British actor Christopher Eccleston is set to continue his career in Hollywood in a role that's almost opposite to his breakthrough role as the ninth Doctor Who.

The former 'Doctor Who' titular character is set to star in the upcoming movie based on Marvel Comics, 'Thor: The Dark World' in which he will play Thor's arch nemesis Malekith the Accursed in the forthcoming superhero movie alongside main star Chris Hemsworth ('Avengers Assemble', 'Snow White and the Huntsman'). Malekith is the ruler of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim and, according to the comics, possesses a number of formidable magical abilities as well as the typical super-villain/hero powers like speed, agility and strength. Little has been revealed of the plot details thus far, but the cast has been confirmed to include (alongside Hemsworth and Eccleston) Natalie Portman ('V for Vendetta', 'Black Swan'), Tom Hiddleston ('Avengers Assemble', 'War Horse') and Anthony Hopkins ('Hannibal').

48-year-old Eccleston has played antagonists in a handful of other films including 'G.I Joe: Rise of the Cobra' where he starred as a weapons designer called Destro, '28 Days Later' which saw him become the shady Major Henry West and the TV series 'Heroes' where he played the villainous Claude Rains. Eccleston's co-star (and fellow Brit) Tom Hiddleston recently starred in a widely acclaimed BBC adaptation of William Shakespeare's 4 part story The Hollow Crown.

'Thor: The Dark World' is being directed by Primetime Emmy winner Alan Taylor who was the producer and director of adventure drama series 'Game of Thrones'. Expect to see it hit cinemas towards the end of 2013.