For his turn as dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” actor Richard Armitage drew inspiration from a very different regal figure created not by J.R.R. Tolkien, but rather William Shakespeare.
“I was in a production of ‘Macbeth,’” Armitage told Hero Complex on the occasion of the film’s release last December. “So I went back to all my notes about ‘Macbeth,’ because I just felt there was something about that character unwinding that was relevant to Thorin unwinding in this story.”
Thorin, of course, plays a key role in the first of Peter Jackson’s planned three-part adaptation of Tolkien’s beloved 1937 children’s novel, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” which makes the trek to Blu-ray and DVD this week.
Audiences have a new opportunity to enjoy Armitage’s performance as the mighty warrior who joins forces with an initially reluctant Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) to reclaim his homeland and the treasure that’s been stolen by the dragon Smaug.
READ MORE: http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/hobbit-star-richard-armitage-hopes-film-will-stand-test-of-time/
