He played Bilbo Baggins , the main character , in the three-part Peter Jackson film series '' The Hobbit '' . Accolades that his performance in the first part , '' The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey '' , garnered him include Best Hero at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards and Best Actor at the 18th Empire Awards . Freeman appeared in all three of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright 's comedic '' Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy '' , commencing with a brief non-speaking role in '' Shaun of the Dead '' as Yvonne 's boyfriend , Declan , followed by a brief cameo in '' Hot Fuzz '' as a police officer . He was a main cast member in the 2013 finale to the trilogy , '' The World 's End '' . On 5 October 2013 , he was presented with a fellowship bearing his name by the members of University College Dublin 's Literary & Historical Society . In April 2014 , Freeman began playing insurance salesman Lester Nygaard in the dark comedy-crime drama series '' Fargo '' . For his performance in this series , he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award , a Golden Globe Award , and a Critics ' Choice Television Award . He opened in the title role in Shakespeare ’s play '' Richard III '' in July 2014 at Trafalgar Studios
2013 MTV Movie Awards
2013 MTV Movie Awards
Martin Freeman