Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has defended his decision to cast Richard Armitage as the dwarf Thorin Oakenshield in the upcoming Hobbit movies.

According to Entertainment Weekly, fans of The Hobbit novel were said to be surprised at the casting of the Spooks star. Jackson responded to the claims of disappointment with…

“Thorin Oakenshield is a tough, heroic character, and he certainly should give Leggie and Aragorn a run for their money in the heartthrob stakes – despite being four feet tall. In Middle-earth, dwarves are a noble race and have a culture and physical appearance which sets them apart from humans. It’s fun to develop these different cultures for the movie, and we are doing much more with dwarves this time around than we did with Gimli in Lord Of The Rings. Richard is a powerful actor with a wide range, and we’re very excited to be handing Thorn over to him.”

Photo courtesy of collider.com

Related posts:

1. Peter Jackson Is Sneaking All Over The World Casting For The Hobbit
2. Peter Jackson Defends Against Low Pay Claims
3. Peter Jackson Confirms That The Script For The First Hobbit Movie Is Done
4. Should Peter Jackson Direct The Hobbit Prequels? Does He Even Want To?
5. Peter Jackson Promises Hobbit Announcement Soon