Tuesday, November 1, 2011

'Hobbit' Cast Is A 'Little Family,' Luke Evans Says

The last time we caught up with "Hobbit" actor Luke Evans — who is playing dragon slayer Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson's two-part big-screen adaptation of the J. R. R. Tolkien classic — he had yet to descend on New Zealand and Jackson's Middle-earth, but he was excited to dig into his meaty new role. Now, almost three months later, Evans has finally begun work on the highly anticipated film, and when MTV News sat down with him as he promoted the upcoming sword-and-sandals flick "Immortals," he revealed he's become much better acquainted with a bow and arrow and that there's a lot of warm-fuzzy bonding happening between the cast and crew. "It's been fantastic, the training before we started shooting 'The Hobbit,' " Evans said when we asked how his archery skills were progressing. "I'm fully into it now, and it's great. I'm having a fantastic time. Living in New Zealand, it's like a different world — it is a different world. It's very, very cool." When asked if there might be any particularly cool scenes or scene partners he's been working with he could tease or talk about, Evans admitted that he's barely scratched the surface of what is scripted for his role. "The thing is, I've done about 10 percent of what I'm going to be doing, shoot-wise, so I can't really say, but the cast are fantastic. We're so far away from home. We have a little family," he said. "Peter [Jackson] and the team create a very warm atmosphere on set and off set. We all socialize, it's really special. I just feel very lucky to be a part of it." Does that off-set bonding include group activities like "Hobbit" game nights? "No!" Evans laughed. Check out everything we've got on "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey." For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com. Luke Evans Photo: Michael Buckner/ Getty Images