Image Credit: James Fisher
Though the cast and crew of The Hobbit are currently taking a break in their marathon production of the two-part epic, there’s still fresh news to keep fans on the hook. Last month, director Peter Jackson shared the first images from the J.R.R. Tolkien adaptation exclusively with EW, giving moviegoers the first glimpse of Martin Freeman as the hobbit hero Bilbo Baggins. Over the last few weeks, he’s offered a peek at several members of the Company of Dwarves.
Now, on the movie’s official Facebook page, Jackson has offered a first look at one of the most important characters in The Hobbit: Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the Company of Dwarves, who, along with the wizard Gandalf, recruits Bilbo on a quest to reclaim a dragon’s treasure. Thorin is being played by Richard Armitage, and from the moment that casting was announced, fans of Armitage, who’s best known from the BBC series North and South, Robin Hood, and MI-5, wondered to what extent his good looks would be buried under layers of makeup, facial hair, and general Middle-earth grime. Well, you be the judge. Is this the hunky dwarf you might have been hoping for? One thing’s for sure — he’s a whole lot hunkier-looking than these guys.
Read more:
‘The Hobbit’: Peter Jackson takes fans on location(s) in latest Facebook video
‘The Hobbit’: Peter Jackson offers the first close-up look at three of his dwarves
‘The Hobbit’ First Look photos
Well I know him by “Mr. Thornton” and I can’t believe it was possible to hide his stunning good looks. Makeup really does wonders.
That was my thought too. “That CAN’T be Mr. Thornton!”
Where’s stimpy?
OMG, I place stupid advertising in Internet forums!!! Also, my family is so rich I do it for fun!!!
HA Thank goodness I’m not the only one who thinks of him as “Mr. Thornton”. LOVE him.
He actually looks more like Matthew Macfadyen in that new Musketeers role he is playing.
Looks like a Klingon!!!
LOL I thought this too! At first I was like “Hmmm, is he from Star Trek: The Next Generation?” lol!
You nailed it! I knew he looked familiar but I couldn’t place him. But yeah, a Klingon, that’s what I was trying to think of…
KAYLESS WITH DARK HAIR
NERD ALERT!
At the end of the day aren’t we all NERDS????
You’re the one who clicked on a Lord of the Rings article. We are all in this together.
Proud of it, man.
Most of the dwarves so far seem to look Klingon-ish.
Certainly taller than I imagined.
Interesting observation since we don’t see his legs!
Taller based on what? The plain gray background behind him which offers zero perspective to judge his height with. Or the fact that we’re only seeing him from his torso up? Do people even think before they comment, or are they truly this dumb?
I’m with you Ian, I didn’t understand it either, hence my comment lol
LoL, totally looks like a Klingon!
@Under Oh my yes! He does look like he should be in Star Trek: TNG!
Kah-plah (or however you spell it in English)! I thought Klingon too! Tres Gowron with a touch of Data’s evil twin Lore. BTW, nothing wrong with being a geek. As I tell my kids, it’s okay to be a geek or a nerd–just don’t be a dork or a dweeb.
A Klingon doesn’t belong in Middle Earth……lol….I’m just serious…..
Well that’s certainly… Different
That is so amazing! I couldn’t even tell it it was Richard.
I know. Great makeup.
Much less hot than hoped for.
I actually think he looks too pretty. He needs to look grimier/uglier.
Aiyeeee… Can’t wait to see what they do to Aiden Turner. I guess I won’t be seeing these movies for shallow reasons afterall. Good makeup job, though.
They’ve actually already released Aiden Turner’s character photo… check out theonering.net and you can see ‘em all.
Go to the website for SFX magazine, they’ve been posting all the pics, including Aiden’s. If you’re on Facebook Peter Jackson has them on his page.
Thanks for the links. And ha! Aiden stayed pretty hot, actually.
This image was released exclusively to TheOneRing.net on the weekend.
I would love to be an extra in that movie!!!!!
He was going around the corner about 90….when the chain on his motorcycle broke….He was found in the grass…..with a pitchfork up his ass….and his balls were playin dixie on the spokes…
Looks like he’s wearing contacts, too. I can’t see those icy blue eyes I loved so much in N&S.
Steve, great poem, Thanks
I had thought Thorin would look older, based on my recollection of the book, or maybe the Rankin & Bass movie is weighing on my memory.
Still, yes, he reminds me of a Klingon. Something like Gowron in his eyes.
Totally Gowron.
This person looks far too warlike. Thorin was a great warrior, but warrior was more of his side job. He was a king and an artisan first. This guy looks like a klingon, as others have mentioned, not a Dwarven King.
And Thorin had a huge beard that he could tuck into his belt. Whats with this guy? A tidy goatie doesnt cut it. Thorin wasnt interested in the cover of Vogue.
Thorin doesn’t look like a dwarf at all, he looks like a man. Where’s his huge beard? And same with the so called dwarves Fili, Kili and Bofur. The rest look like real dwarves, but really look at him, if you were to compare him to Gimli, it’s a big difference.
Peter Jackson, out of all the dwarves, fix Thorin please, because this isn’t a dwarf, too tall, no beard, and needs to have the looks of a dwarf because it’s to obvious.
He’s 6’2″, John Rhys Davies (played Gimli) is 6’1″. The director – that cunning soul – used movie magic to make Rhys Davies look smaller. I think there’s a fair possibility he’ll use it again with this lot, don’t you?
Seriously, I concede the beard shortness. However, when you consider that for a dwarf Thorin’s pretty much middle aged, it looks to me like the team got it right: a fierce, powerful, bad-tempered, leader of dwarves in his prime, with grey in his hair and beard.
Kay, I’m sorry but if you take off your rose colored glasses and put down the Kool Aide, you’ll notice that it isn’t a dwarf at all, but a mis-placed Klingon.
Dwarves tear thier beards when grieving.(Refer to the Dwarf and goblin wars appendices LOTR)
Ummm… I don’t remember him in MI-5 but I thought he was devilishly good (and looked great in the process!) as Guy of Gisbourne on Robin Hood. Looked a bit too slimy for my tastes in season 3. Not quite what I expected for Thorin because it seems like many of you I’m something of a Tolkien purist, but i’m willing to go with it for now and see what PJ has up his sleeves for us.
And yes – I think in part we’re all trying to reconcile these guys with the Rankin-Bass versions.
i agree – i know him as Guy!
Me too! Richard Armitage: Very much hotter looking as Guy of Gisbourne. And way too tall to be a dwarf (unless they do the hobbit-ty CGI thing to him).