TheOneRing.net translated a recent interview with The Hobbit star Martin Freeman, where he spoke about this long-awaited prequel. Here's what he had to say about his schedule for The Hobbit:

"I know my work plan. I start in January, then I'll have a break in the summer so I can shoot the second season of Sherlock, the BBC show where I portray Watson, and then I'll be back in New Zealand in September in order to finish the movie by the end of the year."

Martin Freeman also revealed that he wasn't exactly a fan of the J.R.R. Tolkien books before taking on the role:

"I wasn't a fan of Tolkien before, I am now. A couple of weeks ago, I tried Bilbo's hairy feet on for the first time, and also the ears, although mine are big enough already, and the hair too. Moreover, they made molds out of those parts of my body since I'm going to be using prosthetics for many months. How did I look? Really different... but I'm ready to be Bilbo."

The actor also spoke about when he first learned that he would portray Bilbo Baggins:

"I had run into Peter a few times and in February I sent him a tape with my screen test as Bilbo. Del Toro answered with a really kind comment saying that I had been chosen to play Bilbo, no matter what was being said on the Internet. When Peter took the reins of the film, we spoke during the Soccer World Cup and he told me what was going on with the project."

You can CLICK HERE to read the entire interview.