Have hobbits shrunk?

Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Hobbits seem to have shrunk in size according to the local casting call sent out by agencies for extras for Amazon's $1.5 billion series based on The Lord of the Rings.

Both Talento and BGT Talent are seeking small people, 4' 6" to 4' 11", presumably to fill hobbit and dwarf roles, and, perhaps since they are being shrunk from the big screen to the telly, the height requirement has shrunk to under five feet tall.

For the movie trilogy, star Dean O'Gorman had the help of movie magic to shrink his 5' 8" frame. Frodo Baggins himself, Elijah Wood is 5' 6" in real life, but Sir Peter Jackson magically made him 3' 6" in filming his search for the ring.

Dean O'Gorman as Fili

The casting call for the small has been made as pre-production in Auckland gets under way.

Taller Kiwis will also get a look-in, with those over 6' 5" also in demand. Lean, tall, androgynous looks are part of the search, as are those with beautiful, fair, fine-boned faces.

Talento is also looking for "character" faces, earthy, weathered, dark skin tones, missing teeth and wonderful noses, whereas BDM has extended the character faces to people with lots of wrinkles.

They are also seeking Eurasian, Hispanic, Latino, Mexican and South American looks. And if you have red hair, get yourself an agent. BDM is also looking for redheads of all ages, shapes and sizes.

They are also looking for those who can dance, juggle and stilt-walk.

As for the main stars of the Amazon series, strong rumours are that the English star of Maze Runner and Bandersnatch, Will Poulter, and the Aussie star of The Cry, Markella Kavenagh, have been cast in two of the show's lead roles.