John Rhys-Davies

John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor and voice actor known for his portrayal of Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the charismatic excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films. He also played Agent Michael Malone in the 1993 remake of the 1950s television series The Untouchables, Pilot Vasco Rodrigues in the mini-series Shōgun, Professor Maximillian Arturo in Sliders, King Richard I in Robin of Sherwood, General Leonid Pushkin in the James Bond film The Living Daylights, and Macro in I, Claudius. Additionally, he provided the voices of Cassim in Disney's Aladdin and the King of Thieves, Macbeth in Gargoyles, Man Ray in SpongeBob SquarePants, Hades in Justice League and Tobias in the computer game Freelancer.
==Early life==
John Rhys-Davies was born on 5 May 1944 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, and was brought up there, in Tanganyika and in Ammanford, Wales. His mother, Phyllis Jones, was a nurse, and his father, Rhys Davies, was a mechanical engineer and colonial officer. In the early 1950s his family lived for several years in Kongwa, Dar es Salaam, Moshi and Mwanza, Tanzania, while his father was serving there as a colonial police officer. He was educated at Truro School and at the University of East Anglia where he was one of the first 105 students admitted, and where he founded the Dramatic Society. After teaching at Watton County Secondary School in Norfolk he won a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
==Career==
He appeared sporadically on UK television in the early 1970s including his role as the gangster Laughing Spam Fritter opposite Adam Faith in Budgie. Later he played Praetorian officer Naevius Sutorius Macro in I, Claudius. He then began to appear more frequently, and not just in the UK, with roles as a Portuguese navigator Rodrigues in the 1980 television miniseries Shogun, based on the novel by James Clavell, and in the Indiana Jones films. In 1989, Rhys-Davies also starred in another James Clavell adaption, Noble House, set in Hong Kong, in which he plays Ian Dunross' corporate enemy, Quillian Gornt. He has since appeared in numerous television shows and miniseries, including Agent Michael Malone in the 1993 remake of the 1950s television series The Untouchables as well as a leading role in the television series Sliders as Professor Maximillian Arturo from 1995 to 1997. He also appeared in Reilly, Ace of Spies in 1983, made several appearances on Star Trek: Voyager as a holodeck version of Leonardo da Vinci, starred as an ally of James Bond in The Living Daylights and appeared in the film One Night with the King. Davies has played the character Porthos in two separate projects; a two-part episode of The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne and the Hallmark Channel film La Femme Musketeer. He appears in the full motion video cut scenes of computer games including Ripper (as Vigo Haman) (1996), Dune 2000 (as Noree Moneo) (1998), and the Wing Commander series (as James Taggart, doubling as the voice of Thrakhath nar Kiranka in the third game of the series).
In 2004, he narrated The Privileged Planet, a documentary that makes the case for intelligent design. In 2013 he appeared in the family history programme Coming Home, in which he discovered information about his grandfather's life in the Carmarthenshire coal mines.
In 2014, he joined the cast of the television show Metal Hurlant Chronicles to play Holgarth, an immortal alchemist.
In 2015 he had a role in the single player campaign of the PC game Star Citizen alongside Mark Hamill and Gary Oldman. The work consists of full body Motion capture, including facial expressions and his voice and was recorded primarily at the Imaginarium studios in the UK.
===The Lord of the Rings trilogy===
He is also known for his popular portrayal of the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The cinematography of the films was aided in that Rhys-Davies is tall – , compared to the actors playing hobbits at around . Therefore, although his character was supposed to be short, he was properly in proportion compared to the hobbit actors. Had he been of more similar height, shots of the entire fellowship would have required three camera passes rather than two.Fellowship of the Rings Extended Edition DVD
Rhys-Davies is the only one of the nine Fellowship of the Ring actors who did not receive a tattoo of the word "nine" written in the Tengwar script; his stunt double, Brett Beattie, got the tattoo instead as Rhys-Davies was disinclined to get one himself. The other members of the cast—Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen, and Elijah Wood—got the same tattoo.
Rhys-Davies suffered severe reactions to the prosthetics used during filming, and his eyes sometimes swelled shut. When an interviewer asked him whether he would consider returning to the role for the film version of The Hobbit, he said, "I've already been asked and to be honest with you, I wouldn't. I have already completely ruled it out. There's a sentimental part of me that would love to be involved again. Really I am not sure my face can take that sort of punishment any more." He added that this time around "They've got a different set of problems... because you've got 13 dwarves, a whole band of them... You're trying to represent a whole race... You're trying to do for dwarves what 'The Lord of the Rings' did for hobbits."
===Voice work===
In addition to voicing the Ent Treebeard in Lord of the Rings, Rhys-Davies has lent his distinctive voice to many video games and animated television series, including the role of Hades in Justice League and numerous times in Gargoyles (1994–1996), as the character Macbeth. He also lent his vocal talents to the games Freelancer (as Richard Winston Tobias) and Lords of Everquest (both in 2003) and the game Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness, which was released with his narration on a CD-ROM version in 1995. He also had a voice role on Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance as the character Jherek, and narrated a documentary called The Glory of Macedonia.
John Rhys-Davies' voice can be heard on the 2009 documentary Reclaiming The Blade. In the narration, Rhys-Davies explores swords, historical European swordsmanship and fight choreography on film, a topic very familiar to him from his experiences in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, where his character Gimli wielded an axe in many scenes.
In 2004, he was the unknowing subject of an internet prank that spread false rumours in several mainstream media sources that he was scheduled to play the role of General Grievous in Star Wars Episode III.
Rhys-Davies is the narrator of The Truth & Life Dramatized audio New Testament Bible, a 22-hour, celebrity-voiced, fully dramatised audiobook version of the New Testament which uses the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition translation. In 2011, he presented KJB: The Book That Changed The World, which features him reading diverse snippets from the King James Version.
John Rhys-Davies’ voice work also includes voice-over work with Breathe Bible. John Rhys-Davies, Narrator BreatheBible.com Retrieved September 19, 2017
In 2016, he provided spoken words for Voices of Fire, the sixth album by a cappella power metal band van Canto.
A resident of the Isle of Man since 1988, John Rhys-Davies provides the introductory voice-over to the Island's Castle Rushen, one of the best preserved medieval fortresses in Britain. In 2018 he leant his voice to the Isle of Man's tourism commercial.
==Personal life==
Rhys-Davies married Suzanne Wilkinson in December 1966. They had two sons. Although they separated in 1985, they remained married until her death in 2010 from Alzheimer's disease. He remained close to her and took care of her until she died.https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/john-rhys-davies-tells-familys-alzheimers-2101366
 
In 2004, he began living with Lisa Manning. They have a daughter.
==Political views==
Rhys-Davies is not a member of any political party. As a university student in the 1960s, he had been a radical leftist, but changed his views when he went to heckle a young local member of parliament, Margaret Thatcher. Rhys-Davies says that "she shot down the first two hecklers in such brilliant fashion that I decided I ought for once to shut up and listen". 
In 2004, Rhys-Davies stated the following in a controversial interview with a Welsh news website about the Muslim population, stating:
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 percent of the children in Holland under the age of 18 will be of Muslim descent.
His comments were endorsed by the British National Party.BNP, Gimli battles for the West ()BNP, "Stand, men of the West" (), Rhys-Davies commented that the BNP was so insignificant in numbers that it "could do no harm" yet stating it was "distressing to find yourself on a BNP leaflet". He was also endorsed in a National Vanguard editorial. In an interview with the conservative journal National Review, he clarified that he is opposed to Islamic extremism precisely because he feels that it violates the "Western values" of equality, democracy, tolerance and the abolition of slavery.
==Filmography==
===Film===
Year	Film 	Role 	Notes
1973	Penny Gold 	Rugby Player 	
1974	The Black Windmill 	Fake Military Policeman 	Uncredited
1975	The Naked Civil Servant 	Barndoor 	
1979	A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square 	Solicitor 	
1981	Raiders of the Lost Ark 	Sallah 	
1982	Best Revenge 	Mustapha 	
1982	Ivanhoe 	Front de Bœuf 	
1982	Victor/Victoria 	Andre Cassell 	
1982	The Island of Adventure 	Smith 	
1983	Sahara 	Rasoul 	
1983	Sadat 	Gamal Abdel Nasser 	
1984	Sword of the Valiant 	Baron Fortinbras 	
1984	Kim 	Babu 	
1985	King Solomon's Mines 	Dogati 	
1986	Firewalker 	Corky Taylor 	
1987	The Living Daylights 	General Leonid Pushkin 	
1988	Waxwork 	Werewolf 	
1989	Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 	Sallah 	
1989	Rising Storm 	Donwaldo 	
1991	The Unnamable Returns 	 	
1992	The Double 0 Kid 	Rudi Von Kseenbaum 	
1992	The Lost World 	Challenger 	
1992	Return to the Lost World 	Challenger 	
1993	Sunset Grill 	Stockton 	
1993	Cyborg Cop 	Kessel 	
1993	The Seventh Coin 	Captain Galil 	
1993	The Unnamable II: The Statement of Randolph Carter 	Professor Warren 	
1994	The High Crusade 	Bruder Parvus 	
1996	The Great White Hype 	Johnny Windsor 	
1996	Glory Daze 	Luther 	
1996	Aladdin and the King of Thieves 	Cassim 	Voice Direct-to-video
1996	Marquis de Sade 	Inspector Marais 	
1997	Cats Don't Dance 	Woolie the Mammoth 	Voice
1997	Bloodsport III 	Jacques Duvalier 	
1999	Secret of the Andes 	Father Claver 	
2000	Britannic 	Captain Barrett 	TV Movie
2000	Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists 	King Akron / Baraka 	Voice
2001	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 	Gimli 	
* Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
* Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2001	Never Say Never Mind: The Swedish Bikini Team 	Hakim 	
2002	Sabretooth 	Anthony Bricklin 	
2002	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 	Gimli / Voice of Treebeard	
* Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
* Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2002	Endangered Species 	Police Lt. Wyznowski 	
2002	Scorcher 	Dr. Matthew Sallin 	
2003	Coronado 	Presidente Hugo Luis Ramos	
2003	The Jungle Book 2 	Ranjan's father 	Voice
2003	The Medallion 	Cmdr. Hammerstock-Smythe 	
2003	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 	Gimli / Voice of Treebeard	
*Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
*National Board of Review Award for Best CastOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
* Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
* Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
2004	12 Days of Terror 	Captain 	
2004	The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement 	Viscount Mabrey 	
2004	La Femme Musketeer 	Porthos 	
2004	The Lost Angel 	Father Kevin 	
2004	The Privileged Planet 	Narrator 	
2005	The Game of Their Lives 	Bill Jeffrey 	
2005	Chupacabra: Dark Seas 	Captain Randolph 	
2005	The King Maker 	Phillippe 	
2006	Shark Bait 	Thorton 	English Dub
2006	One Night with the King 	Mordecai 	
2006	The Legend of Sasquatch 	Ranger Steve 	Voice
2007	In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale 	Merick 	
2007	The Ferryman 	The Greek 	
2007	Catching Kringle 	Santa 	Voice
2009	Reclaiming the Blade 	Narrator 	
2009	31 North 62 East 	John Hammond 	
2010	Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf 	Elliot Carbon 	TV Movie
2010	Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes 	Dr. Watson 	Voice Direct-to-video
2011	KJB: The Book That Changed the World 	 	
2011	Sophie and Sheba 	 	
2011	Ferocious Planet 	Senator Jackson Crenshaw 	
2012	Escape 	Malcolm Andrews 	
2013	100 Degrees Below Zero 	Ralph Dillard 	
2013	Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map 	Gnarlybeard 	Voice Direct-to-video
2013	Prisoners of the Sun 	Prof. Hayden Masterton 	
2014	Apocalypse Pompeii 	Colonel Dillard 	
2014	Saul: The Journey to Damascus 	Caiphas 	
2014	The Prophet 	Yousef 	Voice
2015	Beyond the MaskBeyond the Mask - Official Website, January 2015.	Charles Kemp 	
=== Television ===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1974 	Fall of Eagles 	Zinoviev 	
1975 	The Sweeney 	Ron Brett 	Episode: "Poppy" (Season 2, episode 8)
1976 	I, Claudius 	Macro 	Episodes 8 and 9
1977 	1990 	Ivor Griffith 	Episode: "William and the Wonderful Present"
1980 	BBC Television Shakespeare 	Salerio 	The Merchant of Venice
1980 	Shōgun 	Vasco Rodrigues 	MiniseriesNominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
1982 	CHiPs 	Nakura 	Season 5, episode 27
1982 	Ivanhoe 	Front-de-Boeuf 	
1983 	Reilly, Ace of Spies 	Tanyatos 	
1984 	Robin of Sherwood 	King Richard 	Series 1, episode 6 "The King's Fool"
1984 	Scarecrow and Mrs. King 	Lord Bromfield 	Season 2, episode 8 "Affair at Bromfield Hall"
1987 	Marjorie and the Preacher Man 	Seymour 	Television Drama
1988 - 1994	Murder, She Wrote 	Harry Mordecai / Harry Waverly / Lancaster	3 episodes (he played different characters)
1988 	Noble House 	Quillan Gornt 	Miniseries
1988 	War and Remembrance 	Sammy Mutterperl 	Miniseries
1989 	The Trial of the Incredible Hulk 	Wilson Fisk 	TV film
1991 	Great Expectations 	Joe Gargery 	
1991 	The Mystery of the Black Jungle 	O'Connor 	Miniseries
1991 	Tales from the Crypt 	Duval 	Episode: "Dead Wait"
1992 	Batman: The Animated Series 	'Baron' Waclaw Jozek (voice) 	Episode: "The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy"
1992 	Archaeology 	Himself 	Voyages of the Vikings
1992 	Ring of the Musketeers 	Maurice Treville 	TV movie
1992-1993 	The Legend of Prince Valiant 	King Hugo, King Donovan (voice) 	8 episodes
1993–1994 	The Untouchables 	Agent Michael Malone 	15 episodes
1994 	A Flintstones Christmas Carol 	Charles Brickens (voice) 	Television special
1995–1997 	Sliders 	Prof. Maximillian Arturo 	40 episodes
1995 	Fantastic Four 	Thor (voice) 	2 episodes; Season 2, episodes 6 and 8
1996 	The Incredible Hulk 	Thor (voice) 	Episode: "Mortal Bounds"
1995-1996 	Gargoyles 	Macbeth (voice) 	13 episodes
1996 	Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh 	Narrator 	Halloween television special
1996 	Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm 	Asgarth (voice) 	Episode: "Overthrown"
1997 	You Wish 	Madman Mustapha 	3 episodes
1997 	Star Trek: Voyager 	Leonardo da Vinci 	2 episodes
1999 	Au Pair 	Nigel Kent 	Television film
2002 	Justice League 	Hades (voice) 	Episode: "Paradise Lost" Parts 1 & 2
2002 	The Zeta Project 	Edgar Mandragora (voice) 	Episode: "Ro's Gift"
2000-2002 	SpongeBob SquarePants 	Man Ray (voice) 	2 Episodes
2002 	Fillmore! 	Lenny (voice) 	Episode: "Ingrid Third, Public Enemy #1"
2003 	Helen of Troy 	King Priam 	Miniseries
2004 	Dragon Storm 	King Fastrad 	Television film
2005 	Revelations (Omnium Finis Imminet) 	Professor Jonah Lampley 	Miniseries
2006 	Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! 	Captain Proteus (voice) 	Episode: "Demon of the Deep"
2008 	Anaconda 3: Offspring 	J.D. Murdoch 	Television film
2008 	Fire & Ice: The Dragon Chronicles 	Sangimel 	Television film
2009 	Dark Days in Monkey City 	Narrator 	3 episodes
2009 	Anacondas: Trail of Blood 	J.D. Murdoch 	Television film
2009 	Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire	Grimshank 	3 episodes
2010 	Legend of the Seeker 	Horace 	Episode: "Vengeance"
2010 	Three Wise Women 	Archangel Green 	
2012 	Psych 	Museum Curator 	Season 6, episode 10
2014 	Let The Season In 	Narrator 	Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert Special (filmed 2013)
2014 	Once Upon a Time 	Grand Pabbie 	Voice / Season 4, Episodes 1, 6, 7
2015 	Killing Jesus 	Annas 	
2015 	The Adventures of Puss in Boots 	Goodsword (voice) 	Episode: "Sword"
2016 	The Shannara Chronicles 	Eventine Elessedil 	Regular
2016 	The Lion Guard 	King Sokwe (voice) 	Season 1, episode 22 "The Lost Gorillas"
===Video games===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1993	Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness 	Narrator 	Voice
1994	Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger 	Gen. James 'Paladin' Taggart / Prince Thrakhath nar Kiranka	Voice
1996	Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom	Senator James 'Paladin' Taggart 	Voice
1996	Ripper 	Vigo Haman 	Actor
1998	Dune 2000 	Noree Moneo 	Actor
2003	Freelancer 	Richard Winston Tobias 	Voice
2015	Lego Dimensions 	Gimli 	Voice
2016	Star Citizen 	Graves 	Voice
==Audio books==
* Sir Malcolm and the Missing Prince
* The Trials of Saint Patrick
* The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty: In the Reign of Terror
* Affabel: Window of Eternity
* Rescued
==References==
==External links==
* 
* Article about controversial statements 18 January 2004
* Andrew Leigh, "No Sean Penn". National Review. 5 March 2004.
Category:20th-century Welsh male actors
Category:21st-century Welsh male actors
Category:1944 births
Category:People educated at Truro School
Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Category:Alumni of the University of East Anglia
Category:Living people
Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Category:People from Salisbury
Category:People from Carmarthenshire
Category:Welsh male film actors
Category:Welsh male television actors
Category:Welsh male stage actors
Category:Welsh male voice actors
Category:Welsh male video game actors
Category:People from Ammanford
Category:People from Watton, Norfolk
Category:The Lion Guard