Ron Perlman joins 'Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them'

Los Angeles: 'Hellboy' star Ron Perlman has officially joined the cast of 'Harry Potter' spin-off, 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 65-year-old actor is on board to portray a goblin. Perlman will join the leading actor, Eddie Redmayne, who stars as Newt Scamander, a "magiczoologist," which in the 'Harry Potter' realm is a person who studies magical creatures.

What's interesting about the casting news is that a goblin is usually portrayed as a small skinny creature, but Ron Perlman clearly has contrast physical characteristics.

In the upcoming movie, Scamander documents a series of magical creatures which he encounters during his travel. It later leads him to write the Hogwarts School textbook, 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'.

The movie is an indirect prequel to the 'Harry Potter' book and movie series, taking place 70 years before Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) read the textbook in Hogwarts.

Ron Perlman will join other actors in the cast such as Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Colin Farrell and Jon Voight. 'Fantastic Beasts' is slated for a US release on December 18, 2016. David Yates sits behind the lens and Rowling is making her screenwriting debut for the film.

Ron Perlman is best known for his role as the red supernatural superhero in 'Hellboy' and the sequel 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army'. Perlman starred on FX's 'Sons of Anarchy' and also starred on the latest season of "Hand of God". He was most recently seen in Roland Emmerich's civil rights drama 'Stonewall'.