Evangeline Lilly joins The Hobbit as woodland elf Tauriel

The Hobbit has added two more actors to an already impressive cast: Evangeline Lilly and Barry Humphries have signed on for the LOTR prequel.

Peter Jackson announced the news last night via his ever-informative Facebook page.

Lilly, who is probably best known for her role in TV’s Lost, will play woodland elf Tauriel. Here’s what PJ had to say about her:

“Evangeline Lilly will be playing a new character—the Woodland Elf, Tauriel. Her name means 'daughter of Mirkwood' and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing! (No, there is no romantic connection to Legolas.)

“What is not a secret is how talented and compelling an actress Evangeline is; we are thrilled and excited she will be the one to bring our first true Sylvan Elf to life.”

Lilly will next be seen in Real Steel , opposite Hugh Jackman.

You’ll probably be familiar with Humphries (perhaps unwittingly) in his Dame Edna Everage guise. The Australian comic will be playing the Goblin King via the magic of mo-cap technology.

On Humphries casting, Jackson said: “I'm also highly excited that Barry Humphries will be portraying the Goblin King, in much the way Andy Serkis created Gollum.

“Barry is perhaps best known for his business and social connections as the long-time manager of Dame Edna Everage. However, in his spare time, Barry is also a fine actor, and we're looking forward to seeing him invest the Goblin King with the delicate sensitivity and emotional depth this character deserves.”

Those are two intriguing names to add to a mouthwatering cast. Lilly certainly has the pristine beauty to play an elf, and it’ll be interesting to see what a character comedian like Humphries will do with the freedom of motion-capture performance.

It’s promising to see that Jackson is still choosing talent over star power.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens in the UK on 14 December 2012.