain America: The First Avenger”) will be Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the Dwarves who set out to fight the dragon and reclaim the Lonely Mountains.

Peter Jackson commented on Freeman and Armitage being chosen for the roles of Bilbo and Thorin “Despite the various rumors and speculation surrounding this role, there has only ever been one Bilbo Baggins for us. There are a few times in your career when you come across an actor who you know was born to play a role, but that was the case as soon as I met Martin. He is intelligent, funny, surprising and brave – exactly like Bilbo and I feel incredibly proud to be able to announce that he is our Hobbit.”

He adds: “Richard is one of the most exciting and dynamic actors working on screen today and we know he is going to make an amazing Thorin Oakensheild. We cannot wait to start this adventure with him and feel very lucky that one of the most beloved characters in Middle-earth is in such good hands.”

Also cast in various other roles are Rob Kazinsky, Aidan Turner, Graham McTavish, John Callen, Stephen Hunter, Mark Hadlow and Peter Hambleton.

Ian McKellan and Andy Serkis will be reprising their roles as Gandalf and Gollum respectively.

Part one of “The Hobbit” will be released in December 2012 with part two following in 2013.