Actress Evangeline Lilly joined Orlando Bloom and LOTR franchise director Peter Jackson at the Hollywood premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, at the Dolby Theater on Monday.

Also on hand for the screening were Hobbit actors Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch and Richard Armitage, who play Bilbo Baggins, Smaug and Thorin Oakenshield respectively.

Lilly was cast as an elf named Tauriel, a character created by Peter Jackson and writing partner Fran Walsh. Tauriel is a Silvan Elf whose name means “Daughter of Mirkwood”, and is the head of the Mirkwood Elven guard. Jackson adapted the original Tolkien text to include another female character to offset a cast dominated by males.

Also attending the premiere were actors Luke Evans (Bard the Bowman), Aidan Turner (Kili), Dean O’Gorman (Fili), Stephen Fry (Master of Laketown), William Kircher (Bifur), Manu Bennett (Azog), John Bell (Bain) and Ryan Gage (Alfrid). ‘The Desolation of Smaug’ opens nationwide on December 13th.

Great night last night! Saw #DOS for the first time! Fav part: #EREBOR!!!! pic.twitter.com/RkP6zuUllA

— EL (@EvangelineLilly) December 3, 2013

Lilly, so far best known as Kate “Freckles” Austen on ABC’s Lost, initially expressed apprehension over the reaction of Tolkien purists toward “Tauriel,” but said that the creation of the character was justified – “I believe she is authentic, because Tolkien refers to The Woodland Elves, he just doesn’t talk about who they are specifically. [Peter and Fran] know that world so well. They’re not going to create a character that is not true to Tolkien’s world.”

Check out the latest The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Sneak Peek from Warner Bros. Pictures:

As it happens, long before joining the cast of one of the biggest franchises in film history, Lilly was peddling the singles chat service Livelinks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt0eCkRsL3U

Image via Facebook.