Benedict Cumberbatch has revealed what it’s like to play Smaug, the much anticipated dragon from (the middle part of) the upcoming HOBBIT trilogy.
As the eponymous SHERLOCK, the villain in STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS and all round sex detective, Cumberbatch’s capital is high. Everyone loves him and everyone wants to work with him, some of us would even like to make sweet, sweeeeeet love to him. But using motion capture to play a part is not something he is used to. Andy Serkis famously portrayed Gollum in the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy to critical acclaim, but how did Cumby feel about it?
‘It’s very freeing, once you put the suit on and the sensors. I’ve never felt less encumbered, actually. And you have to be. You have to be free.’
So how does one play a dragon?
‘You just have to lose your shit on a carpeted floor, in a place that looks a little bit like a mundane government building. It was just me as well, with four static cameras and all the sensors. Then the boys at Weta work their magic.’
We assume that he’s being metaphorical and that Peter Jackson provides his actors with adequate lavatories. Having said that, this has probably inspired some nutter to write a slash-fic about Smaug taking a dump on Frodo.
But will we get to see Cumberbatch losing his shit in the opening installment, AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY?
‘I think my eye will open at the end of the first film, and then you’ll get the rest of me in the second.’
The tale has now been divided into three films, so let’s hope Jackson doesn’t let the story dragon… and on… and on…
That’s funny because Smaug is a dragon.
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY is directed by Peter Jackson and stars Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage. It will open on the 14th of December.
Source: Total Film
