The revelation has come in a video message to mark the start of the National Marriage Equality Conference in Wellington tonight.

“I hope that by the time I get back to Middle Earth I might even be able to get married,” he grinned in the clip, which was filmed in London.

The openly-gay actor has an affinity for New Zealand, after spending copious time here filming his starring roles in the Lord of The Rings and Hobbit films. In a video clip played on Wednesday as part of the Wellington premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey he referred to New Zealand as his "spiritual home."