Benedict Cumberbatch Talks about Smaug in THE HOBBIT

Benedict Cumberbatch is on his way to becoming a pretty big star. He's best known for starring in the BBC series Sherlock, but also had a solid role in Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy, played the villain in J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek Into the Darkness, is rumored to play the villain in the next Bond film and also provides the voice of the dragon Smaug in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy.

Smaug is one of my favorite characters in the story, and in a recent interview with Total Film the actor talks about playing the character and his motion capture performance,

You just have to lose your s--t on a carpeted floor, in a place that looks a little bit like a mundane government building. It was just me as well, with four static cameras and all the sensors. Then the boys at Weta work their magic… It’s very freeing, once you put the suit on and the sensors. I’ve never felt less encumbered, actually. And you have to be. You have to be free.

I can only imagine how weird that must be, but like he said, you just have to lose your shit. He then confirms when we'll get our first look at Smaug saying, 

I think my eye will open at the end of the first film, and then you’ll get the rest of me in the second.

Sounds good to me! The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits theaters this year on December 14th, the recently announced The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug hits theaters on December 13th, 2013, and the last film in the series, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, will be released on July 18th, 2014.

I have no doubt that Cumberbatch's performance will shine through the CGI animation just like Andy Serkis' performance does with Gollum. I can't wait to see how this character looks on the big screen!