Hobbit pics: Benedict Cumberbatch motion-captures Smaug

Amazing behind-the-scenes pictures from ‘The Hobbit’ have landed online, showing ‘Fifth Estate’ star Benedict Cumberbatch giving it his all as he motion-capture acts evil dragon Smaug.

The incredible images were taken from a new making-of featurette, included in the ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ extended edition DVD, and uploaded to Flickr by user Tolkienerd (we guess they’re a bit of a fan).

[First look: Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking]

As you can see, Benedict is REALLY going for it.

The 37-year-old ‘Sherlock’ actor apparently surprised director Peter Jackson when he first insisted on donning the mo-cap suit to “inhabit” Smaug.

[Benedict Cumberbatch's best transformations]

“I know what you’re going to say: I’m a biped mammal,” Benedict recalled telling the filmmaker, in an interview with the Radio Times.

“I’m not a serpent with tiny claws or legs. I don’t have a tail, I can’t breathe fire or fly, and the rest of the things that aren’t dragonlike about me. But I do think in my imagination I’ve got something which might at least push the WETA animation into a direction.”

“He went, ‘Come down and play.’”

So he did.

The second leg of the journey, ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug’, is out in the UK 13 December 2013. Listen out for Benedict's booming dragon voice too, in the latest trailer below.