James McAvoy says he won't be playing Bilbo Baggins in Guillermo del Toro's forthcoming Hobbit films.
The actor was said to have been odds on to play the lead role in the Lord Of The Rings prequel but, speaking at a press conference for new film Wanted, he said: "It's not true. It's all internet rumouring and nothing else I'm afraid. Sorry."
An insider had previously said: "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."
And many believed that McAvoy was the man Peter Jackson and del Toro had as their first choice. The latter previously told Empire that he and producer Peter Jackson were: "down to a few names that we all agree upon. For our first choice, completely magically, we all said the same name."