Voice of the Hobbit
Mar. 4th, 2026 05:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
setsuledI just finished listening to Nicol Williamson's 1974 reading of The Hobbit again. Williamson is now best known for playing Merlin in John Boorman's Excalibur but at one time he was well known for playing Hamlet. If you see him in multiple roles, you'll be impressed by what a chameleon he was, able to change his voice and accent and come off naturally. He uses this talent for his Hobbit audiobook to provide distinct voices for all the various characters. I find I quickly forget that Gandalf and Bilbo are voiced by the same guy.
Certainly it's a better experience than any of the film adaptations of the story, though I think the Peter Jackson films had some good qualities. I liked Howard Shore's work on them, particularly the dwarves singing.
