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'HOBBIT PICS': BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH MOTION-CAPTURES SMAUG

benedict cumberbatch as smaug motion capture scream the hobbit.
benedict cumberbatch as smaug motion capture scream the hobbit.

Benedict 'Dragon Face' Cumberbatch. Credit: Roadshow Films/Flickr/Tolkienerd

Amazing behind-the-scenes pictures from ‘The Hobbit’ have landed online, showing ‘Fifth Estate’ star Benedict Cumberbatch giving it his all as he motion-capture acts evil dragon Smaug.

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The incredible images were taken from a new making-of featurette, included in the ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ extended edition DVD, and uploaded to Flickr by user Tolkienerd (we guess they’re a bit of a fan).

As you can see, Benedict is REALLY going for it.

benedict (enthusiastically) captures smaug (photo).
benedict (enthusiastically) captures smaug (photo).

Benedict (enthusiastically) captures Smaug. Credit: Roadshow Films/Flickr/Tolkienerd

The 37-year-old ‘Sherlock’ actor apparently surprised director Peter Jackson when he first insisted on donning the mo-cap suit to “inhabit” Smaug.

"I know what you’re going to say: I’m a biped mammal,” Benedict recalled telling the filmmaker, in an interview with the Radio Times.

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"I’m not a serpent with tiny claws or legs. I don’t have a tail, I can’t breathe fire or fly, and the rest of the things that aren’t dragonlike about me. But I do think in my imagination I’ve got something which might at least push the WETA animation into a direction."

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"He went, 'Come down and play.'"

So he did.

RELATED: Watch Benedict as Smaug in the trailer for 'The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug'

The second leg of the journey, ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug’, is out locally on December 26, 2013.