Tolkien superfan Stephen Colbert to celebrate 'Hobbit Week'

By Meredith Blake

Nov. 30, 2012 12 AM PT

When you’re a “Lord of the Rings” superfan, it pays to have your own talk show. On Monday “The Colbert Report” will kick off “Hobbit Week,” with guest appearances from the cast and crew of the upcoming “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” -- Sir Ian McKellan, Martin Freeman, Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis.

It’s bound to be an exciting time for Colbert, who’s made no secret of his obsession with the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and is also rumored to make a cameo in the film. Indeed, the host is such a fanatic that he handily beat “Lord of the Rings” screenwriter Phillipa Boyens in a head-to-head trivia competition, a feat he boasted about during a recent visit to “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

Even Jackson claims he has “never met a bigger Tolkien geek” than Colbert, which is saying something given just how many Tolkien geeks the director has surely met over the years.

And while the fictional blowhard he plays on “The Colbert Report” isn’t quite as passionate about all things Midddle-Earth-related, the real-life Colbert’s love often shines through, as in this interview with fellow nerd James Franco or this critique of John McCain’s faulty “Lord of the Rings” analogy.

Something tells us Colbert may have a hard time staying in character next week.

ALSO:

‘The Hobbit’: Meet the company of dwarves

Stephen Colbert bashes Fox News’ ‘War on Men’ article

“Hobbit”: Peter Jackson talks Smaug cameo, creature design

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