Lord of the Rings super fan Stephen Colbert responds to the man who built his own Shire. Colbert has hosted The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS since 2015, having taken over the talk show timeslot from David Letterman. He is also known for his deep love for the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, including the genre-defining novel The Lord of the Rings, and has incorporated this fandom into his public persona.
The world of Middle Earth has recently been making headlines with a different name attached - Nicolas Gentile, an Italian pastry chef, has been building his own Shire in central Italy. He and his family constructed their own hobbit hole and have lived there for three years, with the Instagram account MyHobbitLife showing off their Lord of the Rings-inspired lifestyle. Gentile is currently raising money to expand, hoping to create a community of likeminded people that can live off the land as Tolkien's hobbits do.
Colbert caught wind of Gentile's project and addresses it in the "Meanwhile..." segment of The Late Show, poking fun with the slightest twinkle of jealousy in his eye. Colbert questions whether such devoted fandom is suitable for a 37-year-old man, suggesting it is better left to he and his fellow 50-year-olds, and takes the Italian to task for his lack of attention to detail. What's impressed the talk show host more than Gentile's project, however, is that he has convinced someone to do it with him:
While Colbert sees comedic potential in Gentile's undertaking, others have been more supportive. Over the summer, Gentile chose eight people through an Instagram contest to join him on a 180-mile trek from his Shire in Abruzzo to Naples, where the group, dressed as the Fellowship, tossed a replica One Ring into Mt. Vesuvius. More recently, bona fide hobbits and Lord of the Rings trilogy actors Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, and Sean Astin sent videos to MyHobbitLife congratulating Gentile on his progress and encouraging people to donate.
Colbert is only the latest public figure associated with The Lord of the Rings to comment on the Italian fan's efforts, and he is unlikely to be the last. Gentile's website indicates the crowdfunding for his Shire's expansion will officially open soon, and while he has already attracted significant attention from international press, he will need to sustain that to reach his funding goals. At this point, though, the beacon is well lit, and it seems likely that Lord of the Rings fans from around the world will answer his call for aid.