Matthew Goode Has Auditioned For The Role Of Bilbo Baggins

The rather tremendous Matthew Goode, maybe best known round here as Zack Snyder's Ozymandias, has let slip that he auditioned for the role of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit.

Here's how The Telegraph reported matters:

But just before we met, he'd auditioned for the role of Bilbo Baggins in Guillermo del Toro's two-part film of The Hobbit. As he is the first to admit, he's not an obvious choice – 'Look at the size of me for Christ's sake!' If he got the part, he would, he says, find it almost impossible to refuse – despite the fact that it would involve him spending several months in New Zealand.

I love Goode, so I'd be happy to see him in pretty much anything, and I'd definitely include The Hobbit in that. Is he the right shape? Well, not yet but Weta really are magicians.

The interview is likely to have taken place sometime in the last two or three weeks but that's not really enough information to suss out when the Bilbo auditions began. It's good to know, however, that they have at least started, and I think particularly interesting that Guillermo del Toro and co. would look at a 6'2" actor for their diminutive lead role.