“The Hobbit” will hit the big screen!

Irish singer Ronan Keating is hoping to  start his acting career – he’s planning a move to Hollywood after auditioning for a part in “The Hobbit:” Part 1″. The Boyzone star is hoping to move to America with his wife, Yvonne, and his children in summer 2010.

If his plan succeeds, he may have to pack up once again for New Zealand – where Guillermo del Toro’s “Lord of the Rings” prequel is set to be filmed. He explains, “We are going there (to Hollywood) in July, Yvonne and the kids. We’ll get the kids enrolled in school there. It may be for six months or we could even give it a year.”

“We’ll see what happens. I’ve done a couple of castings… I’ve done an audition for ‘The Hobbit’. That starts shooting in New Zealand in July so we’d be based there for quite a while instead of L.A. if it happens.”

Keating joins many celebrities who have been linked to the project – Tobey Maguire, Daniel Radcliffe ( Harry Potter ),  Martin Freeman ( “The Office” ) and James McAvoy have all been rumored to be involved. The movie is set to hit theaters in 2011.