When we return to Middle-earth later this year for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, we’ll be seeing a few new additions to the cast of Peter Jackson’s three-part prequel to The Lord of the Rings – not least the Elves of Mirkwood, including the returning LotR star Orlando Bloom as Legolas and Evangeline Lilly (Lost) as Tauriel, the head of King Thranduil’s (Lee Pace) Elvin guard. Speaking to Total Film, the actress has offered some details about what we can expect from the character, who does not appear in J.R.R. Tolkien’s book and has instead been created by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh specifically for the film.
“She’s a very, very young elf, she’s only 600 years old, unlike Legolas who’s like 1,900 years old and Thranduil who’s about 3,000 years old. She doesn’t have quite the wisdom and pose that those two boys do; she’s a little more… gritty. A little more spontaneous, passionate perhaps. To play this character I need to have a certain amount of grace. But I’m also supposed to be an absolutely ruthless, deadly killer.”
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is due to hit cinemas on December 13th, with An Unexpected Journey stars Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins), Ian McKellen (Gandalf the Grey), Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield), Andy Serkis (Gollum) Christopher Lee (Saruman), Sylvester McCoy (Radagast), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Necromancer / Smaug) and company joined by the likes of Luke Evans (Fast & Furious 6) as Bard the Bowman, Stephen Fry (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) as the Master of Laketown and Mikael Persbrandt (In a Better World) as Beorn.
Originally published May 25, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
