Smaug: The Dragon of the Lonely Mountain
Smaug is the dragon who holds the Lonely Mountain in Peter Jackson's Hobbit films, and Benedict Cumberbatch is credited in the role in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). He is the target of Thorin Oakenshield's quest, he is woken by Bilbo Baggins, and he is killed by the bargeman Bard with a black arrow.
Who Plays Smaug / Sauron (voice)?
Who Is Smaug in The Hobbit Movies?
The dragon who has taken over the dwarf homeland beneath the Lonely Mountain is the reason the whole Hobbit trilogy exists, because the quest is about winning that home back. In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), directed by Peter Jackson, Gandalf brings thirteen dwarves to Bilbo's door, and Thorin Oakenshield explains the plan to retake the mountain from the dragon. Bilbo signs on as their burglar and sets out with them, so the creature is the destination long before he appears.
He belongs to the Hobbit trilogy, which sits before the Lord of the Rings trilogy in lord of the rings movies in order by chronology. The closing moments of An Unexpected Journey show the sleeping dragon stirring, which is how the first film hands the story to the second.
Benedict Cumberbatch is credited in the role in The Desolation of Smaug, where he is billed fourth and the credit reads "Smaug / Sauron". In The Battle of the Five Armies the same credit is marked as a voice role. The second film runs 161 minutes. For the full ensemble, see the lord of the rings cast page.
Smaug / Sauron (voice) Films
The Dragon's Story Across the Hobbit TrilogySpoilers
The dragon's arc runs through the last two Hobbit films and has three stages: he is woken, he is tricked and survives, and he is brought down over Lake-town. The first stage begins once the company has crossed Mirkwood, escaped the wood-elves in barrels and been smuggled into Lake-town by Bard, where the Master agrees to help in return for a share of the treasure. Bilbo then finds the hidden door into the Lonely Mountain, goes in after the Arkenstone, and rouses the creature by accident.
The second stage is a trap. Bilbo and the dwarves relight the old forge so the dragon's own fire melts a giant golden statue around him. It fails. He rises out of the molten gold and flies off to burn Lake-town, while Bilbo watches in despair at what he has set loose. In the town, Bard had meant to use his ancestor's black arrow, but the Master has already had him arrested.
The third stage opens The Battle of the Five Armies, which starts the moment the dragon arrives over the town and unleashes fire on it. After his death the survivors head for the mountain, because they are owed a share of the treasure. That walk leads directly into the greed and fighting that occupy the rest of the trilogy.
Smaug's Relationships: Bilbo, Thorin and Bard
The dragon is tied most closely to Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and Bard, because each has a stake in what he guards or what he destroys. Thorin leads the company that wants the mountain back, so the dragon is the cause of the whole quest. Thorin Oakenshield later grows obsessed with the gold and the Arkenstone, which shows what a hoard does to those who come near it.
Bilbo Baggins is the one who meets the creature face to face, since he enters the mountain to find the Arkenstone and wakes him by accident. Gandalf, who recruited Bilbo in the first place, is elsewhere by then, held prisoner in Dol Guldur after the Necromancer is revealed to be Sauron.
Bard is the bargeman who smuggles the company into Lake-town and who holds the family black arrow. He is also the eventual killer. The Master of Laketown, played by Stephen Fry, is the official who arrests Bard before the attack.
There is one more link, and it is a casting one. Cumberbatch's credit in both films reads "Smaug / Sauron", a name pair that connects the dragon to the Necromancer unmasked in the second film. For the dark lord himself, see Sauron.
What Killed Smaug? Bard's Black ArrowSpoilers
Bard kills the dragon with a black arrow at the start of The Battle of the Five Armies, after the beast attacks Lake-town and unleashes fire on it. The arrow was his ancestor's, and he had planned to use it in the previous film before the Master had him arrested.
Was it easy? In the films it is not. The dwarves' golden statue trap fails to kill him, he survives to attack the town, and only the black arrow brings him down.
The death moves the trouble rather than ending it. The survivors of Lake-town head for the mountain because they are owed a share of the treasure, and Thorin grows more obsessed with the gold and the Arkenstone. The war that gives the third film its title follows from that struggle, so the hoard the dragon lay on keeps causing harm after he is gone.
Smaug's Best Moments
In my opinion, the strongest dragon material is the closing stretch of The Desolation of Smaug, where the creature is finally a presence and not a rumor. These are my picks, and they reveal plot from all three Hobbit films.
The first is the quiet beat at the end of An Unexpected Journey, where the company looks to the Lonely Mountain from the Carrock and the sleeping dragon stirs. It follows a long action sequence, and it tells the audience what the quest will cost before any character does.
The second is the forge trap. Bilbo and the dwarves relight the forge so that the dragon's own fire melts a giant golden statue, and he then rises out of the gold. It could be argued that this is the best set piece in the trilogy that does not involve a battle, because the danger is a single creature in a hall of treasure. It also works as a plan that fails, which is harder to stage than a plan that succeeds.
The third is the cliffhanger, as he flies off toward Lake-town and Bilbo watches in despair. Paradoxically, the weakest part of the arc is the payoff, since the dragon dies in the opening scenes of The Battle of the Five Armies and the story hurries on to the war. If you are new to the character, I would start with The Desolation of Smaug and treat the third film as the aftermath.
Facts
- Benedict Cumberbatch is billed fourth in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) as "Smaug / Sauron". TMDB, checked 2026-11-03
- Benedict Cumberbatch is credited as "Smaug / Sauron (voice)" in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014), billed eighth. TMDB, checked 2026-11-03
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was directed by Peter Jackson. TMDB, checked 2026-11-03
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has a runtime of 161 minutes. TMDB, checked 2026-11-03
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opened in the US on 13 December 2013 (release date reported). The Numbers, checked 2026-11-03
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has a runtime of 144 minutes. TMDB, checked 2026-11-03
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies opened in the US on 17 December 2014 (release date reported). The Numbers, checked 2026-11-03
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug grossed $959,079,095 worldwide. Box Office Mojo, checked 2026-11-03
FAQs
Who plays Smaug in The Hobbit movies?
Benedict Cumberbatch is credited in the role in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). In both films the credit reads "Smaug / Sauron", and in the second it is marked as a voice role. Both films were directed by Peter Jackson.
What killed Smaug?
Bard killed the dragon with a black arrow, which had been his ancestor's. It happens at the start of The Battle of the Five Armies, after the dragon attacks Lake-town and sets it on fire.
Why was Smaug killed so easily?
The films do not make it easy. The dwarves' trap in the mountain fails to kill him, Lake-town is attacked, and Bard has to carry out a plan the Master had tried to stop by arresting him. In the end the black arrow brings the dragon down.
Why was Smaug so evil?
In the films he is the dragon who took the dwarf homeland beneath the Lonely Mountain and lies on its treasure, and once he escapes he flies to burn Lake-town. The greed his hoard stirs in others, Thorin included, is a theme the third film develops.
Was Smaug once human?
No. In the Hobbit films he is a dragon from his first stirring to his death over Lake-town, and nothing in the story presents him as anything else.
What did Bilbo call Smaug, and what does the name mean?
The films treat Bilbo's meeting with the dragon as a tense encounter in the mountain, and they do not give Bilbo a nickname for him that the story depends on. The films also do not explain the meaning of the name, and no studio source we can cite gives one.