Dwalin

"It was a dwarf with a blue beard tucked into a golden belt, very bright eyes under his dark-green hood."

- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Party

Dwalin was one of the dwarves who travelled with Bilbo and Gandalf on the quest to regain the Lonely Mountain (Erebor) from Smaug.

Biography
Dwalin was the son of Fundin and younger brother of Balin, Dwalin is one of the least mentioned dwarves in The Hobbit. He was the first dwarf to arrive at Bag End. He wore a dark green hood and a golden belt and had a blue beard. He and his brother Balin played viols as big as themselves. Dwalin lent a green hood and cloak to Bilbo when they set out on their journey.

Contrary to popular fandom belief, nothing about Dwalin's life post-BOFA is cited in any of Tolkien's works. Whether or not he had children is merely speculation, as none are listed for him in Gimli's genealogy.

Dwalin supposedly died sometime in the first hundred years of the Fourth Age at around 340 years old, very old even for a Dwarf. Popular belief is that Dwalin died in the year FO 91, but there was never any clear evidence that arose to support this theory.

Rankin/Bass films
In the 1977 animated version of The Hobbit, he was voiced by Jack DeLeon.

The Hobbit film trilogy
In Peter Jackson's live-action adaptation, he was portrayed by Scottish actor Graham McTavish. The studio released the following statement regarding Dwalin in the trilogy:



''Renowned as a great Warrior, Dwalin speaks his mind plainly and is not one to suffer fools lightly. Fiercely loyal, he was Thorin Oakenshield's staunchest supporter with an unshakeable belief in his friend's leadership. A powerful and bruising fighter, Dwalin has a natural tendency to distrust anyone who is not a Dwarf and is particularly suspicious of Elves. Proud, brave and one of the tallest of the Dwarves, Dwalin will bow to none but those who have earned his respect.''

A younger Dwalin (with a mohawk) is shown fighting alongside Thorin at the Battle of Azanulbizar, duelling with Bolg, son of Azog.

During the events of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Dwalin has his weapons stripped from him after being captured by the wood elves of Mirkwood. Following the company's escape and their encounter with Bard the Bowman, Dwalin openly voices his mistrust of Bard; suggesting that they throw him overboard and take his boat by force. He later equips himself with a large two-handed mace from Lake Town's armory for the raid on Erebor.

Video games
In The Lord of the Rings Online, after Thorin's death, Gormr Doursmith took over Thorin's Halls' leadership but with his consequent defeat at the hands of Dwalin, Dwalin became Lord of the Longbeards in the Blue Mountains and Steward of Thorin's Halls. Before the War of the Ring, he led an expedition to Dourhands' territory, south of the city. Some members of his party fell ill to a strange disease, but were cured later by a fellow Longbeard who had discovered a cure at Dwalin's request. Eventually he discovered the source and stopped it, however he failed to prevent the resurrection of Skorgrim, the ancient King of the Dourhands. Under his leadership, the Longbeards recovered the region from the Dourhands. Dwalin says that he tries to rule the Halls as well as Thorin would in his tribute. He claims he hasn't seen his brother Balin for a while and also that he misses the Lonely Mountain.

Behind the Scenes
Tolkien borrowed the name from Dvalinn, a Dwarf from Norse mythology.

Each of the Hobbit film's actors had a voice in the nature and design of their own weaponry. Graham McTavish, who plays Dwalin, named the dwarf's twin battle axes Grasper and Keeper after two dogs owned by Emily Bronte.

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