Читать книгу An A-Z of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit - Sarah Oliver - Страница 6

 Name: Bain

 Race: Man of Dale

 Played by: John Bell

 Character description: Bain is the son of Bard the Bowman and becomes king after his father.

The actor chosen to play Bain was 13-year-old John Bell from Paisley in Scotland. He is best known for playing orphan Toby Coleman in the second series of Tracy Beaker Returns (2010) and Angus in the 2011 movie Battleship.

John’s first acting job was in a play in Glasgow when he was seven years old. The thing he finds the most fun about being an actor is getting to travel and meeting new people, but he dislikes being told he’s been unsuccessful after auditioning for a part he really wants to play. John’s favourite book is Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, his favourite TV show is Glee and his favourite band is Iron Maiden. When filming The Hobbit, he had to have a tutor so he didn’t miss out on school. His classmates at home are really supportive and couldn’t wait to see him in the movie.

When John was listed in an official press release as being a member of The Hobbit ensemble cast, fans were a bit confused because they had never heard of him. Hollywood Teen’Zine managed to track John down before anyone else and asked him about the role he would be playing. He said: ‘I have just finished filming a small part in the film Battleship in Louisiana and I am about to start another project that I can’t say anything about just yet. I have been offered a part in The Hobbit … my character is confident and brave and ready to do battle if required, even though he is still a boy. I have read The Hobbit and loved it, and I love Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films, so you can definitely call me a fan.’

They also asked him to reveal a bit about himself and he said: ‘I am 13 years old and have been acting since I was 7. I have been in Doctor Who in the UK and several other British programmes. Shine of Rainbows is my first feature film. I play the trumpet, drums and keyboard. I enjoy snowboarding and cycling and going to the cinema with my friends.’

John got his big break by entering a Blue Peter competition, which gave him the opportunity to act in an episode of Doctor Who alongside David Tennant. The actor he really rates is Jack Nicholson and his favourite film is The Shining – a strange choice for someone his age as it’s a 15-rated horror movie!

Eagle-eyed fan Gaer Carreg was the first to suggest that John would be playing Bain as he had noticed some tweets going from John’s official Twitter to Luke Evans’ official Twitter. John had tweeted on 6 October ‘@Mr_Luke_Evans thanks Da! Happy now! See you soon. X’

Luke (Bard) had replied: ‘@johnbell123 no problem son! See you soon back in NZ.’