Radcliffe: 'I will not play Bilbo'

Daniel Radcliffe has insisted that he has no interest in playing the lead character in The Hobbit.

The 20-year-old Harry Potter star was rumoured - along with James McAvoy and David Tennant - to be in consideration for the role of Bilbo Baggins in Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien novel.

However, Tennant denied that filmmakers had even approached him about portraying the titular character and Radcliffe has now echoed his sentiment.

"I'd have to say, 'Thanks but no thanks', not that anyone has asked me," he told the Los Angeles Times. "Honestly, I don't think they would want me anyway; it's just too close. Whatever I do next, I don't think there will be any wizards in it!"

He added: "James McAvoy is fantastic. I think he should play it. I've done the fantasy film thing. Actually, so has he, with the Chronicles of Narnia, of course. But I've done it for longer. He can take over. I'm done."

Peter Jackson was previously reported to have said that the project is not yet greenlit by the studio and the script is not yet completed.