Richard Armitage - Richard Armitage Feared His Height Would Cost Him The Hobbit Role 07 December 2012 (CONTACT MUSIC)

Lanky British actor Richard Armitage refused to unpack his bags for three weeks after flying out to New Zealand to play a dwarf in The Hobbit - because he was convinced Peter Jackson would fire him once the director realised how tall he was.

The filmmaker cast Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, the king of the dwarves in Middle Earth, but the 41 year old, who stands tall at six foot, two inches (1.88 metres), was sure he would be promptly dismissed from the franchise and sent back to England at the start of the 18-month shoot.

He tells America's Today show, "I thought I might be going on a plane home. I just figured that being six foot, two (inches) and taking on The Hobbit in that (dwarf) character (I would be released from the cast)."

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