It seems Jackson has been true to his word and wasted no time in replacing actor Rob Kazinsky(who had to leave the project due to personal reasons) as Fili, one half of the two youngest Dwarves in the group, Fili and Kili. I haven't heard of his replacement, Dean O'Gorman, but Jackson has the following to say..
“Dean's a terrific Kiwi actor, who I am thrilled to be working with. He's recently been in an excellent TV series down here called The Almighty Johnsons, and I should let fans of that show know that our shooting schedule allows Dean to continue with a second series next year. Dean will be joining us next week.”
Thranduil, the Elf king has also been cast. And if you have seen Tarsem Singh's
The Fall you will remember Lee Pace, who gave a fantastic performance as the bed ridden actor. He has also appeared in the popular but short lived tv series,
Pushing Daiseys..
“I'm also pleased to announce that Lee Pace will be playing the Elven King Thranduil. Casting these Tolkien stories is very difficult, especially the Elven characters, and Lee has always been our first choice for Thranduil. He's going to be great. We loved his performance in a movie called The Fall a few years ago, and have been hoping to work with him since. When we were first discussing who would be right for Thranduil, Lee came into mind almost immediately.”
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.