John Rhys-Davies' portrayal of dwarf warrior Gimli in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films is one of the most memorable roles from the original trilogy. While fans will forever love Gimli, Rhys-Davies looks back on the role with mixed memories. For instance, he doesn't miss having to spend "eight hours a day for three years of my life in a make-up chair" or donning heavy armor and climbing mountains.
The draining experience of working on the three movies certainly took its toll. Rhys-Davies stepped back from the role for Peter Jackson's The Hobbit prequel trilogy. And in the time that's passed, with former co-star Andy Serkis now working on a new movie, The Hunt for Gollum, Rhys-Davies was recently asked whether he'd be down to reprise his role over 20 years later. Turns out, he's slightly more receptive to making a triumphant return nowadays.
"Well, I’m known to not want to put that prosthetic on again, but out of deference to Andy, whom I love and admire and again who has grown so much, if they invited me…oh god could I dare to put on that make-up again and lose my skin? Maybe with CGI," he told Collider.
It's true that there have been a lot of advancements in CGI technology since Rhys-Davies last played Gimli. The actors hopes that could take some of the pressure off:
""Before when they asked me to do ‘The Hobbit’, for instance, I said no. No, not at all. Times have moved on and technology has moved on, if I don’t have to spend eight hours a day for three years of my life in a make-up chair, I might indeed do it. The other thing is physically I am no longer capable of putting eighty pounds of extra armor and stuff on and climbing up mountains.""
I think I speak for everyone when I say seeing John Rhys-Davies back on our screens as Gimli would be incredible! Andy Serkis is already getting the old team back together with The Hunt for Gollum, with Peter Jackson on board as a producer. The movie is still early in development, and is scheduled to premiere in 2026.
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