Word is that Guillermo Del Toro and Peter Jackson have begun the Dwarf casting process for The Hobbit, and Brian Cox's name has popped up...
From AICN...
"This is a news item I'd love to proclaim with all-out certainty, but my tried and trusted source(s) aren't sure if this is a total lock, or whether it's just someone they're seriously interested in. Either way, producers of THE HOBBIT have begun looking at casting for the dwarves (dwarfs?), and one name has emerged as a major contender: Brian Cox."
CBM fans will remember Cox as William Stryker in
X Men 2, but he has appeared in a lot of movies! My Dad never remembers his name, to him he's just "that fella thats in everything"! And he really does show up a hell of a lot! But thats no bad thing, he's a terrific actor and a great choice for one of Bilbo's travelling buddies, so lets hope this turns out to be true.