Industry insiders insist the 29-year-old is in “pole position” to land the prestigious role. During the previous Lord Of The Rings film, Bilbo was played by Ian Holm.

“A number of names have privately been doing the rounds, including Daniel Radcliffe and Jack Black but James is the one the film’s bosses really want,” whispers our movie mole with the furry feet.

“They’re expected to have talks with him soon so hopefully it could be confirmed in the not too distant future.”

Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro remains tight-lipped on the matter but speaking about a recent meeting with producer Peter Jackson, he does admit: “I can tell you it’s down to a few names that we all agree upon. For our first choice, completely magically, we all said the same name.”