Icelandic beauty Hera Hilmar is about to make the leap from newcomer to fully-fledged star after landing the female lead in The Hobbit director Peter Jackson's upcoming project, marking her first big role at a major studio.

The 28 year old LAMDA grad has been cast opposite Misfits actor Robert Sheehan in Universal's Mortal Engines, an adaptation of Philip Reeves's novel which is set thousands of years in the future where Earth's cities now roam the globe on huge wheels. The big budget sci-fi is set to shoot in New Zealand this year, and the young actress also recently wrapped filming on The Ottoman Lieutenant, opposite Josh Hartnett, and An Ordinary Man, starring Ben Kingsley.