Beorn, Fili and Radagast Discuss The Hobbit

In a trio of articles actors from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey discuss the movie and their roles. In a TORN translation of the Swedish paper Nöjesbladet, Martin Freeman (Bilbo), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), and Andy Serkis (Gollum) praise Mikael Persbrandt in his role as the shape-changer Beorn (main form being a big bear). According to Peter Jackson, "“You’ll have to wait for film two to see him. I look forward to it in the second film.”

Meanwhile Hero Complex had a conversation with Dean O'Gorman who plays Fili, one of the 13 dwarves in the trilogy. The actor didn't learn he was close to being cast in the role until nearly a year after his audition when writer and producer Philippa Boyens called and told him. "“That relationship triangle does offer a lot of content,” O’Gorman said. “Especially the journey that Thorin goes on — Fili and Kili relate. They’re very much involved in Thorin’s journey, and that dynamic gets involved throughout the movie.”

“The first person I worked with was Andy,” O’Gorman said. “Second unit was still the biggest crew that I’d worked on, but it was relatively smaller than main unit, so it was a way of easing into the process. I really loved working with Andy. It’s interesting to be working with a director who is also a very talented actor. He’s got a really good way of speaking to actors, and I’m guessing that’s because he himself is one. … Andy was really great at making me feel less bewildered.”

Last but not least the 7th Doctor, Sylvester McCoy discusses his role as the wizard Radagast the Brown. The character gets a brief mention in The Lord of the Rings appendices but gets an expanded role in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. He also spoke with Hero Complex about the role. It turns out the actor was a finalist to play Bilbo in The Lord of the Rings but lost out to Ian Holm (who reprises for opening scene in The Hobbit).

On Radagast: "He’s a wizard, for starts. He lives in the forest. He’s more of a hermit, really, and he communicates with animals, and he kind of cares for the forest and the flora and the fauna, and he discovers something — that the forest is in danger, and he has to act quickly and come out of his quiet, lonely yet happy existence and try and do something about it. His closeness to the animals is very helpful to himself and others. It was exciting, really. At first, Peter was doing these logs from the studio and putting them out on YouTube, and they kept keeping me a secret. He said, 'You’re our little secret.' So that was quite fun to be the little secret, the little surprise, maybe."

"Saruman the White dislikes Radagast and thinks him a fool, but Gandalf the Grey, he has an admiration for Radagast. He knows that although he’s a bit of a bumbling, sweet little old fool, that he has steel inside of him when push comes to shove. I think they’re cousins, if I remember rightly. So we’ve got kind of blood connection."

"If you know your “Lord of the Rings,” you might recognize it. You’ll have to wait and see what happens in the next three years. You’ll find out about that staff. It’s quite important eventually. It’s a mystery. I don’t want to give it all away."