Richard Armitage on Thorin and Bilbo in BOTFA
“Thorin’s relationship with Bilbo was key to the character’s evolution in the story. From the beginning the relationship had been unfolding and gaining a kind of warm clarity. Bilbo proved himself to be a useful asset. Once inside the Mountain, Thorin remembered it was Bilbo’s initiative that led to the riddle of the back door being solved, and it was Bilbo who faced the Dragon. Thorin’s disintegrating relationship with his Company infused the intensity of his singular obsession with Bilbo.
Bearing in mind Thorin’s irrational mind, he began to see Bilbo as his sole confidante. Narratively we were driving towards betrayal, and Tolkien’s scene on the battlements in which Thorin attempted to throw Bilbo from the ramparts. We had to ensure the relationship was galvanized. I suspect it was quite one-sided in its intensity – Thorin was deluded at this point and no one really trusted him – yet when Bilbo justified his actions to the Elf King and Gandalf he revealed his true sentiments about Thorin; he defended his king. It was not until the battle when Thorin had emerged from his sickness and seen what he had become that Bilbo witnessed the true warrior-king, his friend, who fought to the last”.
“It was ultimately Bilbo’s journey. The mithril vest which Thorin gave to the hobbit ultimately saved his life, while the Dwarf lost his own. The final scene between them, as Thorin asked for his forgiveness, was always a moment from the book that moved me. I believe Bilbo forgave him long before: ‘He was my friend.’
Originally this reconciliation was to occur in a room away from the battle, but taking it on to the battle field made it feel so much more desperate and immediate. I imagine at the moment of one’s death there are words that must be said. There were mistakes that Thorin made. He had failed but ultimately he had also won. He saw the Orc armies defeated and Azog slain. His kin had fallen, but there was a legacy and a final exchange.
To die at peace required Thorin to right a wrong. I found his speech about hearth and home very moving. It is the one thing that he and Bilbo recognized in each other, for all their differences – the need to go home”.
(Hobbit Chronicles: Art & Design)
