Nothing like a little success to make the opportunity of more success make your life complicated. This the life that British actor Martin Freeman is facing.
Seems after some smaller roles on the original UK version of the Office and feature roles like Love Actually, Freeman chanced on some literary roles like Arthur Dent in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and more recently the legendary Dr John Watson in the BBC’s modern re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes, the new smash hit on BBC that was just picked up for a second season.
And that was when the call came in offering him the role of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit.
Freeman played Dr. John Watson in the recent critically acclaimed BBC series “Sherlock”, a contemporary re-imagining of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes stories produced by Steven Moffat (“Doctor Who”) and Mark Gatiss (“The League of Gentlemen”). Freeman had already signed on for the second season of the show which begins a twenty-week shoot early next year, however a proper offer for ‘Hobbit’ apparently only just came through.
I have seen Freeman in a few things, but I just love him in Sherlock Holmes. The episodes are all presented like TV movies and the modern setting works well for the timeless characters.
I think he would have been perfect for Bilbo Baggins, but sadly he has to turn down the role in favour of the popular series.
And the speculation continues!
I agree with @Steven. This film right now is pretty much dead. With no direction there is nothing but speculation after speculation. And it’s pretty pointless.
Sherlock Holmes is great, and he would be a great Bilbo. Damn!
*sigh*
This movie is never going to get made. It has no director and no actor to play Bilbo.