Canadian Actress Evangeline Lilly best known for her starring role as Kate Austen in ABC's LOST recently caught up with SFX & discussed her upcoming movies Real Steel & also joining Peter Jackson's two Hobbit films. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey arrives December 14th 2012 & The Hobbit: There and Back Again will hit theaters December 13th 2013. Hit the jump for the details.
Synopsis: The Hobbit follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know."
On her preparation for the role?
Evangeline Lilly: "With every film, you have to educate yourself on the material and it's often things you don't know a lot about. Right now I'm studying Elvish and having conversations with people about learning how to be an archer, a swordsperson and how to fight like an elf instead of a gritty convict. [Laughs]"
The actress revealed she is a fan of the books since she was 13 & was also worried about the addition of her character the Woodland Elf Tauriel, a newly-created character not from the books.
Evangeline Lilly: "I am very concerned to this day that people will watch the film and I'll be the black mark on the film," she said. "I know how adamant the purists are and I'm one of them! That said, upon reading 'The Hobbit' again, as an adult, I can see why additional characters were needed to round out the story as an adaptation – especially female characters! 'The Hobbit' didn't include female characters at all and was a very linear story, a book for children, really. What Peter, Fran (Walsh) and Philippa (Boyens) have done is all in perfect keeping with Tolkien's world, while adding a third dimension to an otherwise very two-dimensional story."
Alongside Lilly, Martin Freeman plays Bilbo Baggins. Reprising their roles from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Ian McKellen plays Gandalf the Grey, Cate Blanchett plays Galadriel, Orlando Bloom plays Legolas, Ian Holm plays the elder Bilbo, Christopher Lee plays Saruman, Hugo Weaving plays Elrond, Elijah Wood plays Frodo & Andy Serkis plays Gollum. The ensemble cast includes the likes of Richard Armitage, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Bret McKenzie, Graham McTavish, Mike Mizrahi, James Nesbitt, Dean O’Gorman, Lee Pace, Mikael Persbrandt, Conan Stevens, Ken Stott, Jeffrey Thomas, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch & Aidan Turner.
