A Dwarf Leaves The Hobbit

Citing personal reasons, Peter Jackson announced on his Facebook page that Robert Kazinsky is leaving The Hobbit. Kazinsky was cast as Fili, one of the 13 Dwarves that Bilbo Baggins joins on an adventure.

I am sad to report that Rob Kazinsky, who was cast in the role of Fili, is having to leave The Hobbit and return home, for personal reasons. Rob has been terrific to work with and his enthusiasm and infectious sense of humour will be missed by all of us. I should say that Rob’s departure will not affect ongoing filming of The Hobbit, nor will it impact work done to date, as we had yet to film much of Fili’s storyline. At the moment we are shooting scenes featuring Bilbo without the Dwarves, which will give us time to find a new Fili. I’ll keep everyone posted with updates as they come.
Cheers,
Peter J

Robert Kazinsky, over a series of tweets said:

Thanks for all your support, Peter and team have been the most wonderful and supportive team to work for and it’s with a truly sad heart that things have turned out this way. The Hobbit will go on to be as great as i’ve seen and I will miss the family and friends that i’ve here, From every disaster i’ve tried to make an opportunity. “john d rokerfeller”

For Kazinksy to leave a guaranteed hit like The Hobbit movies would have been a huge boost to his acting career. His later tweet of "it's a health issue" suggests something serious happened to himself or someone in his family. Hopefully everything will work out for him and his loved ones. (via TheOneRing)