Like
all Hobbits, Bilbo Baggins is fond of his comfortable existence; all he needs
to be happy is a full pantry and a good book. When the Wizard Gandalf and 13
Dwarves unexpectedly appear on Bilbo’s doorstep and invite him to join them on
a dangerous adventure, Bilbo’s life changes forever. Initially skeptical of the
invitation, Bilbo’s spirit of adventure leads him to join the Company of Thorin
Oakenshield and become the “burglar” required to complete their quest to outwit
a ferocious dragon and reclaim the Dwarves’ stolen treasure. To everyone’s
surprise, including his own, Bilbo’s wit and courage prove that there is indeed
more to this Hobbit than meets the eye.
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| Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. |
British
actor Martin Freeman returns as Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's “The Hobbit:
The Desolation of Smaug,” the second in a trilogy of films adapting the
enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.
As the
second film begins, Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Bilbo, Thorin (Richard Armitage)
and the Company are shaken and exhausted ... but not broken.
Perhaps
most changed of all is Bilbo Baggins himself. “I think, as the journey
continues, Bilbo is able to look at the world a bit more square on,” says
Freeman of the Hobbit at the center of the tale. “He is still the person he
was; he is still frightened. He’s not a fighter or adventurer by nature, but to
be among different species that want to kill him or eat him ... it doesn’t need
to be said how huge a change that is. And Bilbo finds a bravery that he didn’t
know he had, and, more importantly, that none of the others knew he had.”
From
his encounter beneath the Goblin Tunnels in the cave of the emaciated and conniving
creature known as Gollum, Bilbo has emerged with something more than his
courage. He has managed to steal Gollum’s “precious” ring with the power to
make its wearer invisible.
“Bilbo
is beginning to have a strange relationship with this gold ring,” say
screenwriter and producer Philippa Boyens. “He’s beginning to have a sense that
there’s something off about it. It’s a tough choice for him to put it on and
disappear, and he takes it off as soon as he can. Having such a great actor as
Martin Freeman helps you find your way through this idea that this is not just
a magic trinket that turns you invisible. Not every choice he had to make was a
good choice down in those holes beneath the mountain.”
Bilbo
chooses to conceal this new information from Gandalf, and, for McKellen,
Freeman’s portrayal of Bilbo in this moment illustrates the art the actor
brings to his performance. “Martin has a palette of subtlety, and it’s often
unpredictable,” McKellen observes. “He doesn’t like to do the same thing twice
in front of the camera, so with a multitude of takes, in every one of those
takes, Martin will give you a different nuance, a different color, a different
aspect of the character he’s playing. You don’t know quite what’s going to
happen next, which makes your reaction all the more real. With each take, I
discovered something new about Bilbo.”
