See Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit

The Hobbit has celebrated Richard Armitage’s 41st birthday today by Tweeting a picture of the actor in warrior regalia as Thorin Oakenshield.

Featuring a shaggy ‘do that would put Pat Sharp to shame, and fully attired in his warrior get-up, it’s an impressive, striking image that is unmistakably Middle-earthian.

Check it out below…

[ Click the image for a hi-def version ]

Thorin Oakenshield appears in The Hobbit as the leader of a company of thirteen travelling dwarves.

A legendary champion, Thorin helps Bilbo (Martin Freeman) along on his quest to the Smoky Mountains.

With that stern to-camera stare, Armitage definitely seems to have captured the authority and menace of the company’s leader.

We can’t wait to see him in action when The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens in cinemas on 14 December 2012.

And happy birthday Mr Armitage from Total Film !

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.