The Hobbit: 6 Mis-Castings That Ruined It (And 4 That Were Perfect)

2. James Nesbitt - Bofur

Nesbitt has it in him to be a good actor - though most likely he should stick to TV work - his double-performance in Jekyll was masterful, and he has an everyman appeal that rides strongly on his cheeky charm and curious mix of self-effacing humour and disarming confidence.

But unfortunately for his take on Bofur, Nesbitt is way too recognisable a figure - particularly since his make-up was a lot less substantial than some of the other dwarves, and that familiarity pulled away from the immersion of the film. It's true that Nesbitt was cast because Bofur was a necessarily more substantial role than the other dwarves (since he actually gets to speak), but his performance was too similar to roles he has played in the past, albeit with more facial hair, and it was extremely distracting, particularly for those who admire his TV work.

The same was arguably true of Sean Bean's take on Boromir, which itself was probably the least convincing performance in LOTR, thanks to the actor's familiarity.