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Peter Jackson gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Jackson is best known for his "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" blockbusters, which are based on the fantasy novels of J.R.R. Tolkien.

By Karen Butler
Director Peter Jackson holds a replica plaque during an unveiling ceremony honoring him with the 2,538th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on December 8, 2014. UPI/Jim Ruymen
1 of 5 | Director Peter Jackson holds a replica plaque during an unveiling ceremony honoring him with the 2,538th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on December 8, 2014. UPI/Jim Ruymen | License Photo

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Oscar-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson has been presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Jackson is best known for shooting the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit blockbusters, which are based on the fantasy novels of J.R.R. Tolkien, in his native New Zealand. Jackson's other movies include The Lovely Bones, King Kong, Beautiful Creatures and The Frighteners. He and his partner Fran Walsh are writing-producing collaborators and have two children together.

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British actor Richard Armitage, who starred in Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, told UPI in a phone interview what it was like to attend the Walk of Fame dedication for Jackson Monday.

"We had a little ceremony in Los Angeles yesterday, which was Pete's star on the Walk of Fame, and to be sitting alongside Andy Serkis and Elijah [Wood,] and Evangeline [Lilly] was there, Lee Pace was there and [Jackson's] family and Joe Letteri and it was such a great moment for him and I realized that his children have grown up and the only thing they've known is Middle Earth and that kind of imaginative world," Armitage said Tuesday. "And he has given so much of his life to these films and to have been part of that and to have been part of its success makes me really, really proud." The actor went on to say Jackson is not only an extraordinary artist, but a leader who looks after everyone on and off the film set.

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"Because he works effectively at home, so when you go to New Zealand, which is very far away from your own home, he sort of brings you to his dinner table and you sort of become one of the family and everyone works like that," Armitage said. "I look at the legacy that he has passed on to Andy Serkis and I think when you have experienced the Peter Jackson movies, you become one of the family and, so, I am connecting with other actors that I would never have met that they know. They'll say to me: 'You'll love this actor. You should connect. You should work together.' It's part of being in Pete's family."

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is to open in U.S. theaters Dec. 17.

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