Lord Of The Rings: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Hobbits

Ian Holm portrayed Bilbo Baggins masterfully in the Lord of the Rings. He brought the character to life by perfectly capturing Bilbo's eccentric, humorous and somewhat aloof nature. But Peter Jackson didn't just cast Ian Holm for his acting chops alone.

Back in 1981 the BBC produced a 13 episode, radio adaption of Tolkien's story, released in 26 instalments. For anyone who hasn't listened to it, it's a masterful handling of Tolkien's tale, and equally as enjoyable as the films. Included in the cast was a very young Bill Nighy, who played Sam, and Ian Holm who played Frodo.

Peter Jackson was a huge fan of this version; he even hired the original writer Brian Sibley, to act as advisor during the making of the films. He also cast Ian Holm as Bilbo, as a homage to his previous role as Frodo.

Jackson felt this version was so important to his movies that he gave every member of the cast a copy of the recordings, to listen to on their flight to New Zealand.