The Hobbit star Richard Armitage has signed on for a major guest role in the third season of NBC's Hannibal.

According to TV Line, the actor will play Francis Dolarhyde, aka the Tooth Fairy, the primary antagonist of Thomas Harris' 1981 novel Red Dragon. Armitage's stint is planned for six episodes.

The family-murdering serial killer with enormous teeth and an obsession with William Blake's painting The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun has been depicted twice on screen, in 1986's Manhunter and in 2002's Red Dragon.

Although Armitage is best known to U.S. audiences for his film roles in Captain America: The First Avenger, the Hobbit trilogy and Into the Storm, he's certainly no stranger to U.K. television, where he's appeared on such series as Robin Hood, Spooks and Strike Back.

Hannibal returns to NBC this spring.