The actor who played Gimli in 'The Lord of the Rings' suffered during the filming of the saga: “I wouldn't do it again”

You may have enjoyed the trilogy dozens of times. The Lord of the rings (obviously, in its enlarged version), but there is something you haven’t seen yet: the face of John Rhys-Davies. Unlike the rest of the members of the fellowship of the ring, the actor who gave life to Gimli had to hide under a thick prosthesis which made it very difficult for viewers to recognize the features of who was also Indiana Jones’ old friend. In fact, with Rhys-Davies, we met again in Spain last June thanks to the premiere of the latest installment about the famous archaeologist.

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The actor Welsh was available to Steven Spielberg when he, now as a producer, wanted to resurrect his character in Indiana Jones and the dial of destiny. However, when Peter Jackson, his former boss at The Lord of the ringsoffered to appear in The Hobbit, Rhys-Davies didn’t think about it. His time as a dwarf was over, so, If Jackson wanted to shoot another movie in Middle Earth, he shouldn’t have his ax.

John Rhys Davies as Gimli

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Three-hour makeup sessions

Special effects are not everything. If the saga based on Tolkien’s universe swept all the technical categories of the Oscars, it was also, in part, due to the work of its makeup artists. A job, yes, that ruined John Rhys-Davies’s years in New Zealand. At six feet five inches, the actor was one of the tallest protagonists in the trilogy.. Orlando Bloon, who played his dearest enemy Legolas, was several centimeters taller, and also Viggo Mortensen and Ian McKellen.

Instead, when the cameras began to roll, Aragorn and Gandalf had to lower their heads to address Rhys-Davies. This He had to undergo intense makeup sessions that left him battered and exhausted.. Therefore, as the saga progressed, his double Brett Beattie began to gain importance on filming to the point where the actors offered him to get the famous tattoo with which the ring company sealed his passage through The Lord of the rings.

“I know that many believe that Rhys-Davies’ height decreased thanks to CGI,” Beattie said in an interview for Polygon. “But the truth is that only a couple of shots used digital effects with Rhys-Davies”. The rest of the time, when we see Gimli, in full body, with his companions, who we are actually looking at is the Welshman’s double, Bret Beattie.

“I want to be honest with you,” Rhys-Davies responded to Helen O’Hara in an interview for empire. At that time, it was still rumored that the actor could appear in The Hobbit. “I would not do it. It is completely ruled out. There’s a part of me that would love to do it, but I don’t think my face can absorb another similar punishment. which I suffered during The Lord of the rings”.

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