Evangeline Lilly Describes Her Character Tauriel

In the current issue of Total Film magazine, Evangeline Lilly provides a few details on her role of Tauriel in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The character, is a new creation specifically for the movies but inspired by the appendixes from The Lord of the Rings. To be blunt, the character exists to provide a female touch to a story that is around 99% male characters.

“She’s a very, very young elf,” Lilly told us. “She’s only 600 years old, unlike Legolas who’s like, 1,900 years old and Thranduil who’s about 3,000 years old. She doesn’t have quite the wisdom and pose that those two boys do; she’s a little more... gritty. A little more spontaneous, passionate perhaps.”

Taking her bow in The Desolation Of Smaug, Tauriel is a fighter who makes a mess with finesse. “To play this character I need to have a certain amount of grace,” said Lilly. “But I’m also supposed to be an absolutely ruthless, deadly killer."