Lee Pace Talks The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five ArmiesPosted by Wilson Morales
December 19, 2014
Coming out this week is Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” the third in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The massive cast includes Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Martin Freeman, Stephen Fry, Jed Brophy, Christopher Lee, Orlando Bloom, Billy Connolly, James Nesbitt, Ian Holm, Hugo Weaving, Ken Stott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Graham McTavish, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly, Richard Armitage, John Bell, Adam Brown, John Callen, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Dean O’Gorman, Mikael Persbrandt, Aidan Turner, Manu Bennett, and Lawrence Makoare.
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world. Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery wrath down upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town.
Obsessed above all else with his reclaimed treasure, Thorin sacrifices friendship and honor to hoard it as Bilbo’s frantic attempts to make him see reason drive the Hobbit towards a desperate and dangerous choice. But there are even greater dangers ahead. Unseen by any but the Wizard Gandalf, the great enemy Sauron has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain.
As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide to unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends in the epic Battle of the Five Armies, as the future of Middle-earth hangs in the balance.
For Lee Pace, who plays Thranduil, the Elven king, it’s been a fabulous ride these few years as the Oklahoma native bonded and worked with the some of the best talent in the business from Peter Jackson, Ian McKellen and Martin Freeman. Not only that, but he also played a key part in this year’s biggest film, Guardians of the Galaxy. When he’s not on the big screen, he can be seen playing Joe MacMillan on AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire, which got renewed for a second season.
In speaking with Blackfilm.com, Pace talks about his character and work with this group of talent over the last few years.
How’s the journey been for the last few years now that the trilogy is completed?
Lee Pace: The movie is the final piece to what I believe is a real achievement that Peter has made and I feel really lucky to have been a part of it. There will be a time when I be sad about getting to go back to middle Earth and play this extraordinary character; and look at Ian McKellen playing Gandalf the Grey, Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield. That will be sad that that’s not going to happen again; but right now, it’s a moment of celebration. I’m just so proud of the movie we made. It’s been a lot of work.
Having worked with Peter Jackson on the three films, what did you learn as an actor?
LP: These projects are so collaborative. There are so many different elements that come together to make them. Peter Jackson obviously guides it his singular vision. You have so many special effects, WETA workshops. You have costumes, you have the hair, and you have the other actors. You have Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh and their incredible style and storytelling. All these things come together to make the movie. I guess you learn what a small piece you are in the whole thing and how collaborative it really is and the important quality of enjoying yourself and having a good time with it. You’re allowing yourself to be inspired and inspire other people to enjoy the character and enjoy the story. Peter is a fan of these books. He’s a fan of these movies. We’re all inspired to do the same thing.
For anyone who hasn’t read the books, where is Thranduil at this point of the film?
LP: The character is the Elven king and he’s in isolation. He’s very, very old. He’s thousands of years old. He’s fought in great battles and he’s fought dragons and survived. Now he doesn’t want to fight anymore, but this incredible event happens at the end of the second movie, where the dwarves wake up the dragon. The dragon destroys Lake-town and is killed by Bard. Once the dragon is killed, there’s this incredible treasure that is left unguarded and among that treasure are heirlooms of the Elvin household that Thranduil wants to get back. So he brings in his army, which is one of the forces of Middle Earth and he marches upon the Mountain to take back what is his.
I understand that you kept the sword as a souvenir?
LP: Yes. Just case any Orks make it up to New York City.
As many projects that you have worked on, what made this sword special?
LP: The design of the sword is beautiful. That makes it special. It’s a real work of art. It’s an incredible moment of this time I spent in New Zealand. The people I met and the extraordinary that we were in is a nice memory.
What was it like working on this film?
LP: The memories I have are of walking on the set and there are the dwarves sitting at the table, and there’s another table full of Orks and you squeeze in with the Dwarves and there’s Billy Connolly telling the most incredible stories. Then Evangeline Lilly would come in dressed as Tauriel with Ian McKellen dressed as Gandalf and Martin would have his feet off and you’re just there telling stories about things you learned about Tolkien. Richard Armitage did so much research on it. It’s inspiring to work with actors like this.
Between The Twilight film, Guardians of the Galaxy, and this film, is there a film where your hair won’t be worked on?
LP: With Guardians, I didn’t have any hair in there.
How long did it take for you to get into makeup for this film?
LP: Not long. It was about an hour an a half to get the ears on and the makeup and nails on. We would listen to music throughout the process and it was a nice way to start the day. When it was done, I would look in the mirror and see that I was no longer myself. I was this Elven king.
How exciting is it to have an amazing year with this film, Guardians of the Galaxy and the TV series?
LP: I’m an actor and so I depend on being cast and I’ve been so fortunate this year that I’ve been able to be cast in some truly interesting projects. I really looking forward to the second season of “Halt and Catch Fire.” It couldn’t be more different than working on Guardians of the Galaxy or The Hobbit. It’s like acting with a mask on. “Halt and Catch Fire” is all about taking the mask off and being honest as myself as I can and really connecting with this character in the most truthful way I possibly can. I opened up my heart to the character and to the audience and understand what Joe is going through and understand his ambition, complexity, his flaws and tell the most honest story I can. It’s very different. It’s a different way in to the character and I love that.
What do you do on your spare time when you don’t have to be on a set?
LP: I’ve been working a lot lately but I love being outside. I hike a lot. I have a farm upstate where there’s always chores to do. I like to be in nature.
