Aidan Turner - Blog Posts

Another Kili drawing???? YES

I can never get this man’s side profile right 😭 it’s a curse

Anyways take this quick Kíli doodle

Matt Smith (Prop Designer): 

“A Dwarven pipe was one of the first things I got to draw on The Hobbit and I was imagining what it might be made out of. When it came back from being made it was stunning: beautifully crafted out of carved walnut wood with ivory and silver. I suppose I thought it would be carved in polystyrene or something, so my expectations were blown.”

Alex Falkner (Weta Workshop Props Model Making Supervisor):

“Counting all the various doubles, we made something like 500 weapons for Thorin and his companions, far more than we made for all the hero characters of The Lord of the Rings a decade earlier…”

Emily-Jane Sturrock (Armour and Weapons Lead Stand-by):

"With Dwalin’s axes, for example, we had heavy versions for hitting with; mid-weight versions that gave an adequate sense of heft for an actor to hold in a scene, but which you wouldn’t want to carry for a long time; a flexible, lightweight pair to be worn on the back for stunt work; and a lightweight pair for the actor to wear on his back or run with in his hands. Graham McTavish could tell the difference between them instantly.”

Graham McTavish:

“I remember when we had our initial discussions with the Weta Workshop design team about dreaming up weapons for our characters to carry. It was marvellous in that abstract context and you found yourself thinking, ‘Oh, I want this gigantic thing that can crush people!’ Of course, a few weeks later when you’re shooting the eighth take of scene 88 the ideal weapon you want to be running with is a pen knife and you can’t help wondering, 'Who was the genius that suggested I carry a giant hammer?’”

Richard Armitage:

“Thorin had a royal Dwarf sword that represented his birth-right and past, the past in which he began the journey to re-claim Erebor. It was called Deathless in reference to Durin the Deathless, father of the line of Durin to which Thorin is heir.”

Aidan Turner:

“Thorin can wield a bow as well, but Kili seemed to have cornered the archery angle for most of the films as far as the Dwarves were concerned. Rumour around Middle-earth has it that he’s a better shot than that Legolas guy or Bard what’s-his-name.”

Dean O'Gorman:

“Fili unloads a lot of gear to Bilbo when we first arrive in Bag End. It’s quite funny because he’s a walking armoury, but in reality he’s more of a specialist. He might have his other blades as some kind of back-up, but his main weapons are his paired Dwarven swords and it’s them that he relies upon. Fili is a swordsman.”

Stephen Hunter:

“I  got to learn that my character wasn’t about these high-tech weapons. Like all the boys in his family, Bombur is more of a scrapper and that shifted my understanding of the character. This Dwarf isn’t a trained fighter like perhaps Fili or Kili might be. He hasn’t had the kind of life experiences of someone like Nori and he hasn’t been to war like Thorin or Balin and Dwalin. He is a working guy. He has a ladle and a pot, which can be effective weapons when push comes to shove, but they’re tools. […] I think Bombur considers himself a bit of a weapon. He’s not fussy. He picks up a few things along the way.”

William Kircher:

“Even in our fight training I said to myself, I’m just going to go crazy and keep punching and stabing until someone pulls me off. That’s Bifur–when he gets into it he loses himself completely. He’s fearless and relentless.

Contrasting that, he’s also a craftsman of astonishing skill. He makes toys that are intricate and beautiful. I love that.”

Peter Hambleton:

“Gloin carries a set of axes that anyone who has watched The Lord of the Rings and paid attention will recognize as Gimli’s. It’s another of the many links between the trilogies that we have established and it makes perfect sense for the character, given how much family means to Gloin and to the Dwarves.”

John Callen:

“I forget where the idea came from originally, but the suggestion of a fighting stick seemed to be a good one to me. Putting a leather strap on it meant I could lean on it or rest it on the ground and hang on to the strap. It could be used for ligting, carrying or whacking. It turned out to be a wonderful weapon.”

Adam Brown:

“We looked at the World War Two new recruits and how these young men with fresh faces had no idea about the war they had just signed up for.”

Richard Armitage:

“I rather like that Ori’s slingshot is the kind of weapon that doesn't really look like a weapon. A kid could buy a replica and it’d really just be a good old-fashioned, wholesome pea-shooter.”

Mark Hadlow:

“Speaking to Dori’s eccentricity is his choice of weapon. His signature weapon is absolutely extraordinary. I’m only sad we lost the bolas at the Goblin caves. I loved my bolas!”

Jed Brophy:

“I’m not sure Nori even knows who his father is. His father was probably some travelling Dwarf who came through and stayed the night and left. I’m not sure what that says about Dwarf society. There aren’t as many women, so there aren’t as many opportunities!

I settled on the notion of a fighting staff. It was based on a Maori taiaha, a long wooden weapon with a pointed end and a flat, bludgeoning end. I imagined a weapon like this might actually be a tool that could be used by miners to dig out rock with one end and smash it with the other. If it worked on a rock it’d work just as well on an Orc’s skull.”

  Next pages: Weight, Heat, Safety & Comfort; Barrel Escape Dwarf Costumes

Collective tag link: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Cloaks and Daggers 

1600px versions: Dropbox repository (updated as I post more pages, might take a few days for new pages to show) 

Notes: These photo excerpts are meant to be used by fans as references for the creation of The Hobbit fanwork (cosplay, art, fiction, nonfiction, etc.) Feel free to repost, use, and edit any of these photographs as you wish. Credit back to me is unnecessary. 

If you found these useful, please consider reading through this post by Obscura and making a donation. 

This wonderful book can be purchased at the following links: via RichardArmitageNet Charity Referral with Amazon [US | UK | DE] | via WETA.

Behind the Hobbit:

“ The funny is that everybody gets our names wrong. Everybody gets Fili and Kili wrong. Even Peter will go, “Kili- eh, Fili.” “ -Dean O’Gorman.

The Black Husbands: Headcanons

Rodolphus really didn't want to marry any of his cousins. It wasn't that they were unattractive, it was just that he was determined to find a wife himself. It wasn't against family values to force persuade someone into marriage, but no one was stupid enough to marry their daughters off to the Lestranges, knowing how they treated their women.

He liked to believe he knew what he was getting into when he saw Bellatrix wink at him that day. He liked to believe he was satisfied on their wedding day. He was certain to be content when she got her mark. They were kindred spirits.

They were on the same page, but Bellatrix was a Black through and through. Rodolphus hated to admit it, but Bellatrix outdid him in cruelty. Put him to shame.

He didn't think it was possible, but she became worse. She had been decently fine before, but after Azkaban not so much.

He had no clue what it was, but she was more insane. Not once seeing the curse that the mark ended up being. They could've done it by themselves, with no Dark Lord. No one to boss them around. No mark to expose them and ruin their lives.

They were both stuck, but Bellatrix thrived in being stuck.

Don't let this innocent, sweet face fool you. Ted knew a tad too much about danger and the like. No matter how well he dressed, Andromeda knew a rough boy when she saw one. She could relate to terrible parents, he could relate to pretending.

The countryside was a safe haven for them both. Perhaps a city would've been better, to avoid too many questions, with everyone around them being too busy with themselves to spare them a single glace, but the countryside was quiet. Besides, the location was one that would allow them easy access to all their magical needs.

Their daughter, would want more. Expressive as her clothes. Ted embraced whatever danger was ahead, even if he desperately wanted to run from it.

By far the biggest peacock- The biggest conniving, cold, cat-like man she's ever met.

He was perfect.

She and Lucius were very alike, in both how they presented themselves and their beliefs of course.

The only difference was that Narcissa wasn't supposed to be heard. She was raised to be someone's wife, and she made sure to be a great one. Lucius was so full of himself that he wouldn't be able to pick out his own ideas from her's.

This marriage wasn't out of the ambition of being married, but to outdo everyone in her family. Narcissa was determined to be the best. Lucius was determined to have the perfect family.

Draco wasn't the kind to be disowned. Narcissa wasn't the kind to go insane. Narcissa wasn't the kind to make a terrible spectacle of herself. Lucius knew his wife was cunning, those Slytherin traits of theirs went hand in hand. But then again, there was more mystery to her, he felt like. Perhaps it was a Black family trait, to not expose too much of yourself.