Bilbo star Freeman 'never a Hobbit fan'

Martin Freeman was never a fan of 'The Hobbit'.

The 41-year-old actor - who stars as Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's new trilogy 'The Hobbit' - admitted he never read JRR Tolkien's prequel or 'Lord of the Rings' series until he got the role but is now hooked.

He said: "I hadn't read any of the books actually. I got familiar with Middle Earth through Peter Jackson's films. Now I can see why people love that world so much."

Martin also loved spending a year and a half in New Zealand filming the movie.

He said: "It was lovely to have the time to get to know people properly. I'm a homebody so I like putting a DVD on and having a beer.

"Ian McKellen kind of was the social scene…Nights round Gandalf's house; there was a lot of that."

Martin had to wear prosthetic feet in order to look like a hobbit and revealed he found them quite painful.

He added to PEOPLE magazine: "The foot prosthetic comes halfway up your thigh, sort of like stockings. If you've got hairy legs then it's agony. So you have to powder your legs first."