Peter Jackson explains 'Hobbit' casting

Peter Jackson has defended his choice to cast Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Tolkien fans were surprised at the confirmation of English actor Armitage as the dwarf leader, as the character is most often depicted as a gruff, coarse, bearded warrior.

Jackson said that the decision to cast Armitage in the role followed the same principles as the choice to have Viggo Mortensen and Orlando Bloom portray key roles in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy.

The director explained: "Thorin Oakenshield is a tough, heroic character, and he certainly should give Leggie and Aragorn a run for their money in the heartthrob stakes - despite being four feet tall.

"In Middle-earth, dwarves are a noble race and have a culture and physical appearance which sets them apart from humans. It’s fun to develop these different cultures for the movie, and we are doing much more with dwarves this time around than we did with Gimli in Lord Of The Rings."

He added: "Richard is a powerful actor with a wide range, and we’re very excited to be handing Thorn over to him."