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While you might mistake him for Gandalf, wispy white-haired comedian Billy Connolly has in fact landed the role of Dain Ironfoot, a dwarf warrior, in Peter Jackson’s latest film. The Glaswegian will star alongside Martin Freeman, Stephen Fry and Cate Blanchett on the lush New Zealand set of the Lord of the Rings prequels.

It’s not the first time Billy Connolly has filmed in New Zealand. He visited it in 2004 when he made a tour of the country, driving from Stewart Island in the south to Ninety Mile Beach in the north.

Here are our favourite Hobbit-inspired images of New Zealand:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released in December. A second film, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, will follow in December 2013.

(Images: alexindigo; maticulous; jopetsy; on_earth)

About the author

Oonagh ShielContent Manager at Cheapflights whose travel life can be best summed up as BC (before children) and PC (post children). We only travel during the school holidays so short-haul trips and staycations are our specialities!

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