15 Things That Almost Completely Changed The Hobbit Trilogy

4. Ian McShane And Rob Kazinsky Were Almost Dwarves

Poor Rob Kazinsky. The English soap actor now joins the short list already featuring Stuart Townsend of actors cast in a Peter Jackson Middle Earth movie who didn't make it to principle photography. Unlike Townsend, who was unceremoniously sacked on the eve of filming, Kazinsky actually pulled out of the role himself. The Pacific Rim star cited personal reasons - later clarified as "health reasons" - for pulling out of the production, and while some might have suggested that was a mistake in career terms, Kazinsky is still set to appear in Warcraft for Duncan Jones next year. Meanwhile, Ian McShane was also in the running to play a dwarf, having been strongly rumoured to play Thorin at one stage. Ultimately it was clarified that McShane might have just been up for one member of the dwarf company, despite the fact that he didn't end up being cast at all.