British actor Richard Armitage has joined the Season 3 cast of Hannibal, NBC announced.
"Francis Dolarhyde is going to be a real *Thorin* Hannibal's side. Ok... we'll stop," the network tweeted Tuesday.
The actor is best known to American audiences for his portrayal of dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit film franchise, but he has also starred in the U.K. TV shows Robin Hood and Spooks, the miniseries North and South and the sitcom The Vicar of Dibley.
Based on characters created by novelist Thomas Harris, Hannibal stars Mads Mikkelsen as the titular serial killer, brilliant psychiatrist and gourmet cook, and Hugh Dancy as the troubled FBI agent tasked with bringing him to justice. Dolarhyde is a murderous, tattooed villain who appears in Harris' book Red Dragon. The character has previously been played by Ralph Fiennes in 2002's Red Dragon and by Tom Noonan in 1986's Manhunter.