John Rhys-Davies

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Birthday:

5 May 1944, Ammanford, Wales, UK

Height:

185 cm

Acclaimed Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies was born in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Wales, to Mary Margaretta Phyllis (Jones), a nurse, and Rhys Davies, a mechanical engineer and Colonial Officer. He graduated from the University of East Anglia and is probably best known to film audiences for his roles in the blockbuster hits Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Rhys-Davies was introduced to a new generation of fans in the blockbuster trilogy "The Lord of the Rings" (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)) in the role of Gimli the dwarf. He has also had leading roles in Victor Victoria (1982), The Living Daylights (1987) and King Solomon's Mines (1985).Rhys-Davies, who was raised in England, Africa and Wales, credits his early exposure to classic literature for his decision to pursue acting and writing. he later refined his craft at London's renowned Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. His television credits include James Clavell's Shogun (1980) and Noble House (1988), Great Expectations (1989), War and Remembrance (1988) and Archaeology (1991).An avid collector of vintage automobiles, Rhys-Davies has a host of theater roles to his credit, including "The Misanthrope", "Hedda Gabler" and most of Shakespeare's works. He divides his time between Los Angeles and the Isle of Man. Show less «

I'd love to spend more time on the Isle of Man. I love the anonymity of putting on a boiler suit and going down to buy parts for the compres...Show more »

I'd love to spend more time on the Isle of Man. I love the anonymity of putting on a boiler suit and going down to buy parts for the compressor. And Norman Wisdom's a neighbour; I salute him occasionally. Show less «

On a 4th Indiana Jones - "Every three or four years the rumours start again, but any new script has got to be approved by Steven, and by Geo...Show more »

On a 4th Indiana Jones - "Every three or four years the rumours start again, but any new script has got to be approved by Steven, and by George, and by Harrison. Everyone would like to do one, but the script has got to be better than the other three. Every year Paramount must send boxes of goodies to all three, saying 'please please please make us another one.....'" Show less «

One of my abiding memories is being halfway up a mountain and watching two men carrying a basket with my clothes up to me, and another two c...Show more »

One of my abiding memories is being halfway up a mountain and watching two men carrying a basket with my clothes up to me, and another two carrying my armour and axe, then a woman carrying my helmet up, and finally another with my big, heavy boots to give that dwarfish trouser-look. Then they put it all on me and the director said 'now run up that hill'. - on shooting Fellowship of The Ring Show less «

On why he left Sliders (1995): I like SF. I love intelligent SF. We had the most wonderful series concept with "Sliders", but we did everyth...Show more »

On why he left Sliders (1995): I like SF. I love intelligent SF. We had the most wonderful series concept with "Sliders", but we did everything that had been done before and we did it every damned episode. We did Species (1995). We did Tremors (1990). We did Twister (1996). We did War of the Worlds (2005). We did The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996). It was out of control, just out of control. In the end, "Sliders" wasn't the worst experience I ever had. I was just disappointed. Again, I love SF. I'm a passionate believer in "Sliders". The series could have been great. The public always understood that of "Sliders". The public understood that you could go anywhere in the galaxy. The writers, though, would try to graft a Law & Order (1990) story, or something they had done or seen before, onto "Sliders" and just make the characters work around it. Show less «

Every time I meet little boys and girls I do get asked about Sallah. Generally, the line is, "Can we have 10 or 15 of your autographs to tra...Show more »

Every time I meet little boys and girls I do get asked about Sallah. Generally, the line is, "Can we have 10 or 15 of your autographs to trade at school?" Even 10 or 15 of mine are not really enough to get one Harrison Ford. But I enjoy acting. It's not that I begin to think I'm getting better. I now fully know that I've made no improvement whatsoever since I was 20. I can live with it. Show less «

The context of being a dangerous actor is in drama. You should feel that a person is capable of doing dangerous things to you or to the othe...Show more »

The context of being a dangerous actor is in drama. You should feel that a person is capable of doing dangerous things to you or to the other characters. I really don't have much much time for people who imagine that danger is confined to hitting cameramen off stage and getting drunk. Show less «

Villians are a lot of fun. My villains have a lot of tongue-in-cheek. They are sometimes conscious of and a little bit gleeful of their vill...Show more »

Villians are a lot of fun. My villains have a lot of tongue-in-cheek. They are sometimes conscious of and a little bit gleeful of their villainy. But I actually despise certain forms of villainy. In England, we have a class of villain that's very proud of itself. I've found them totally uncharming. I'm not the slightest bit impressed by how he has robbed a bank, how he has killed someone. I only once played a real villain. He was based on the life of a real man. I really didn't like him. I played him for what he was worth, which was a bullying, cowardly, malevolent, treacherous son-of-a-bitch. Although he had a measure of charm -- the little shit. Show less «

Tolkien knew that civilization is worth fighting for. There are times when a generation is challenged and must fight to defend their civiliz...Show more »

Tolkien knew that civilization is worth fighting for. There are times when a generation is challenged and must fight to defend their civilization from annihilation. Show less «

Fundamental Islamism is a particularly brutish and unpleasant form of fascism.

You introduce a Republican to another in Hollywood, it's like a meeting between two Christians in Caligula's Rome.

Not to sound like I'm bragging, but I'm a pretty damn good character actor.

We give them actually 55 bucks of entertainment for every five they spend. Then we had George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford, who...Show more »

We give them actually 55 bucks of entertainment for every five they spend. Then we had George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford, who was determined after playing Han Solo to become the most iconic action film star of all time. It was amazing watching him manipulating and developing the character to the point all you have to see is his silhouette and you know who it is. My respect for Harrison has grown over the years as I've watched him grow into the definitive film star of his generation. Show less «

You have a much longer career as a character actor.

Many do not understand how precarious Western civilization is and what a joy it is. From it, we get real democracy. From it, we get the sort...Show more »

Many do not understand how precarious Western civilization is and what a joy it is. From it, we get real democracy. From it, we get the sort of intellectual tolerance that allows me to propound something that may be completely alien to you. I'm burying my career so substantially in these interviews that it's painful. But I think there are some questions that demand honest answers. Show less «

There is a demographic catastrophe happening in Europe that nobody wants to talk about, that we daren't bring up because we are so cagey abo...Show more »

There is a demographic catastrophe happening in Europe that nobody wants to talk about, that we daren't bring up because we are so cagey about not offending people racially. And rightly we should be. But there is a cultural thing as well. By 2020, 50 per cent of the children in Holland under the age of 18 will be of Muslim descent. I think that Tolkien says that some generations will be challenged. And if they do not rise to meet that challenge, they will lose their civilisation. That does have a real resonance with me. Show less «

I cannot tell you how many people I have met that have said "Oh, by the way, I studied archaeology at University" or "I became an archaeolog...Show more »

I cannot tell you how many people I have met that have said "Oh, by the way, I studied archaeology at University" or "I became an archaeologist largely because of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)." And I still meet youngsters who are going up to read archaeology and history at University because of Raiders. Show less «