Skip to main content
Games Radar
  • Newsarama
  • Total Film
  • Edge
  • Retro Gamer
  • SFX
Total Film The smarter take on movies
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Subscribe
  • Podcast
  • Newsletter
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best Netflix Shows

Recommended reading

Next James Bond
Action RPGs Next James Bond: The 27 actors who could replace Daniel Craig as the new 007
Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones season 4
Drama Movies The Elden Ring movie gets its first top-tier fancasting choice – Game of Thrones' Charles Dance swapping Westeros for The Lands Between to play Gideon
Jacob Elordi as Nate Jacobs in Euphoria
James Bond Movies Tom Holland and Jacob Elordi are reportedly being considered for Denis Villeneuve's Amazon James Bond movie
Henry Golding looking forward in The Old Guard 2
Action Movies One James Bond potential favorite thinks it would be a "nightmare" role after recent rumored list is revealed
Matt Berry in What We Do in the Shadows
Adventure Movies Jack Black’s role as Steve in A Minecraft Movie was actually supposed to go to What We Do in the Shadows star Matt Berry
Daniel Craig in Skyfall standing next to a car.
James Bond Movies The reported shortlist for the next James Bond director has me excited and terrified about the future of 007
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lord of the Rings Movies The Hunt For Gollum release date, plot, cast, and more news
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies
  3. Fantasy Movies
  4. Lord of the Rings Movies
  5. The Hobbit

Who Should Play Bilbo Baggins?

Features
By James White published 8 June 2009

7 Possible Thesps For The Hobbit

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

James McAvoy

James McAvoy

Why him? He’s been a rumoured favourite for ages, with lots of sources claiming “studio bosses” want him.

Of course, it’s all been so much chaff in the wind to date, but he does have fantasy film experience (in The Chronicles Of Narnia) and he can pull off a convincing English accent despite his Scots burr.

There’s a reason he’s rumoured so much – he’s great and would be a superb Bilbo.

Why not him?
He’s also a busy working actor – would he have the time to commit to such a huge project?

We’d like to think he’d agree to work with Guillermo del Toro, but unlike the largely unknown LOTR cast, he’s a man in demand.

Entirely Unscientific Holm-Alike-O-Meter: ****

Page 1 of 7
Page 1 of 7
Colm Meaney

Colm Meaney

Why him? A character actor who blends into his roles, he’s been doing solid work for years – appearing in everything from The Commitments to various Star Trek spin-offs on telly.

He was most recently seen as Don Revie in The Damned United, and always brings something great to each role.

He’s got a touch of the Holm about him and could pull off the accent with ease.

Why not him?
Chances are Guillermo del Toro will be looking for a younger actor.

Even given the Hobbit aging quirks (Bilbo is 51 in the book), he’s likely too old at 56 to make the cut. Which is a shame, since he’s great and would be a decidedly ballsy choice.

Entirely Unscientific Holm-Alike-O-Meter: ****

Page 2 of 7
Page 2 of 7
Martin Freeman

Martin Freeman

Why him? He’s got a definite Holms-ian look about him, and he’s got effects experience thanks to his work on Hitchhikers.

He doesn’t have a load of dramatic work under his belt, but this could be just the project to let him show some range. Plus, he’s still not exactly a huge star so Guillermo del Toro could secure his services for less than, say Daniel Radcliffe.

Why not him? Like we said, he hasn’t exactly proved himself as a dramatic actor, and he might not have made del Toro’s radar.

Chances are he’ll stay more in the realms of fan speculation – but stranger things have happened…

Entirely Unscientific Holm-Alike-O-Meter:
***

Page 3 of 7
Page 3 of 7
Jack Black

Jack Black

Why him? No, really… He’s been one of the bigger rumours.

And while it seems a little far fetched (a movie rumour? Far fetched? Shurely shome mishtake!), he does have form with Peter Jackson after a decent turn in King Kong.

And anyone who thinks he’ll get to play yet another variant on his Tenacious D wild man, think again – he kept it buttoned down for Jackson and del Toro wouldn’t let him go nuts as Bilbo.

Why not him?
Though he was okay in King Kong, we’re not sure he’s quite got the range to pull off a young Holm performance.

Plus, he doesn’t really look the part and the accent’s not always up to scratch, so we’d have to take a pass on this one.

Entirely Unscientific Holm-Alike-O-Meter: **

Page 4 of 7
Page 4 of 7
Ewan McGregor

Ewan McGregor

Why him? It wouldn’t be his first time playing the younger version of a character in a major genre franchise (for the benefit of both people who haven’t twigged, we mean Obi Wan Kenobi).

And McGregor’s a solid, proven talent with bags of ability mixed with a seriously dodgy recent choice of films (Deception?) that means he could do with a kudos boost.

He’s also a name that could help sell the movie.

Why not him? We’re not sure The Hobbit needs big names (it already has its own title, del Toro and Peter Jackson to help pimp it to a wider cinema-going crowd).

And it might be too distracting to see an established actor in the role – he’s been at this job longer than the likes of McAvoy.

Entirely Unscientific Holm-Alike-O-Meter
: ****

Page 5 of 7
Page 5 of 7
Deep Roy

Deep Roy

Why him? Budgetary issues. With Roy on board, there’s no need to hire someone to play him at Hobbit height, since he’s made a career out of his diminutive size.

He’s also got bags of experience (did you know he was in The NeverEnding Story? And Return Of The Jedi? It’s true), is a great performer and brings genre credibility that del Toro would adore.

Why not him?
One of the most fun elements of watching The Lord Of The Rings films is keeping an eye out for the bits where Jackson has shrunk full-size actors down to Hobbit-size - we're pretty sure that GDT wouldn't want to rob us of that joy.

Also, like Meany, Roy is bang on for Bilbo's book age (he's 52) but probably too old for today's Twitter kids to identify with. Despite the fact that most of them follow Stephen Fry.

Entirely Unscientific Holm-Alike-O-Meter: **

Page 6 of 7
Page 6 of 7
Ian Holm + CGI

Ian Holm + CGI

Why him? Um… Because he’s Ian Holm? Surely that’s the only real qualification he needs.

Look, if fellow LOTR star Ian McKellen and thesping mate Patrick Stewart can look younger in X3 and Wolverine thanks to some digi-tinkering then surely the geniuses at Peter Jackson’s Weta company could pull off the same trick.

That way, we’d get Holm as Bilbo and the continuity would be perfect.

Why not him? So far, the CG trickery has been less than convincing. Plastic, even.

While we’re pretty sure Weta could do a better job, we’re also unsure if he’d be up for the role, given that it would mean being a lot more active than his past Bilbo work. No sitting around surrounded by elves this time around. Well, not as much…

Entirely Unscientific Holm-Alike-O-Meter:
*****

Page 7 of 7
Page 7 of 7
James White
Freelance Journalist

James White is a freelance journalist who has been covering film and TV for over two decades. In that time, James has written for a wide variety of publications including Total Film and SFX. He has also worked for BAFTA and on ODEON's in-cinema magazine. 

See more Movies Features
Read more
Next James Bond
Next James Bond: The 27 actors who could replace Daniel Craig as the new 007
Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones season 4
The Elden Ring movie gets its first top-tier fancasting choice – Game of Thrones' Charles Dance swapping Westeros for The Lands Between to play Gideon
Jacob Elordi as Nate Jacobs in Euphoria
Tom Holland and Jacob Elordi are reportedly being considered for Denis Villeneuve's Amazon James Bond movie
Henry Golding looking forward in The Old Guard 2
One James Bond potential favorite thinks it would be a "nightmare" role after recent rumored list is revealed
Matt Berry in What We Do in the Shadows
Jack Black’s role as Steve in A Minecraft Movie was actually supposed to go to What We Do in the Shadows star Matt Berry
Daniel Craig in Skyfall standing next to a car.
The reported shortlist for the next James Bond director has me excited and terrified about the future of 007
Latest in Lord of the Rings Movies
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Andy Serkis' new Gollum-centric Lord of the Rings movie gets a precious December 2027 release date
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Hunt For Gollum release date, plot, cast, and more news
Sean Bean in The Lord of The Rings
The 32 greatest characters from fantasy movies
Frodo and Sam in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
24 years later, fans are still spotting the incredible, "unmatched" attention to detail in Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
The Lord of the Rings anime movie sets streaming date, meaning every movie will be available in one place
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Peter Jackson reveals his favorite movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and it's not the one you're probably expecting
Latest in Features
Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord in Peacemaker season 2 trailer
Maxwell Lord - The comic history of the villain who mind-controlled Superman and almost destroyed the Justice League
Hades 2 announcement trailer
70 hours later and with a full launch imminent, I already miss Hades 2 being in Early Access
Toothless, Miles Morales' Mask, Battle Droid with STAP, and Nike Dunk sets divided from each other by white lines, with a 'GamesRadar+ New Lego' badge in the middle
New Lego sets for July 2025, including the perfect gift I think fans will go nuts for
Jan sadly presses a hand on a screen that says 'deceased' in The Alters
The Alters has changed the way I play games for the better, and after 18 years I can finally finish Mass Effect
Sam balances across a ladder high up in the mountains in Death Stranding 2
Death Stranding 2 is my favorite online game this year, even though you never directly see any other players
Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
The Squid Game season 3 finale is a crushing but ultimately hopeful conclusion – and I wouldn't have it any other way
  1. Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
    1
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  2. 2
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  3. 3
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  4. 4
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  5. 5
    Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter"
  1. A T-rex in Jurassic World Rebirth
    1
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  2. 2
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  3. 3
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  4. 4
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  5. 5
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...