Martin Freeman played Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s 2012 film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
The film was the first part of a three-film adaptation of Tolkien’s 1937 novel. It follows Bilbo as he leaves the Shire, joins Thorin Oakenshield’s company, encounters Gollum, and discovers the One Ring beneath the Misty Mountains.
Ian Holm, who played the older Bilbo in The Lord of the Rings films, also appears as an older version of the character in The Hobbit. This creates a common source of confusion, but Martin Freeman portrays the younger Bilbo at the center of the 2012 story.
The film was released in December 2012 and also featured Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield.