In a recent interview, Lee Pace, who plays Thranduil in The Hobbit trilogy, spoke about his love of the Tolkien books and playing the elf in the film adaptation.

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In an interview with Yahoo!, Pace revealed that he was always a big fan of the books and not only read them when he was a child.

"I love being a part of Middle Earth," he said. "I read The Hobbit when I was a little kid with my dad. I was 9 or 10, and it was one of the first books that I read. I don't know if you know this but Bilbo Baggins is buried in Chickasha, Oklahoma. That's where I was born and where my father grew up and where his parents lived. There was a cemetery nearby with a tombstone that said "Bilbo." And so my dad told me that's where Bilbo Baggins was laid to rest. [Laughs] Oh god, I'm probably talking about someone's poor granddad... but it was Bilbo. And in high school I have such a distinct memory of reading Lord of the Rings and having a new understanding for nature. There are great songs about the beach and the trees in the woods."

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The actor then added that he never imagined that he would end up playing one of the characters on film.

"I never imagined I would be an elf in the movies," he said.

The third and final chapter of the trilogy, The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies, will release end this year.

The biggest moment of the film will be the epic battle, with the enemy forces led by the dragon Smaug. It was recently revealed that the film will open with the sequence of Smaug wreaking havoc in Lake Town and he will be something of a "killing machine."

Another very interesting highlight witll be the retrun of Sauron. After Sauron made a daunting appearance in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug it is being suggested that the necromancer will return and fight the White Council. But it is also believed that the White Council will most probably defeat him.

The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies will hit theaters on December 18. 

Watch a teaser for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug:

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