**text taken fromLord Of The Rings: Official Movie Guide**
		"Do you want to know why I got involved with this?" asks John Rhys-Davies. "I really wanted to play a character called Denethor. He is Boromir's father and doesn't appear until The Two Towers. I thought: I can go to New Zealand for a few weeks, to be one or two wonderful scenes and go home knowing that I was in one of the biggest pictures of all time. That was the idea!" However, like several cast members of The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, John Rhys-Davies did not get his first-choice role: "I was totally shaken when they came back and asked my to play Gimli!" Undertaking the role of Gimli was to prove a challenge, not least because of the many hours spent in the makeup department undergoing the daily transformation of his features into those of a Dwarf. Despite the discomfort of wearing a quantity of prosthetic makeup (to which Rhys-Davies' skin developed an allergic reaction), the actor quickly became aware of the character's importance within the Fellowship of the Ring and the dramatic structure of the saga. "There is," explain Rhys-Davies, "an energetic ferocity in the Dwarf that the film needs. It's often these minor characters who really have to impart a sense of energy and dynamism to a film so that the heroes can actually take their time to respond and be thoughtful and reflective." It is something that the Welsh-born actor well understands, having played several such film parts, including his memorable appearances has Harrison Ford's roguish sidekick, Sallah, in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Rhys-Davies studied at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and in addition to his distinguished theater work - Othello, Macbeth, and Falstaff - has taken leading roles in many movies, among them Victor/Victoria, The Living Daylights, King Solomon's Mines and the 1992 remake of Conan Doyle's The Lost World, in which he starred as Professor Challenger. His prolific television credits include playing Vasco Rodrigues in James Clavell's Shogun, Agent Malone in the British series The Untouchables and Joe Gargery in Charle Dickens' Great Expectations. Rhys-Davies has also starred in the TV mini-series War and Remembrance and has made a guest appearance in Murder, She Wrote and Star Trek: Voyager, in which he has twice portrayed Leonardo da Vinci! Reflecting on Tolkien's story and the decision to film it in New Zealand with Peter Jackson as director, Rhys-Davies says: "In the twilight of gloom, darkness and evil that is encompassing and about to overthrow the world, there are still men of virtue, there is still humor, honor, courage and compassion. And we couldn't have picked a better director or a better country to encapsulate that drama." And as for the Dwarf: "Well," laughs John Rhys-Davies, "Gimli is a short fellow, so it was really very interesting: I've never played a part before where I had t look up all the time I was acting!"
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