Somewhere under the battlefield grime, dwarf armour and a grizzly beard, you’ll find Richard Armitage. The British actor recently took on the role of a lifetime by playing Thorin Oakenshield in THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. As the leader of the Company of Dwarves, there was pressure for Thorin to be every bit as brave as fans of the J.R.R. Tolkien novel imagined. Along with setting out on a quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the dragonSmaug, the actor had quite an unexpected journey himself. The Magazine caught up with Richard to chat about his experience of working on THE HOBBIT.
What did you like most about playing Thorin in the film?
I really liked learning to fight in a specific way. I liked using that sword, because it had a motion of its own and is very hard to control. Once you have it moving, it does its own thing, so that was interesting.
I have never been challenged in a way that this role has challenged me. It’s like every job I’ve ever done led to this moment.
What was it like going from a BBC mini series to possibly one of the biggest trilogies of this decade?
Well, there’s a lot more money! [Laughs] The amount of people that work on it makes it feel bigger, but Peter [Jackson] made it feel incredibly intimate. The money buys you more time, so there was much more time to experiment with the character. I think that’s why many actors crave working in film.
How overwhelming was your first day on set?
On my first day on the set, I wasn’t actually filming. I had to stand up in front of the entire company, cast and crew and speak Māori to a line of people who were giving us a Pōwhiri, which is like a welcoming ceremony to bless the soundstage. I was more terrified of that than actually filming!
You get on the set and there are 200 people. Then, behind the curtain, are another 200 people on computers. It’s bloody terrifying. But when you get to the nucleus of Pete’s film set, it’s just you, him and another actor. He keeps it so intimate and personal that he gets rid of the fear.
You played both the younger version and older version of Thorin. How did you approach each age differently?
I wrote a story for Thorin about where he came from as a young man and the experiences that he had at Erebor. In terms of literally playing [the younger version], I just wanted him to move faster and fight in a more inefficient way. I wanted his voice to sound lighter, and I wanted him to smile!
You were a fan of the LORD OF THE RINGS movies. When you found yourself in Bag End with Gandalf, was that a fan boy thrill moment for you?
Yeah, I had to walk on set before filming because I knew that I would be slightly mesmerized by everything. I had a good sniff around, just picking up pens, looking at handcrafted paper and handwritten letters.
When a door opens and you step on set and look at Ian McKellen there is a moment of going, ‘Okay, can we cut and do this again? Because that’s Gandalf and I’m walking into Middle-earth.’
What was it like working with the established family of cast and crew that also worked on the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy?
It was like connecting blood vessels to those other films, giving oxygen to our film. It fed us in every way that you could possibly think of. There are people that I haven’t worked with that I feel like I had worked with, like Cate Blanchett. I sadly never had a scene with her and I’m begging them to give me a scene with Galadriel.
There is something in Peter, in his way that he draws in loyalty, in the way that people come back to him again and again, I took a little bit of that and kept it for Thorin.
How did you feel about making your big, international debut as a scraggly, bearded dwarf?
You know what, I’ve always said of myself, ‘I look better in the dark and I look better dirty.’ I think it’s true! I think I have a face that suits a harsh shadow rather than full daylight. Whenever I play characters that are a bit grubby and grungy, it just feels better.
I was working on second unit with 12 orcs, and you rehearse it at the right level, and then you elevate everybody because we’re supposed to be shorter. I ended up smashing myself in the face with a shield, and putting my bottom tooth through my lip. My face swelled up and the blood was pouring down my face, and they were trying to put ice on it. [Second Unit director] Andy [Serkis] came in with a mirror and said, ‘Look at this!’ and I said, ‘Oh, my god, that looks brilliant!’ It looked so good, he ended up taking close-ups. It would have taken the makeup department a long time to create.
What was it like working with Ian McKellen as Gandalf?
Ian is such a delightful man, whenever I had to be aggressive towards him, there was always a bit of guilt inside of me that thought, ‘Oh, don’t be too rough on poor Gandalf!’
How does it feel to finally share the film with an audience?
Martin [Freeman] and I were talking about this… We both forgot there would be a film at the end of this. The experience has been so epic and so fulfilling. I didn’t even think about the end product. The experience of making it was enough. I’m really looking forward to when everyone gets to share it because they’ll start to understand what we went through.
Were there any props or costumes that you got to keep?
You know, on the last day of shooting, I was given Orcrist….and the Oakenshield…and the key to the door…AND the map! So, I can pretty much go on the journey… I got it all. I’m a lucky boy.
Thank you, Richard Armitage!
Be sure to catch THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, in theatres now!