The Hobbit (film series) as saying, "Despite the various rumours and speculation surrounding this role, there has only ever been one Bilbo Baggins for us. There are a few times in your career when you come across an actor who you know was born to play a role, but that was the case as soon as I met Martin Freeman. He is intelligent, funny, surprising and brave—exactly like Bilbo and I feel incredibly proud to be able to announce that he is our Hobbit." Later in October, it was revealed that several other cast members had joined the project, including Richard Armitage as Thorin
Bilbo Baggins oldest Hobbit ever in Middle-earth. (The natural lifespan of Hobbits is about 100 years.) According to Appendix C of "The Lord of the Rings", Bilbo was born to Bungo Baggins and Belladonna Took in , or S.R. 1290. "The Lord of the Rings" gives the date of Bilbo's birthday as 22 September, but the actual date in the Shire calendar was Halimath 22; Tolkien tells us in Appendix D that he "used our modern names" for the months "to avoid confusion, while the seasonal implications of our names are more or less the same", so that Halimath is translated as