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Lord of the Rings' dwarf warrior says no to Hobbit
There's a lot of speculation about who will/won't be in the proposed Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit. Will Ian McKellen be back? Who will play Bilbo? Does Andy Serkis get to reprise the role of Gollum?
Well, one thing's been made sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt: John Rhys-Davies will not come back in dwarf form.
Rhys-Davies, who played Gimli the dwarf in the Rings trilogy, was asked if he could return as another dwarf (perhaps Gloin, Gimli's father?). He told Empire:
"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."
Rhys-Davies is referencing the severe allergic reaction he had to the prosthetic makeup he wore for Rings. It got so bad that he could only work one day out of every three.
When asked if he could come back for a few smaller parts, he added, "Why would you want to do it if it was just a couple of shots? When you've been 1 of 1, why would you want to be 1 of 13?"
It looks as if he's hung up his battle-axe for good, never to don the beard again. But what about another race?
"It was just a gentle 'What would you feel about putting it on again?' But no. I'd be interested in trying to create a different type of persona within ... the thing. That is challenging as an actor. I'd really prefer to play something quite different. Maybe an Elf. They've got a different set of problems with The Hobbit, 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."
The Hobbit will be covered in two films. The first will hit theaters in December 2011, followed by the second a year later.
By Azgoroth at 6:22 PM ON 10/30/09
He ceremoniously burned his Gimli mask at the end of the LOTR shoots. The footage is in the extended editions extra content.
By britt at 6:33 PM ON 10/30/09
Beorn???
By REDante at 7:39 PM ON 10/30/09
In all fairness the guy has a point, unlike Ian Mckellin, Rhys-Davis is up there in age, and to deal with that kind of make up is just freakin awful, and since he was such a big part in the Lord of the Rings, I can understand why he would want just to do a small bit as a dwarf in the Hobbit.
He could always be a troll......
By zathras at 8:59 PM ON 10/30/09
I could maybe see John Rhys-Davies playing the character of Beorn, if that character makes an appearance in the film version of The Hobbit. He's got the nice over-the-top booming voice I always pictured Beorn as having.
By tb83 at 9:22 PM ON 10/30/09
i like Del-torro as a director but i think more of the actors from the rings trilogy would come back for the hobbit if peter jackson was doing it
By Mwili at 11:33 PM ON 10/30/09
Ian McKellen is actually 5 years older than John Rhys-Davies.
By macmikey at 12:30 AM ON 10/31/09
@Mwili,
Yes, McKellan is a little older than JRD, but the latter has been in the American cinematic consciousness since Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)--that's almost 30 years. So he *SEEMS* a lot older, since we've seen him for so long.
Doesn't that just make perfect sense? ;-)
2nd captcha...
By Cyrus at 10:29 AM ON 10/31/09
in my opinion this is a good thing. why do the same old thing with the same old actors we've seen in the other films. if we wanted the other films, we can watch the other films. i personally want to see something of the depth of the world that Tolkien brought to life in his books--and you just can't do that if you have the same actors playing multiple parts. Gandalf, Bilbo and some of the Elves makes sense, but Gloin does not.
By antodav at 1:42 PM ON 10/31/09
Good. Now he'll be free to play Prof. Arturo again if they ever do a re-make of Sliders.
LOTR was fail, IMO. John Rhys-Davies can and has done much better.
By KC at 10:08 PM ON 10/31/09
That's a shame but you can't fault the guy if the makeup made him that miserable.
By nemogbr at 3:35 PM ON 11/01/09
I'd vote for Beorn as well.
By asgardshill at 3:40 PM ON 11/01/09
Peter Jackson can show literally millions of Orcs and other creatures in one stunning shot but can't help Rhys-Davies out with a little CGI facial art?
By buybigtires at 3:57 PM ON 11/01/09
CGI can be very expensive in terms of time. It's not like Rhys-Davies role would entail as much screen time as Gollum, so drawing in expressions on a minor character is a waste in terms of time and budget.
By Xbox 360 Controller at 5:09 PM ON 11/01/09
can't really blame him. why come back for a smaller part?
By Freebie Link at 5:36 PM ON 11/01/09
Oh well, this is a pretty terrible job, at least it looks that way compared to me.
By electric cigarette at 7:19 PM ON 11/02/09
Ya I agree pretty lame.
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electric cigarette:
Ya I agree pretty lame....More »