While Dr. Watson from the BBC's Sherlock Holmes series has been cast as Bilbo Baggins in the new Hobbit film, his partner Sherlock Holmes is playing the fearsome dragon Smaug!

While Dr. Watson from the BBC's Sherlock Holmes series has been cast as Bilbo Baggins in the new Hobbit film, his partner Sherlock Holmes is playing the fearsome dragon Smaug!

Best friends and colleagues in one series, mortal enemies in the other. It was announced earlier this year that Martin Freeman (the short, hobbit-y guy on the right) had been cast in the coveted role of Bilbo Baggins for Peter Jackson's two-part adaptation of The Hobbit set to release over the next couple of years. After breaking out on the British version of The Office, Freeman recently landed a role on the BBC's Sherlock, a modern take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective novels.

That in and of itself is not very remarkable, but the next part is a pretty funny coincidence! Freeman's partner on the BBC series, Benedict Cumberbatch (the taller, dragon-ish fellow), plays the show's eccentric and eponymous super-sleuth, Sherlock Holmes. The funny thing is that he has also been cast to voice The Hobbit's menacing dragon, Smaug. This means that Freeman will eventually have to risk his life confronting his partner from the telly!
(source)