Early life

John Rhys-Davies was born on 5 May 1944 in Salisbury, England, and was raised in Ammanford, Wales. His mother, Mary Margaretta 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 87 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 tole 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 movie 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 movie 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). He has also appeared in a number of Sci Fi Channel original movies.

In 2004, he starred in 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 - 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), compared to the actors playing hobbits at around 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m). 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. 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 allergic 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 also lent his distinctive deep 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 RSV-CE translation. In 2011, he presented KJB: The Book That Changed The World, which features him reading diverse snippets from the King James Version.

Personal life

Rhys-Davies married Suzanne A. D. Wilkinson in December 1966. They had two boys, Tom and Ben. Although they separated in 1985, they remained married until her death, in 2010, from Alzheimer's. He remained close to her and took care of her until she died.

In 2004 he began living with Lisa Manning, and they have a daughter, Maia.

Political views

Rhys-Davies holds politically conservative views. 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".

Views on Islam

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 per cent of the children in Holland under the age of 18 will be of Muslim descent.

His comments were endorsed by the British National Party. 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

Films

Year	Film	Role	Notes
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	Great Expectations	Joe Gargery
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
1994	Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness PC, DOS	Narrator	Voice
1994	Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger PC, DOS	Gen. James 'Paladin' Taggart / Prince Thrakhath nar Kiranka	Voice
1996	The Great White Hype	Johnny Windsor
1996	Glory Daze	Luther
1996	Aladdin and the King of Thieves	Cassim	Voice
1996	Marquis de Sade	Inspector Marais
1996	Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom PC	Senator James 'Paladin' Taggart	Voice
1997	Cats Don't Dance	Woolie Mammoth	Voice
1997	Bloodsport III	Jacques Duvalier
1999	Secret of the Andes	Father Claver
1999	Dune 2000	Noree Moneo
1999	Au Pair	Nigel Kent
2000	Britannic	Captain Barrett
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 Cast Online 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
2004	Dragon Storm	King Fastrad
2005	The Game of Their Lives	Bill Jeffrey
2005	Chupacabra: Dark Seas	Captain Randolph
2005	The King Maker	Phillippe
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
2008	Anaconda 3: Offspring	J.D. Murdoch
2008	Fire & Ice: The Dragon Chronicles	Sangimel
2009	Prisoners of the Sun	Prof. Hayden Masterton
2009	Anacondas: Trail of Blood	J.D. Murdoch
2009	Reclaiming the Blade	Narrator
2009	31 North 62 East	John Hammond
2010	Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf	Elliot Carbon
2011	KJB: The Book That Changed the World
2011	Sophie and Sheba
2012	Escape	Malcolm Andrews
2013	100 Degrees Below Zero	Ralph Dillard
2014	Apocalypse Pompeii	Colonel Dillard
2014	Saul: The Journey to Damascus	Caiphas
2015	Beyond the Mask	Charles Kemp

Television

Year	Television show	Role	Episodes / Notes
1974	Fall of Eagles	Zinoviev
1975	The Sweeney	Ron Brett	Poppy (Season 2, episode 8)
1976	I, Claudius	Macro	Episodes 8 and 9
1977	1990	Ivor Griffith	Season 1, episode 3
1980	Shōgun	Vasco Rodrigues	Miniseries Nominated—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"
1987	Marjorie and the Preacher Man	Seymour	Television Drama
1988	Noble House	Quillan Gornt	Miniseries
1988	War and Remembrance	Sammy Mutterperl	Miniseries
1989	The Trial of the Incredible Hulk	Wilson Fisk	Made-for-TV film
1991	The Mystery of the Black Jungle	O'Connor	Miniseries
1991	Tales from the Crypt	Duval	Season 3, episode 6
1992	Batman: The Animated Series	'Baron' Waclaw Jozek	Season 1, episode 25
1992	Archaeology	Himself	Voyages of the Vikings
1993-1994	The Untouchables	Agent Michael Malone	15 episodes
1994	A Flintstones Christmas Carol	Charles Brickens (voice)	Television special
1995-1997	Sliders	Prof. Maximilian Arturo	40 episodes
1995	Fantastic Four	Thor	2 episodes; Season 2, episodes 6 and 8
1996	The Incredible Hulk	Thor	Season 1, episode 9
1996	Gargoyles	Macbeth	Season 1, episode 1
1996	Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh	Narrator	Halloween television special
1996	Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm	Asgarth
1997	You Wish	Madman Mustapha	3 episodes
1997	Star Trek: Voyager	Leonardo da Vinci	2 episodes
2002	Justice League	Hades	Season 1, episodes 8 and 9
2002	Fillmore!	Lenny	Season 1, episode 8
2003	Helen of Troy	King Priam	Miniseries
2005	Revelations (Omnium Finis Imminet)	Professor Jonah Lampley	Miniseries
2009	Dark Days in Monkey City	Narrator	3 episodes
2009	Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire	Grimshank	3 episodes
2010	Legend of the Seeker	Horace	Season 2, episode 17
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
2016	The Shannara Chronicles	Eventine Elessedil	Regular

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness	Narrator	Voice
1998	Dune 2000	Noree Moneo	Actor
2003	Freelancer	Richard Winston Tobias	Voice
2015	Lego Dimensions	Gimli	Voice
2016	Star Citizen Squadron 42	Graves	Voice

Audio books

• Sir Malcolm and the Missing Prince

[ Source: Wikipedia ]