A brief history of celebrities being massive nerds at Hobbiton

Maybe they are just like us after all. Alex Casey looks back at the dorkiest celebrity snaps to ever grace the rolling hills of Hobbiton.

Following her Auckland show last week, Lizzo took a special trip to Hobbiton and set the internet alight with the debut of her Elvish counterpart Lizzolas. Last seen strolling the Shire in a white-blonde wig and playing the Lord of the Rings theme tune on her recorder, the singer joins a proud tradition of big name celebrities who have been lured in by the rolling hills of Hobbiton, soon revealing themselves on social media to be massive dorks just like the rest of us.

I want to preface this ranking by saying that it is really, really hard to go to Hobbiton and not turn into the cringiest, nerdiest version of yourself. When I visited, I had to be restrained from buying a Lord of the Rings beanie and a Gollum plushie, coming home only with a tasteful leaf of Lórien fridge magnet after having a meltdown in the gift shop. I got dressed up at the Green Dragon, I recreated scenes all around the Shire, and it was truly one of the top five days of my life.

The longer I scrolled back through our Hobbiton celebrity history, the clearer it became that basically nobody is immune to Hobbiton’s bucolic charm. In the words of JRR Tolkien, not all those who wander are lost, but all those who go to Hobbiton simply can’t look cool doing so. Here are 10 of our finest celebrity Hobbiton visitors, ranked from least dorky to most dorky visit.

Hobbiton was rocked by an unexpected visitor of a different kind in 2015, when the Doctor Who star dropped by The Shire while in town for his Peter Capaldi: In Conversation event at Auckland’s Civic. By all accounts Capaldi got in the thick of it, posing earnestly outside Bag End with his fingers laced together and his elbow leaning nonchalantly on Bilbo’s mail box. “He seemed to really like it,” Hobbiton’s Shayne Forrest said of Capaldi’s visit at the time. “He was very impressed with the movie set, of the expanse of the set and how much detail there was.”

Everyone’s all World Cup this and World Cup that, but where’s the Hobbiton Movie Set Cricket Cup in the national conversation? In March 2015, with a nearby India vs Ireland match in Hamilton, Hobbiton hosted a match featuring cricket greats Stephen Fleming and Sir Richard Hadlee. “The four-team 10-over tournament was played in good spirit with players having to negotiate unusual obstacles such as hedgerows and garden plots,” a report from the time reads. “Players were allowed to eat and drink during play but had ensure that they adhered to one important rule: unsportsmanlike behaviour is not Hobbit-like and therefore unacceptable.”

As part of 2020’s “Do Something New” Tourism NZ campaign, the former All Black kindly interned at Hobbiton for the day. He poured pints at the Green Dragon, used a bellow to light a fire and even had a crack at taking a tour group around the Shire. “Good job”, his Hobbiton mentor told him after he poured his 40th beer. “One beer to rule them all”. Dork factor 10.

Taking to his Instagram story while on a family holiday, Waititi took his followers inside the life and times of Bilbo Baggins in 2022. “Here I am outside Bilbo Baggins’ actual real Hobbit hole,” he said. “Here’s all of Bilbo’s stuff… oh, wow, that’s where he lived and died.” A powerful tribute to the short king of Middle Earth.

Before announcing that she would be making it rain with a $1.7 million cash injection for the Waikato tourism industry, unsuccessful Lord of the Rings auditionee Jacinda Ardern toured the rich pastures of Hobbiton in 2018. While indulging in a ginger beer at the Green Dragon, she was gifted a drawing of herself as a hobbit (the artist later admitted he thought Jacinda looked “quite elfish”). She also presented a certificate drawn up by the official calligrapher from Lord of the Rings, inviting talk show host Stephen Colbert to become a citizen of Hobbiton. Normal!

The first in a rich tradition of actors taking a side trip to Hobbiton on the way to Armageddon, Evanna Lynch aka Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter was joined by Vampire Diaries actor Rick Worthy for all sorts of Shire-based shenanigans. “Worthy was keen to be a shirtless hobbit… then acted Sauron possessed before exiting stage right to make way for other actors,” a chilling Stuff story about the encounter reads.

Barry Bostwick aka Brad from the Rocky Horror Picture Show was also part of the cohort but played things a little more cool, merging with the Average Joe tour groups earlier in the day. “Seeing Hobbiton made Bostwick consider a Middle Earth marathon since he had not seen any of Jackon’s films set in Middle Earth,” the story continues, with the actor musing. “I have to go and see it now.” A late night, double feature, picture show indeed.

“Another check off my bucket list,” Nathan Fillion posted in October 2017. “Thank you, Bag End. Thank you, Hobbiton.” Not only did the Firefly actor post a classic photo knocking on the door of Bilbo’s house, he rode Gandalf’s wagon, drank at the Green Dragon AND wore a jaunty lil hat. That’s the holy trifecta right there.

The only thing dorkier than visiting Hobbiton is expressing a public desire to go to Hobbiton, which is exactly what Wozniacki did in December 2017. “There are so many things I want to go and see”, Wozniacki told Newstalk ZB ahead of the ASB Classic. “Hobbiton is definitely one of the things I haven’t seen and would love to see.” Whether she actually ended up there remains to be seen, but I think we can all agree that the headline ‘Tennis: Caroline Wozniacki wants to be hobbit’ is an ever greater legacy to leave behind than winning the ASB Classic.

This is where things really start to ramp up – Sam Smith is absolutely crazy for Hobbiton. First visiting in 2015 at the age of 22, the singer posed up a storm across The Shire and described the experience as “the best day of my life.” Bizarrely, The Daily Mail at the time remained focussed on Smith’s likeness to another fantasy franchise, stating that Smith “look a little more like Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry Potter character thanks to bold, black framed spectacles.”

Despite the confusing cross-franchise likeness, Smith was effusive in their love of the attraction. “Sorry for so many pics I just love it here”, they wrote on Instagram at the time. “I would chop off my toe and live here and be a Hobbit x.” Indeed, that public praise has only continued as Smith’s star continued to rise. Earlier this year they revealed to Stuff that they got tipsy on their first visit, have since been back twice, and dream of getting married at Hobbiton one day.

On his nationwide tour of giving people surprises earlier in the year, Ed Sheeran unleashed an acoustic set on some unsuspecting punters during an evening banquet the Green Dragon Inn. As it turns out, he also vlogged the entire experience and revealed that he had originally gone to Hobbiton for his 31st birthday. The minute-long vlog also includes Sheeran declaring “holy Hobbit balls”, asking a bartender for “a beer for the brave and true”, and later deciding to sing ‘I See Fire’ for a room of unsuspecting Danish people. It doesn’t get much more uncool than that.