Tobey Maguire denies Hobbit rumours

Actor Tobey Maguire has dispelled rumours he has signed to appear in The Hobbit. Photo / AP

Tobey Maguire is not appearing in The Hobbit.

The Spiderman actor has dispelled rumours he has signed up to play Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming movie adaptation of the prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy and insists he hasn't even been asked about the role.

He said: "I have not met or spoken to the director Guillermo del Toro or the producer Peter Jackson or anybody. Nobody has given me a script or approached me about it."

It was recently reported the 34-year-old actor's agency had confirmed he was in preliminary talks with movie producers about starring in the project.

Another website posted an alleged interview with the star, which claimed Tobey had told them he had met with the director personally and was interested in the role.

But Tobey admits these stories left him confused.

He explained to US TV show Access Hollywood: "Somebody actually sent me that link that said that I had a conversation with the director and it was just not true. I was wondering if maybe there was a miscommunication, I was talking about another director or something."

The Hobbit is due to be filmed next year – at the same time Tobey is supposed to be filming superhero movie Spiderman 4.

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