Comic Actor Martin Freeman, best known for his role as Tim Canterbury in the BBC's 'The Office',
is said to have landed the star role in the forthcoming movie of 'A
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.'
Freeman will play Arthur Dent, who embarks on a comically enlightening tour
of the galaxy after the Earth is unexpectedly destroyed by Aliens to make way
for a bypass, leaving him mankind's only survivor.
Bill Nighy has also been offered
the role of planetary architect Slartibartfast.
Speaking about the work of the late Douglas Adams, for which shooting of the
movie version is due to start soon, Nighy said: "I'm a big fan of the book and
the people who are making it are very cool people and I think they're going to
do a good job.
"It's a really good script. It's really, really faithful. All the jokes are
there and with all the technology we have now, it can not only be a big
satisfying comedy but I figure it could be quite exciting as well."
Editor: In a previous release of this news story we
had incorrectly attributed the above quote to Martin Freeman, whereas it was
actually made by Bill Nighy. Martin Freeman has yet to comment on the news
of this role.
