Great Big Sea’s lead singer is going medieval.

Alan Doyle revealed on the band’s website this week that he has been cast as a troubadour in the upcoming Robin Hood movie starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett.

“I had to scoot to L.A. after the big fundraising gig in Toronto last December,” he wrote in a blog entry Thursday.

“I went, lute in hand, to read and sing for the part and must have done all right, as I’ve been offered and accepted the gig.”

Doyle said he underwent training for the role in Australia, learning how to ride horses, do archery and use weapons alongside Crowe and the other actors.

“It was great fun, I must say, to look at your schedule for the day and have it read like a 12-year-old boy’s fantasy: bows and arrows at 10 a.m., sword fighting at 11 a.m. etc.”

The shooting schedule meant Great Big Sea had to drop out of several upcoming festival gigs, though Doyle said the Newfoundland Celtic rock band still plans to tour and record as usual in the second half of the year.

The as-yet-untitled movie, to be directed by Ridley Scott, is due out next year, with Crowe starring as the legendary outlaw and Blanchett playing Maid Marian.

Crowe is a longtime fan and friend of Great Big Sea, co-writing “Company of Fools” on the band’s 2008 album, “Fortune’s Favour,” and even joining the group onstage during a show in Los Angeles last October.

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Great Big Sea is a bastard. Forged from the loins of Figgy Duff and Ryan’s Fancy, GBS found its feet on the unforgiving streets of St. John’s, and stood their ground when others faltered. When asked about their unlikely success, founding member Bob Hallett is typically candid: “We weren’t the best musicians in town,” he says, “we just wanted it more. We were driven by a bloody-minded need to succeed and we were rewarded for our bleeding.”

Great Big Sea’s latest album, Fortune’s Favour, was just released, and andPOP caught up with the band to talk about their latest project and more!

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