Martin Freeman has acted professionally.
Martin John Christopher Freeman ( born 8 September 1971 ) is an English actor , who became known for portraying Tim Canterbury in the original UK version of sitcom mockumentary The Office , Dr. John Watson in the British crime drama Sherlock , Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson 's The Hobbit film trilogy , and Lester Nygaard in the dark comedy-crime drama TV series Fargo . His other notable film roles include the romantic comedy Love Actually ( 2003 ) , the comic science fiction film The Hitchhiker 's Guide to the Galaxy ( 2005 ) , the semi-improvised comedy Nativity ! ( 2009 ) , and the comedic Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy , most prominently in the sci-fi comedy The World 's End ( 2013 ) . Among other accolades , he has won an Emmy Award , BAFTA Award and an Empire Award , with nominations including two other Emmy Awards , two other BAFTA Awards , a Saturn Award , and a Golden Globe Award .