John Rhys-Davies

John Rhys-Davies (born May 5, 1944) is a Welsh actor. Although he has dozens of films to his credit, Rhys-Davies is probably best known for his characters in two blockbuster franchises: "Sallah" in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf "Gimli" in the Lord of the Rings films (in which he also voiced "Treebeard"). He also had a lead role in the television series Sliders as Professor Maximillian Arturo from 1995 to 1997.

He has appeared in numerous other television shows and TV miniseries, and has lent his distinctive deep, gruff voice to numerous video games and animated TV shows, including Gargoyles. He appears in the full motion video cut scenes of computer games including Dune 2000 and the Wing Commander series. He also made several appearances on Star Trek: Voyager as a holodeck version of Leonardo Da Vinci.

Rhys-Davies is a member of the United Kingdom's Conservative Party, though most Hollywood actors are liberals. As a university student in the '60s he was a radical leftist, but he started to change his views around when he went 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."

Filmography

• The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
• Coronado (2003)
• The Medallion (2003)
• Vlad (2003)
• The Jungle Book 2 (2003) (voice)
• Endangered Species (2002)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
• Sabretooth (2002)
• Scorcher (2002)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
• The Gold Cross (2000)
• Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists (2000) (voice)
• Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol (1999)
• Secret of the Andes (1999)
• The Protector (1997)
• Cats Don't Dance (1997) (voice)
• Bloodsport 3 (1996)
• Echo of Blue (1996)
• Dark Prince (1996)
• Glory Daze (1996)
• The Great White Hype (1996)
• Blood of the Innocent (1994)
• Robot in the Family (1994)
• The High Crusade (1994)
• Sunset Grill (1993)
• The Unnamable II: The Statement of Randolph Carter (1993)
• Cyborg Cop (1993)
• The Seventh Coin (1993)
• Canvas (1992)
• The Double 0 Kid (1992)
• Journey of Honor (1992)
• The Lost World (1992)
• Return to the Lost World (1992)
• South Beach (1992)
• Rebel Storm (1990)
• Tusks (1990)
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
• Il Giovane Toscanini (1988)
• Waxwork (1988)
• The Living Daylights (1987)
• Firewalker (1986)
• In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro (1986)
• King Solomon's Mines (1985)
• Sahara (1983)
• Best Revenge (1982)
• Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1982)
• Victor/Victoria (1982)
• Ivanhoe (1982)
• Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
• Sphinx (1981)
• A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (1979)

External links

• John Rhys-Davies at the Internet Movie Database
• Andrew Leigh, "No Sean Penn". National Review. March 5, 2004.