In the Hobbit films, Luke Evans will be playing the role of Bard the Bowman and Elijah Wood will be reprising his role as Frodo, however briefly. Wood returned to New Zealand as a full-fledged alumnus after playing Frodo in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Evans, however, went in completely fresh, having been a fan of the trilogy. They each recently described their experiences.
During an interview with Collider.com, Wood discussed returning to the character he played over a decade ago. “It’s such an incredible treat. It’s not often that you have such an intense formative life experience, and then, ten year later, get to revisit that. It was really amazing, going back to New Zealand. So many of the crew, who had worked on Rings, are working on The Hobbit. A number of the same actors are working on it. We shot a little bit in Hobbiton, and I realized that I had turned 19 in Hobbiton. I was there 11 years ago. That’s bonkers! And it hasn’t changed. It was really amazing! It was a remarkable experience, and a great family reunion. It felt like stepping back into time. It was a gift. It was awesome!”
Evans spoke with Total Film about walking onto set for the first time. “I can’t really describe it,” he said. “When I first arrived I went straight to Bilbo’s house. I saw it on the big screen when I was 21 and there I was, walking around it in costume – a very special moment. I’ll look back on that in 20 years and hopefully be as proud as I am now.”
He went on to say, “There’s slightly more Bard in the movie than is in the novel. Everything in the book is definitely in the film but… [whispers] I’ll have my tongue cut out if I say anything else. Let’s put it this way – I shoot a lot of arrows.”
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