Richard Armitage is already a well known TV actor here in the UK but over the next twelve months or so we are set to see his star rise very rapidly thanks to The Hobbit trilogy.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has hit the big screen today and the role of Thorin Oakenshield is the biggest of Armitage's career to date - as well as being his first major taste of the blockbuster genre.
Throughout his career Armitage has mixed movies and TV work with theatre but it really is in TV where he has made his name.
He kicked off his TV career back in 1995 with roles in the likes of Boon and Cleopatra before going on to Cold Feet and Ultimate Force.
And while he worked steadily throughout the early noughties it was Robin Hood and Vicar of Dibley where he really grabbed everyone's attention.
He took on the role of Guy of Gisborne when the story of Robin Hood was made into a TV series for the BBC.
The show was prime time Saturday night viewing and it really established Armitage as someone to keep an eye on.
He went on to play Dawn French's love interest and eventual husband towards the end of popular comedy Vicar of Dibley before moving into secrets and espionage with Spooks.
Armitage took on the lead role of Lucas North in season 7 as Rupert Penry Jones left the show.
It was an interesting character for Armitage as North had spent eight years in a Russian prison and he was a man who was divided.
He stayed with the show for two years before moving onto Strike Back with Sky One.
And while he may have been having all this TV success the development of his movie career has moved a little slower.
He has had small parts in the likes of Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace and more recently Captain America: The First Avenger - but all that is about to change.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey kicks off the trilogy of The Hobbit movies with Desolation of Smaug and There And Back again set for release in 2013 and 2014.
Armitage has already completed work on thriller Black Sky - which sees him team up with director Steven Quale.
Richard Armitage has had a very successful and varied career to date but it is set to take a very different path now The Hobbit will give him major global exposure - he is only going one way and that is up.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in The Hobbit Richard Armitage