Billy Connolly Is A Late Addition To The Cast Of The Hobbit, So Here's His Routine About A Dwarf

[Brendon Connelly]

My hunch is that Peter Jackson's casting agent really likes British comedy. Indeed, I believe that Bill Bailey, Johnny Vegas and Alan Davies all auditioned for The Lord of the Rings, or The Hobbit or both, but none of them won a role.

But the Big Yin did.

Warner Bros. and Wingnut Films have announced the casting of Billy Connolly in The Hobbit, where he will be playing Dain Ironfoot, a Dwarf warrior and cousin to Thorin Oakenshield. He turns up at The Battle of Five Armies, leading one of the five. Spoiler: he survives, and becomes King Under The Mountain.

I believe that Stephen Fry is the only other British comedian to have joined the cast, though please correct me if I'm wrong.

Here's Jackson's statement on the casting:

We could not think of a more fitting actor to play Dain Ironfoot, the staunchest and toughest of Dwarves, than Billy Connolly, the Big Yin himself. With Billy stepping into this role, the cast of The Hobbit is now complete. We can?t wait to see him on the Battlefield!

And here's a video of Connolly talking about, well... a dwarf.

[Davidb5x]

I believe that Stephen Fry is the only other British comedian to have joined the cast, though please correct me if I'm wrong.

Uhm, well he doesnt exactly do stand-up like Billy, but doesn't Martin Freeman, Bilbo himself, qualify, just as much as Stephen Fry ...seeing as virtually everything he's ever been in has either been straight out comedy or had strong comedic elements. Even Sherlock contains a lot of humour in the dialogue between the two leads.

[Ian Coke]

Mustn't tempt fate here, but the chances are I'll never have to watch this film.

So good luck to everyone involved!

Though I do hope the shoot's so harrowing that Billy Connolly ends up sparkly-eyed, off the wagon, and attempting to 'do a line a posh, right, affae Queen Liz's knockers' during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The quisling, sell-out, neo-royalist buster.

[Brendon Connelly]

I believe that Stephen Fry is the only other British comedian to have joined the cast, though please correct me if I'm wrong.

Uhm, well he doesnt exactly do stand-up like Billy, but doesn't Martin Freeman, Bilbo himself, qualify, just as much as Stephen Fry ...seeing as virtually everything he's ever been in has either been straight out comedy or had strong comedic elements. Even Sherlock contains a lot of humour in the dialogue between the two leads.

Fry writes comedy, has had sketch shows and did, back in the 80s, do a lot of live comedy. Freeman is an actor, though I'll agree, very often a comedic one.

[Joe Kalicki]

You couldn't tell Connelly was a comedian by most of his American work.

At least, there was nothing funny about Head of the Class.

[ScotiaNova]

At least Connolly's character has a chance of surviving this film. He had a routine about how he was always cast as the mentor who dies . . . he even dies in a fuckin' Muppet film . . .

[toodoor]

Mustn't tempt fate here, but the chances are I'll never have to watch this film.

So good luck to everyone involved!

Though I do hope the shoot's so harrowing that Billy Connolly ends up sparkly-eyed, off the wagon, and attempting to 'do a line a posh, right, affae Queen Liz's knockers' during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The quisling, sell-out, neo-royalist buster.

ouch! Why so harsh?

[ScotiaNova]

Didn't he also have a routine that these kind of movies are pish?