Australian DVD and Blu-ray retailer Crave Online chats with Martin Freeman about his personal history with J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy series, how the ending of An Unexpected Journey changed when the film split from two films into three, and Andy Serkis’s first turn behind the camera as Peter Jackson’s 2nd Unit Director.
On the script: “[Jackson] knows this world — as far as a filmmaker is concerned — better than anybody else in the world. I knew it would be good… and then I got the script and it was good. But we didn’t get the second script until way into shooting. Because they like to work on it and work on it. There’s no way they’re going to show you anything… I mean Like most writers, actually, they don’t want to show you their baby until they’re really, really happy with it. They’re no exception.”
On the original final scene of An Unexpected Journey: “The ending visual was the same. Smaug’s eye opening — it was the same. I loved that ending as a visual thing. But more had happened up to that point.”
On the casting of “Sherlock” co-star, Benedict Cumberbatch: “I saw his picture in the production office, and was, like ” yeah, that would really, really work”. And I knew he really wanted to do it. Because when we went up for it, we both went on tape for The Hobbit at the same time while we were shooting the first series of Sherlock. He read for Smaug. and that was Benedict’s childhood book, so he was delighted.”
Australian Hobbit fans will finally get a little bit of love in April. A team from Weta, and several folks from the cast of The Hobbit are making the trip across the Tasman to make an appearance at the 
Graham McTavish – Dwalin. Graham McTavish (born in 1961) is a Scottish actor who has played an impressive array of characters in a slew of Pop cultural franchises. He played the character Warden Ackerman in Red Dwarf in five episodes of series 8. McTavish has also had many supporting roles in British dramas and films such as Casualty, Jekyll, The Bill, Taggart and Sisterhood. Recently, McTavish appeared in the 2011 film The Wicker Tree, Robin Hardy’s sequel to his 1973 film, The Wicker Man. He has had an “Unexpected Journey” to International stardom playing Dwalin (Brother of Balin) the Dwarf in Sir Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit films.
Stephen Hunter – Bombur. Stephen is a New Zealand actor and voice over artist, currently based in Sydney, Australia. His film and Television career started with Ladies Night in 1995 and has continued to include stints on All Saints, Love My Way, Spirited and Rescue: Special Ops. It was announced in 2011 that Stephen was to play the role of Bombur: brother of Bofur and one of the company of 13 dwarves who retake the Lonely Mountain in Sir Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy. He has since filmed Field Punishment No.1 in the Role of Aussie Bill which will be released in 2013.
Dean O’Gorman – Fili. Dean O’Gorman is a photographer and artist based in New Zealand. He got his start in the television movie, The Rogue Stallion at the age of fourteen, and Raider of the South Seas, both of which were released in 1990. He then won the role of Nurse Harry Martin in the New Zealand soap opera, Shortland Street and has appeared in both Hercules and Xena multiple times. In April 2011 he was cast as Fili the Dwarf in Sir Peter Jackson’s three-part film adaptation of The Hobbit. Kili and his Brother Fili are the youngest dwarves of the 13 and are Thorin Oakenshield’s nephews!
Sylvester McCoy – Radagast (as a Gold Coast exclusive guest). McCoy was starring at the National Theatre in “The Pied Piper”, a musical play written especially for him, when he learned that the BBC was looking for a new lead actor to replace Colin Baker in “Doctor Who” (1963). He later won the role as the seventh Doctor. Following “Doctor Who,” McCoy continues to work extensively in theatre, radio, opera, television and films. McCoy can be seen in the latest blockbuster film The Hobbit (as Radagast the Brown) and can still be heard playing the Doctor in the Big Finish audio productions of Doctor Who.
Earlier today, IGN and a bunch of Hobbit and Doctor Who fans hosted Sylvester McCoy in a 30-minute Google Hangout hook-up and asked him all sorts of questions. If you missed the livecast (like I did — I was asleep), you can still catch the video replay. Just click the link below! 
Martin Freeman has told Hollywood.com that he’ll be back in New Zealand for a two-month block of shooting at the end of this May.
Once a hobbit, always a hobbit. Such is the life these days of Martin Freeman, who is one-third of the way through his journey in the J.R.R. Tolkien universe, having seen the release of the first film in the Peter Jackson trilogy The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray March 19. Despite a long career in the British stage, film, and television worlds, the actor has become something of a nerd icon of late as the star of two totemic nerd franchises with The Hobbit and the BBC series Sherlock.