Iconic Australian actor Jack Thompson has reportedly revealed that he’s in contention for the role of dwarf Thorin Oakenshield in Guillermo Del Toro’s “The Hobbit.”
The news apparently comes straight from the actor’s mouth who appeared at a convention and discussed his potential casting. An image of the event on Flickr — where the actor is already rocking a very appropriate Hobbit-esque beard — also has the following description:
“Jack Thompson at the Hotel Gearin discusses his (hopefully) upcoming role as Thorin Oakenshield in ‘The Hobbit.'”
In the story, Oakenshield is the leader of a band of twelve dwarves described as a “capable and a cunning warrior, if not a particularly inspiring or clever leader” who joins Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf on their journey to win the treasure guarded by Smaug the Dragon. The role had previously been linked to Brian Cox though nothing has yet come of it.
The relatively unknown Thompson has recently had supporting roles in the likes of Steven Soderbergh’s “The Good German” and Baz Luhrman’s “Australia” but is probably better known for a filmography full of Australian classics including 1980’s “Breaker Morant,” for which Thompson won the Best Supporting Actor gong at Cannes.
Additionally, in what could be a sign that Thompson is destined for the role, the actor shares an odd fact with his potential character: Oakenshield comes from the dwarf colonies in the Blue Mountains of Middle Earth while Thompson currently resides in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia.
Casting rumors aside, “The Hobbit” still seems to be held up by MGM’s financial troubles and has yet to receive a greenlight as Jackson has only recently completed the script, and is working to bring in a budget. But things seem to be slowly brewing with Ian McKellen, who will reprise his role as Gandalf in the pic, recently telling What’s Playing that production “should have started in April but they didn’t contact me about a contract until a few weeks ago and we’re in negotiation.”
“I’ve read the script, or as much as had been written, they sent it to me, which was very accomplished and good, I thought, and a wonderful part, Gandalf. But I don’t have a contract and I don’t have a start date, so there we are. We’re in a bit of limbo at the moment.”
“The Hobbit” is currently slated for a Christmas 2012 release —which is still seemingly a reasonable target should the project make it in front of cameras by year’s end — but even that grows more and more unlikely with each passing day.
