For Richard Armitage, who plays Thorin in Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of Tolkien’s tale, inspiration for the character came from the story of a different tragic king by another famous English writer — William Shakespeare.
“I was in a production of ‘Macbeth,’” Armitage said. “So I went back to all my notes about ‘Macbeth,’ because I just felt there was something about that character unwinding that was relevant to Thorin unwinding in this story.”
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“I never considered that I would be old enough or experienced enough to take on a role like Thorin,” Armitage said. “Then I met Peter and Fran [Walsh] and Philippa [Boyens], and I really did enjoy the scene they’d written for the casting. I felt that it encompassed a lot of Thorin’s characteristics, and I was interested in what they were going to do with the character.”