John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Daviesis a Welsh actor and voice actor known for his portrayal of Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the charismatic Arab 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...
NationalityWelsh
ProfessionActor
Date of Birth5 May 1944
The most despised sector of Hollywood are the writers. A good writer is quickly promoted to a 'concept man' - and then a producer - because he's too valuable to simply be a writer.
A solitary child growing up in Africa, you're really quite dependent on books.
The universe starts off with the Big Bang theory, and the first thing that emerged from the Big Bang is essentially hydrogen and then helium. And that's what combusts in stars. Finally, stars implode, and they build heavier elements out of that. And those heavier elements are reconstituted in the heart of other stars, eventually.
Once you've got a child to the point that they've discovered books, they're safe. There's a world of the imagination that when they're hurt or upset, they can move into, and it is wonderful.
Actors endow the villain in fiction with a warmth and quality that makes them memorable. I think we like fictional villains because they're the Mr. Hyde of our own dreams. I've met a few real villains in my time, and they weren't the least bit sympathetic.
Actors are always looking for actor-proof parts. A part so good you can't screw it up!
I think your children are your measure of success, regardless of work and career.
Just think about it: in every shop in the reading world since 1956, there has been two feet of book-space devoted to Tolkien.
People have become disillusioned with Parliament, and that threatens democracy.
My parents were always Welsh-speaking and very proud of Wales.
If you cannot have fun on a set and enjoy what you're doing, you're better off giving it up.
If you've gotta follow a fashion, pick a good fashion, I say, yes.
Intellectually, now, I believe that it is a complete vanity to say positively there is no God.
If I had a bloody tattoo for every film I'd done, I'd be a walking billboard.