With Oscar nominees set to be announced on January 24th, there's already a swelling of fan support for the songs of Bret McKenzie featured in The Muppets. Today, ComingSoon.net had the chance to speak with the actor/musician and, while we'll have the full interview available soon, we were able to get to the bottom of an issue that has been on the minds of J.R.R. Tolkien fans ever since it was announced that he would making an appearance in The Hobbit.

Playing an unnamed extra in a Rivendell scene in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the pre-"Flight of the Conchords" star was noticed by fans and given the nickname Figwit (you can read the whole story of why at www.figwitlives.net) The online response was so great Peter Jackson made sure that McKenzie was given a line in Return of the King and, last April, it was announced that he'd been cast as an elf in The Hobbit.

"I've got a cameo as an elf. Or another cameo," he explains, " ...My character is called Lindir. I hang out with Elrond... I've got a few lines in Elvish."

So are Figwit and Lindir really one and the same? McKenzie says no.

"You'll probably see, I've got slightly different ears," he laughs, "That's how I differentiate my elf characters. The big difference for this character is that he's in 3D. He's a character that's a lot more three dimensional."

Look for the first film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to hit theaters on December 14th in 3D, 2D and IMAX theaters and check back soon for the full interview with McKenzie.

(Photo Credit: Brian To / WENN.com)