First Look at ‘Hobbit’ Dwarf Thorin (Who’s Also a Nazi Agent in ‘Captain America’)

Meet Peter Jackson’s latest dwarf, Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the dwarf band that meets up with Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming ‘Hobbit’ films.

He’s played by Richard Armitage, who’s channeling his fiercest Highlander-meets-Klingon look in a just-released photo posted to TheOneRing.net.

When he was cast, Jackson said of Armitage, “He is one of the most exciting and dynamic actors working on screen today and we know he is going to make an amazing Thorin Oakenshield. We feel very lucky that one of the most beloved characters in Middle-earth is in such good hands.”

The British actor also plays Nazi agent Heinz Kruger in ‘Captain America: The First Avenger,’ which opens July 22.

See the full ‘Hobbit’ image, one from ‘Captain America,’ as well as Armitage as Guy of Gisborne in BBC’s ‘Robin Hood’ after the jump.
If he looks familiar, even in that nifty Hobbit get-up, you must watch British TV: He starred in ‘MI-5,’ BBC’s ‘Robin Hood’ and the Sky 1 war series ‘Strike Back’ with ‘The Walking Dead’s Andrew Lincoln, which will debut in the US on HBO later this year.

As for ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,’ it hits theaters in December 2012. To quote Wikipedia: “Thorin is described as being very haughty, stern, and officious… with a very long beard. He is a capable and a cunning warrior, if not a particularly inspiring or clever leader.”

Armitage, as Heinz Kruger, tussles with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) in ‘Captain America.’

Armitage as Guy of Gisborne in BBC’s ‘Robin Hood.’

Armitage at the press conference for ‘The Hobbit,’ at the Park Road Post Production Centre on February 11, 2011 in Wellington, New Zealand.