Barry Humphries has joined the cast of Peter Jackson's forthcoming film version of J.R.R. Tolkein's The Hobbit, according to a casting update posted by Jackson on Facebook. Humphries will play the Goblin King.

The film, to be released in two parts, focuses on the adventures that take place in the realm of Middle Earth in a period preceding -- and sets the stage for -- the events in The Lord of the Rings. Other stage veterans in the cast include the previously announced Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, and Lee Pace.

Humphries is perhaps best known as his alter ego, Dame Edna, whose theatre credits include Housewife, Superstar, A Night with Dame Edna and several Royal Variety Performances as well as the Tony Award-winning Dame Edna: The Royal Tour. Her television credits include A Night on Mount Edna and The Dame Edna Experience, on which she conducted celebrity interviews.