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John Rhys-Davies

Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies was born on May 5th, 1944 in England. He grew up in Wales and in East Africa. During his time at the University of East Anglia (Norwich) he became very interested in theater. He received an acting scholarship for London’s Academy of Dramatic Arts, and worked as a school teacher until he joined the Madder-Market Theatre in Norwich. In time he advanced to the Royal Shakespeare Company, and performed in over 100 plays, including Othello, Macbeth, Hamlet, and The Tempest.

In 1972, Rhys-Davies made his television debut as Laughing Spam Fritte’r in the BBC comedy production of Budgie. In 1975, he joined the cast (which starred John Hurt) of The Naked Civil Servant. He starred again with Hurt in 1976 for the BBC miniseries adaption of I, Claudius. The production also included actor Patrick Stewart. This series also aired for American audiences on PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre, and it was America’s first look at John Rhys-Davies. He later appeared in Shogun (NBC), which earned him an Emmy.

In 1981, Steven Spielberg cast JRD as Sallah in the very successful Raiders of the Lost Ark, which starred Harrison Ford. Audiences loved him as the comedic Sallah. Following films included Victor/Victoria, The Living Daylights, and a return to the Sallah character in the third Indiana Jones film The Last Crusade. JRD also made many television appearances, including guest spots on ‘CHIPS’, ‘The Scarecrow and Mrs. King’, ‘Perry Mason’, ‘Star Trek: Voyager’, and ‘The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne’.

In 1990, JRD wrote and starred in Tusks, a safari film. In 1993, he joined the series The Untouchables, and in 1995 he was cast as Professor Maximillian P. Arturo in the sci-fi Sliders. More film appearances followed, including voiceovers for Aladdin and The King of Thieves, Cats Don’t Dance, and several cartoon series’ such as Animaniacs, Batman, Pinky and the Brain, and The Incredible Hulk. He even ‘starred’ in video games, which include Baldur’s Gate, Wing Commander III, and Dark Allience.

Last year, John Rhys-Davies began working on the film Highbinders, and this year a film called Endangered Species.

He is also the voice of Manray in the popular cartoon Spongebob Squarepants.

JRD collects vintage cars, and owns a company that does genetic engineering feasibility studies.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS

In 1999, director Peter Jackson asked John Rhys-Davies to read for the character of Denethor in the The Lord of the Rings. Instead, JRD was offered the major role of Gimli the Dwarf.

"Never in my wildest dreams would I have pictured myself as a dwarf. And now I expect I will picture myself as a dwarf for the rest of my wildest dreams." (JRD - Scifi.com transcript)

The role required him to wear very heavy facial prosthetics and often perform on his knees. John spent up to 5 hours per day putting on his ‘Gimli’ makeup. Since it was discovered that he was actually allergic to the prosthetics (which burned off the skin under his eyes the first week) he could only work in them about every three days. On top of this major role, JRD was also asked to do the voice for CGI character Treebeard.

Comments JRD:"In some ways, the Ring represents all the power of evil in the universe. It will certainly destroy all the races of men, unless it is opposed. And his [Tolkien's] lesson is that greatness is to be found in carrying the light of reason and the fight against evil, even in the jaws of certain death and destruction. Great literature gives us great dreams to dream."