The Hobbit: Martin Freeman interview - 'without me there'd be no Hobbit' But because Tolkien's 1937 book The Hobbit is a slim, gentle fantasy conceived for children, Jackson and his team fleshed it out with more action, battles and violence to give it a wider appeal and to stretch the story over three movies. They relied heavily on Tolkien's 125 pages of footnotes and appendices to The Lord of the Rings, which were published nearly two decades after The Hobbit and are known mostly to a small circle of fantasy-fiction fans. From the start, Martin Freeman was the only actor Jackson wanted to portray Bilbo Baggins, the home-loving Hobbit who is persuaded by Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) to join him and a band of 13 dwarfs on an epic journey to reclaim the lost kingdom of Erindor from Smaug, the fearsome dragon. Jackson contacted Freeman three years ago and the actor agreed to sign on for the trilogy. But then things started to go wrong. The start date was delayed because MGM, the studio financing the project, ran into financial problems. Guillermo del Toro, who was initially supposed to direct it with Jackson producing, grew impatient and, after two years of pre-production work, left the project. So Jackson took over, decided not to go with most of del Toro's designs and ideas, and started again from scratch. In the meantime Freeman had landed the role of Dr Watson in the Sherlock television series. Then, by the time the financing was in place and Jackson was ready to start shooting, Freeman was committed to a second series of Sherlock. "At first it was all on, then it was off, then it was on again, but because it was going to clash with shooting Sherlock it was off again and it was hugely disappointing," says the actor. Jackson recalls: "When he wasn't available I really panicked." Freeman was rehearsing a play in London when his agent called to tell him Jackson had talked to Warner Bros, the co-financiers, rearranged the schedule and would give him time off to return to the UK to shoot Sherlock. So, with Martin temporarily available, Jackson shot for five months and then took the practically unheard-of step of shutting down production for two months to allow his star to return to the UK for Sherlock. "It was a very rare thing to do, but I was very glad we did because without Martin there'd have been no Hobbit," says Jackson. "Peter moved heaven and earth for me so when I got to New Zealand to begin filming I felt very welcome and loved," says Freeman. It was huge compliment to me, but I think there are plenty of other actors who could have given Bilbo a go - I'm not the only one. We are talking in New York during Jackson and his leading actors" brief stop on their world tour of promotional appearances. They have just been in Japan and are on their way to London for the UK premiere on Wednesday. There is something Hobbit-like about 41-year-old Martin Freeman: short in stature, mild-mannered and with a slightly worried look. Born in Aldershot, Hampshire, he lives with the actress Amanda Abbington and their two children. He has been working steadily since leaving the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. After guest appearances in television shows such as The Bill he made his feature film debut in 2000"s The Lowdown and then appeared in Ali G Indahouse. The same year he landed the role of the likeable Tim in The Office. "I owe The Office a lot because in Britain that was my main calling card for a long time," he says. It was a show I'm very proud of and is to my taste as both a viewer and an actor. Movie roles followed, notably in Love Actually and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and he starred in the ITV mini-series Boy Meets Girl. Then Peter Jackson saw him in The Office and came calling. He knows his life will change dramatically when The Hobbit is released and he becomes the focus of fans" attentions, but he tries to be philosophical about it. "Until it actually happens it's all an intellectual exercise," he says. What if everyone hates it? I try not to count my chickens but yes, it's clearly a bigger film than I've ever made. People are so enthusiastic about this story that if I thought about them hating it or hating my rendition of it I wouldn't be able to go to work. The Hobbit is released nationwide on Thursday December 13