Peter Jackson has found his replacement for Fili, one of the dozen dwarf characters in The Hobbit who was initially to be portrayed by Brit actor Rob Kazinsky before an injury meant he had to fly home and drop out of the two year shoot in New Zealand. Kiwi born actor Dean O'Gorman (you won't have heard of him, so head over to IMDB) has quickly been cast in the role. Additionally, Pushing Daises American actor Lee Pace has been cast as the Elven King Thranduil, the father of Orlando Bloom's Legolas, a part that looked like it was going to go to David Tennant late last year but Jackson interestingly says in the announcement - "Lee has always been our first choice for Thranduil". Jackson's full statement below;
Casting these Tolkien stories is very difficult, especially the Elven characters, and. Hes going to be great. We loved his performance in a movie called The Fall a few years ago, and have been hoping to work with him since. When we were first discussing who would be right for Thranduil, Lee came into mind almost immediately.
The Hobbit Part 1 is due for release December 2012.