The search for Bilbo begins this week!
A lead actor for The Hobbit is what Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro want for Christmas!
Finally, casting will begin on The Hobbit this week, claims Peter Jackson to The Hollywood Reporter. Every role is up for grabs and will be auditioned, in what is being described as a "wide net search" with casting bases in L.A. and London. So the search for Bilbo is officially set to begin. Martin Freeman - don't book any holidays for next Summer just yet. 
A journey too far for Freeman? Could this likeable but very un-Hollywood like British actor really win such a big role like this? Of course it's not strictly true that every role is up for grabs because the part of Gandalf is already filled by a returning Ian McKellen. And I'm willing to bet that Andy Serkis (motion capturing Gollum) and Del Toro favourite Doug Jones (?) are also on board, and previous LOTR vets such as Viggo Mortensen and Hugo Weaving might well be approached. What weve done over the years is discover a lot of interesting actors, like Orlando Bloom (in 'Rings'), Kate Winslet (in 'Heavenly Creatures'), Saoirse Ronan (in 'The Lovely Bones'). So if you start looking and auditioning seriously, its amazing what incredible talent youll find out there.(These movies) have never been a star-driven vehicle. The star is (author J.R.R.) Tolkien and the world he created. We are not under any pressure. We want to find the right people. Casting someone to portray a hobbit is not as easy as you might imagine. They have to have a particular type of physical appearance and a sensibility. And the same with an elf or a dwarf. These are fantastical characters, but youve got to find the right people to play them, the right humans to translate these characters.
Ian McKellen was Oscar nominated for playing Gandalf in 2001. My guess is the casting for The Hobbit will mirror closely that of the previous LOTR franchise. Jackson will go for the right people for the right parts, strictly casting actors not names. So there will be a few stars in there, a few recognisable and always appreciated character actors and some who we have never seen before. Shooting is scheduled for next Summer and a final script is expected from the LOTR writing team to be handed in to Warner Bros. and MGM this Christmas. Once the greenlight is given, we should begin to hear some official casting news (I would imagine we will be bombarded with speculation this month now this has been announced). The Hobbit Part I is due out Christmas 2011, with the second part following a year later.