Martin Freeman has illuminated the entertainment world with his talent by winning audiences’ hearts with small to leading roles in TV and movies. Given the acting prowess he owns due to his years of experience, he has worked in a variety of roles. Having initially gained prominence for his role as Tim Canterbury in The Office (2001–2003), he continued to pursue a serious interest in the TV series leading to some of his other notable roles like Dr. John Watson in Sherlock (2010–2017) and young Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit film trilogy (2012–2014).
However, many might be surprised to know that he almost passed on the titular role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy’s prequel. The LOTR series director, Peter Jackson in an interview told reporters about desperately obsessing over the former to cast him in The Hobbit trilogy.
Peter Jackson Only Had Eyes on Martin Freeman for The Hobbit’s Titular Role
Crafted by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings franchise has gained massive fandom due to its unique storyline which is woven with elements of courage, friendship, and epic adventure. With immense success, film director, Peter Jackson who helmed the trilogy also got his hands on its prequel, The Hobbit trilogy with Martin Freeman in the leading role.
However, his association with the franchise is nothing but constant efforts by many including Jackson’s who only wanted him for the titular role.
Speaking to reporters in New York via The Hollywood Reporter, Jackson explained how he was keen on having the latter on board for the role.
“Martin was the only person that we wanted for that role, and that was really before we met Martin,” he shared. “We knew him from [the BBC’s] The Office and Hitchhiker’s Guide [to the Galaxy], and we just felt he had qualities that would be perfect for Bilbo. The stuffy, repressed English quality. He’s a dramatic actor, he’s not a comedian, but he has a talent for comedy.”
The latter gained critical acclaim for bringing the iconic character of Bilbo Baggins to life. Nurturing the character with his depth, charm, and humor, he impressed the fans with his acting prowess as his character went through several changes leading to the character’s development. However, Jackson has a huge hand in making sure that the Marvel actor joins the project.
Peter Jackson Went Through ‘Sleepless Nights’ Before Settling on Martin Freeman
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The Lord of the Rings trilogy director further added that he even tried to look for other actors to portray the role but none managed to meet his expectations.
“We were in trouble. I was really panicking. I was having sleepless nights. We were probably six weeks away from the beginning of the shoot, and we hadn’t settled on anyone else.”
He was so obsessed with Freeman that he even watched his portrayal in the famous Sherlock series.
“I was torturing myself by watching Sherlock on an iPad at 4 o’clock in the morning.”
Around the time when Jackson offered the actor a contract, he had already signed up to work in the crime-drama series which led him to worry about what would happen next. Having determined to have the Boy Meets Girl actor in the series, he even delayed filming due to his busy schedule.
“Peter Jackson has rearranged the schedule of The Hobbit around you, so that you can start The Hobbit, then go off and do Sherlock and then finish The Hobbit again,” the actor told Vanity Fair.
However, persuading Freeman turned out to be an easy task for the director since the Fargo actor is a fan of his Lord of the Rings trilogy work.
He eventually agreed to play the leading role in the 2012 movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. While it received mixed critical reviews, it was a financial success racking over $1 billion at the box office. The other two sequels were released consecutively in 2013 and 2014 leading it to become a trilogy.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is available to stream on Hulu.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair
