An A-Z of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit. Sarah Oliver
(which is still bloody good money) and this was 1988. You see there’s an old Protestant work ethic in me: I don’t mind earning a few quid. And so I thought, “Right, I’ll stick with this.”’
He graduated in 1987 and began his career acting in plays and musicals before securing the part of talent agent Fintan O’Donnell in the 1991 movie Hear My Song. James is most famous for playing Adam Williams in the smash hit TV comedy–drama series Cold Feet (1997–2003) and Tommy Murphy in the TV drama Murphy’s Law. He has been nominated for over 20 awards, including a Golden Globe in 2008 for his portrayal of Tom Jackman in the TV series Jekyll. So far he has picked up eight awards, from a British Comedy Award to a British Independent Film Award, and from an Irish Film and Television Award to a Stockholm Film Festival Award.
In a press release to announce that James had been cast as Bofur, Peter Jackson said: ‘James’s charm, warmth and wit are legendary, as is his range as an actor in both comedic and dramatic roles. We feel very lucky to be able to welcome him as one of our cast.’
FILM FACT:
James Nesbitt (aside from Billy Connolly) is arguably the funniest member of The Hobbit cast. He has never done stand-up, but has the cast and crew in stitches with some of the things he says.
James’s family initially found moving to New Zealand a bit traumatic. His daughters Peggy (thirteen) and Mary (ten) didn’t want to leave their friends behind in London and so it was tough on them. James admitted at a Wellington press conference: ‘Kids at a certain age don’t necessarily want to be dragged to the other side of the world, but they’ve certainly been made to feel very welcome; they are loving the schools.’
His daughters soon settled in and were hoping their dad could have a word with Peter Jackson and get them jobs as extras. James confessed this was one of the conditions they made when they agreed to move to New Zealand for a year. His biggest struggle now that he lives so far from home is getting up at the crack of dawn to watch his horse (Riverside Theatre) at the races or to see Manchester United play.
James is married to the actress Sonia Forbes-Adam. The film company hired them a gorgeous house in Wellington to live in while James was filming. They arrived in New Zealand just before the Christchurch earthquake. James talked about what it was like to the Daily Mail, confiding: ‘When we first arrived it was so tranquil and calm that we relaxed immediately, but since the earthquake it has been a strange time. Wellington itself was unaffected, but a number of the crew and cast know people in Christ-church, and the whole country is in a state of shock.
‘It’s such a terrible thing to happen and it’s dominated the news every day, so it can’t help but affect the atmosphere. People are pulling together and there is a real sense of resilience in the face of adversity.’
James enjoyed the dwarf training they had to do for weeks before filming started. He told Digital Spy what was involved: ‘We’re doing lots of horse riding and stunts and stuff. We’re basically playing! It’s a very good way to earn a living; it’s great. They’re working us hard, I have to say but they’re very down to earth. It has such a feeling of being a little company, it just happens to be a little company of thousands of people! But everyone is enjoying it. Every day’s a little treat.’
He refused to say who was the worst pupil, instead choosing to say: ‘Richard Armitage [Thorin] is very good at the old horse riding because of course he did it in Robin Hood, so he’s very good at that. Of course he’s playing our leader, so it’s right that he’s good at that. Aidan Turner (Kili) and Rob Kazinsky (Fili), they’re fit young men. But we’re all shapes and all sizes and we all have our own skills.’
There were 21 trailers used when filming The Hobbit and the cast each had one with their name on it. James decorated his trailer with a big New Zealand flag, coloured garlands, an Irish flag, plus ribbons in the Irish colours of green, white and orange. He had a framed photo of his dog and lots of pictures of home and the seaside in Ireland; he also had a photomontage of his racing horse, Riverside Theatre.
DID YOU KNOW?
A few weeks after arriving in New Zealand, James went to the Wellington Sevens rugby tournament dressed as a chicken! He revealed in the first Hobbit press conference: ‘I was in the corporate box and I was the only one in costume. People were talking to me, obviously thinking, “He’s supposed to be somebody [important] but he’s a chicken.”’ Why a chicken? His reply: ‘It just felt right.’
Bolg
Name: Bolg
Alias: Bolg of the North
Race: Orc (Goblin)
Played by: Conan Stevens
Character description: Bolg is an orc warlord. A typical goblin, he is cruel and uncaring.
The actor chosen to play Bolg was Australian actor Conan Stevens. He almost didn’t get the part because he missed the first round of auditions as he didn’t find out about them in time, but thankfully his manager was able to speak to the casting director. They arranged for Conan to film an audition and send it to the casting director via the Internet but, before he could do so, Conan contracted dysentery (an inflammatory disorder of the intestines) and so he was really sick. Because there was no time to waste and he didn’t want to miss out, he had to film the audition even though he had lost a lot of weight and was feeling low on energy. The casting director was very impressed when he saw the audition and the rest is history.
Getting a part in The Hobbit movies meant so much to Conan because the book had had a huge impact on his life when he read it as a 12-year-old schoolboy. He loved it and went on to read The Lord of the Rings, The Odyssey and more books about Roman and Greek mythology. Following this, he then began role-playing games such as Dungeon & Dragons, Aftermath and Warhammer. By the time he was sixteen he had decided that he wanted to be an action movie star. To find out more about Conan, visit www.conanstevens.com.
Before being cast, Conan had spent 25 years as a professional wrestler and martial arts expert. He is a massive 7’ ¼” tall, and prior to The Hobbit his biggest acting role was playing Gregor Clegane in the Game of Thrones TV series (2011).
In between filming the first and second Hobbit movies, Conan shot the Spartacus TV series in Auckland. He played a German character called Sedullus. This proved to be a big challenge because the majority of his lines were in German, a language he couldn’t speak. He also squeezed in the movie Vikingdom (2012), which was filmed in Malaysia, playing the Nordic God of Thunder, Thor.
DID YOU KNOW?
As well as acting in films, Conan Stevens is a keen movie scriptwriter and has written four movie scripts to date.
It takes a lot of effort for Conan to look as ripped as he does and he has to work out a lot. He is such a big guy that he eats every two hours to make sure he has enough energy for when he hits the gym. Conan takes care with what he eats, and when filming The Hobbit he tried to consume as much organic, naturally grown vegetables, meat and eggs as possible.
Bombur
Name: Bombur
Alias: Poor fat Bombur
Race: Dwarf of Khazad-dûm (not of Durin’s line)
Played by: Stephen Hunter
Character description: Bombur is a huge, fat dwarf. Brother of Bofur and cousin of Bifur, he plays the drum and wears a pale green hood.
The actor chosen to play Bombur was New Zealand actor and voiceover artist, Stephen Hunter. Stephen plays mainly comedic characters in TV shows, having appeared in only one movie before being cast as Bombur. He is most famous for being in a Toyota ad with