Martin Freeman was desperate to "go dark" in ‘The Hobbit’ movie series.
The 43-year-old actor portrays Bilbo Baggins in the film franchise and is pleased his character has gone through so many different experiences as he worried being a "cute Hobbit" would bore audiences quickly.
He said: "Bilbo goes through an awful lot of changes, a lot of light and shade.
"I wanted to know early on, when do I break through the ingénue thing? When do I break through the Stan Laurel, wide-eyed ‘What’s going on?’ thing.
"I knew that wouldn’t be very interesting, to be a cute Hobbit all the time.
"I was always chomping at the bit, ‘When can he go dark?’ That’s my natural inclination, to just root around in the dirt."
While the movies are based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s best-selling book, there are some differences and Martin is delighted with the tale told in third instalment, ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’.
He added to SFX magazine: "It’s ever so good. Anyone that’s read the book knows what’s in the story.
"But there will be bits that are not exactly the same as Professor Tolkein, as there have been with all the films. The screenplay is my bible as opposed to the novel."
Martin Freeman wanted dark Bilbo role
