Martin Freeman upsets fans with elf 'date rape' joke

Martin Freeman has shocked fans of 'The Hobbit' with a joke about date-raping an elf during an interview with Danish TV.

The 42-year-old actor, who plays Bilbo Baggins in the trilogy, was asked who he'd most like to date – a dwarf, a hobbit or an elf.

He swiftly replied: “Elf, definitely. Because look at them; they’re beautiful. Men or women.”

[Hobbit stars 'relieved' by strong Desolation of Smaug reviews]

Asked if the height difference between hobbits and elves could be an issue, he added:

“I’ve got a ladder. It’s fine. And I’ve got drugs. I could just make them - you know. Slip them something in their goblet.

“Some will get offended by that now. Cause they’ll call it rape or whatever. But, um, you know. For me, it’s a helping hand.

[The Hobbit: There and Back Again is 'very, very emotional']

“Maybe I should stop talking.”

For some fans, however, it was a bit too late.

It's not the first time that Freeman has made off-hand remarks during interviews.

When asked to tell fans something surprising about the production of the film while at a premiere, he replied that it was 'mainly fuelled by cocaine'.

“Mainly - not only - but mainly fueled by cocaine because not all of it was, obviously,” he said.

“The rest of it was speedballs, but a lot of it was just coke.”

He has also joked that he got his role through sleeping with the right people, which you can check out below...