Tauriel

Template:Tolkienchar Tauriel is a fictional character from Peter Jackson's feature film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. The character does not appear in the original book, but was created by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh for the film series, the first part of which is planned for release in 2012. She is a Woodland Elf whose name means "Daughter of Mirkwood", and is the head of the Mirkwood Elven guard. She is played by actress Evangeline Lilly.

Conception and casting

In 1937 J. R. R. Tolkien published the fantasy novel The Hobbit, whose plot centers on a group consisting of the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves who go in search of a treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug. During the course of their travels, they enter the black forest of Mirkwood, where they find themselves in the dungeons of the Silvan Elves. During the climactic Battle of Five Armies at the end of the story, the dwarves, men and elves band together to fight an army of goblins and wargs.

Although the character Tauriel does not appear in this story, she was created to be the head of the Elven guard by Peter Jackson and his wife and producing partner Fran Walsh for their multi-film adaptation. A Woodland Elf, her name means "Daughter of Mirkwood".

Actress Evangeline Lilly, known for her portrayal of Kate Austen in the ABC drama Lost, was cast in the role. Lilly, who had been a fan of Tolkien's books since she was 13, expressed some trepidation at the reaction of Tolkien purists to a character that does not appear in Tolkien's written works, but stated that creating the character for the adaptation was justified: "I believe she is authentic, because Tolkien refers to The Woodland Elves, he just doesn’t talk about who they are specifically… [Peter and Fran] know that world so well. They’re not going to create a character that is not true to Tolkien’s world."

As head of the Elven guard, she is proficient in a variety of weapons, but mainly wields a bow and two daggers, weapons that are also used by the character Legolas, who appeared in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and who also appears in The Hobbit films, though the two are not romantically linked. In addition to employing a stunt coach for action scenes, Lilly also employed a language coach in order to effect the Elvish language. In September 2011 Lilly began filming in New Zealand, which is expected to last between five months and a year. Lilly stated that she enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the set, and the familiar experience of filming with a male-dominated cast, which was reminiscent of her work on Lost and The Hurt Locker, but noted that the experience of having had her first child in May 2011 made aspects of filming the fighting scenes more strenuous than expected, commenting, "Recovering from labor is like recovering from a full-body injury, and I didn't realize to what extent that was true until I started training for elf fighting. My hips don't move like they used to move, my back doesn't move like it used to move, my shoulders are sore every day. But it's fun."

Appearances

The character will appear only briefly in the first film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which will be released in 2012. Prior to the decision to have three films instead of two, Tauriel was described as having a more substantial role in what was then the second and final film, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, which had been planned for release in 2013.

External links

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• "Dish Of Salt: Evangeline Lilly Dishes On Filming ‘The Hobbit’". (Video of Evangeline Lilly speaking Elvish) Access Hollywood. October 2011