One of the little extras on The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition is a clip of Benedict Cumberbatch’s original audition tape for The Hobbit.

In the clip, Cumberbatch reveals that two audition versions were shot — one showing his face, and one directed at the floor. He was especially keen to get some movement into his audition.

I’d imagined it’d be motion capture, there might be a bit of movement [in the role].

So I did a few head movements and serpentine stuff with my neck and got my shoulders working a bit. And Dan went very quiet, and I asked ‘Too much?’ and he went, ‘No, it was fine. I wasn’t expecting… it was good’.

But it seems only the latter was sent to Jackson and Boyen, who then cast Cumberbatch purely on his vocal strengths.

If you’re still trying to decide on the EE version for you, check out our Extended Edition Buyer’s Guide.

Related