The last instalment of the Hobbit series is finally out, you know, in case you missed all the TV, radio, billboard, and bus ads, the talk show guests, or the people running down the street yelling about it.
Well never mind your dragons, the short-arses, the wizards, and mountains full of gold, because there’s an Irish lead, Aidan Turner, and we got chatting to him.
Playing Kili, the handsome dwarf (who punches above his weight) that falls in love with an elf, he became the only character in the trilogy to be given a love story, not that he minded, although it didn’t go down too smoothly with some fans.
“The love story would be a new thing, taken from another one of Tolkein’s stories. We weren’t sure what the fans would think because it’s not loyal to the book, but it’s a trilogy so high in testosterone that having a strong female lead was something that we needed. Plus, it’s nice for the younger audience, both boys and girls to see a strong female character”.
So, all you Hobbit fans, if you still have a problem with it, that’s fine, but just know that you’re all a shower of dirty sexists. And if you thought you could still jump on the fact that there didn’t need to be a third film, think again. Sure, at two hours and 10 minutes it’s by far the shortest of the six Middle-Earth epics Peter Jackson has helmed, but that comes as no surprise, seeing as it wasn’t even meant to happen.
“We thought it was going to be two, until the very end. We had a wrap party, and at the very last day of shooting we were told we’d be coming back for three months of additional shooting.
But you know that it’s not just a money making thing, because Peter(Jackson) had so much in it, to try fit it in two films would be asking a lot. But if he had his way he’d try to have every movie seven hours long. He’s just such a huge fan”.
If that sounds familiar it’s probably because you’ve heard it 500 times in the past 15 years, his actors tend to love working with him, and Turner was no different. The mention of the New Zealand born director is met by a wide grin and a gush of compliments, especially when it comes to the location of the shoot.
"Yeah it was all shot in New Zealand, which was beautiful, and the sets were so vast they really got you in that world because they were all built to scale. Laketown was the size of a real town, and Mirkwood Forest was so big I remember getting lost while and having to listen out for the crew to find my way back."
So it was a pretty relaxed set then? Seeing as you’re all off wandering around forests between takes, is there a sense of relief though now that it’s finally over.
“I was kind of misquoted recently saying I was glad for it all to be over, which comes across as ungrateful, but that’s not how I feel. I think everyone is happy that it’s over, but happy because we did it, and we did it well, and all the films work. Now we can look back and finally enjoy them".
We eventually move onto upcoming roles, which is fair considering he’s spent three years talking about The Hobbit, but television is where you can see him next, in the BBC period-drama Poldark, based on the books of the same name.
“It’s out in March, we shot that for 6 months of this year, I’ve seen bits already and it looks good, so it’s very exciting. In the last couple of years I’ve played a dwarf, a vampire(Being Human) and a werewolf(The Mortal Instruments), so I’m finally a human again, which is nice”.
Speaking of playing fictional characters, he was quick to dampen rumours of himself playing a vigilante at the Odessa Film Festival, as reports suggest he stopped a mugger from stealing a woman’s purse.
“I’ve no idea where that came from. I was out there doing press after one of the films, and some of the journalists mentioned it. I went along and added to the story every time for a bit of a laugh, but always ended with a ‘that’s all bullshit by the way’. It was quite funny, and it’s nice for the false stories to be favourable, but I’d prefer if there wasn’t any at all.
So contrary to popular belief, you can’t believe absolutely everything you read on the internet. Well, not from other sites anyway, we've got your back. That was all the time we had with one of Ireland’s newest stars, but if you liked him in The Hobbit, or anything else you’ve seen him in(yes, he was a receptionist in The Clinic) you should head on over to here, and vote for him and the rest of the nominees for this year’s Eric awards.