Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies has played several iconic roles over the years. Before the turn of the millennium, he was best known in the pop-cultural zeitgeist as Sallah from the Indiana Jones series, but that changed with the release of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy in the early 2000s. Rhys-Davies portrayed Gimli, the only Dwarven member of the Fellowship and a frequent source of comic relief. Though the plot did not place much focus on Gimli or Legolas, their rivalry turned friendship was one of the highlights of the trilogy.

Rhys-Davies’ comedic delivery often stole the show, but he gave an equally excellent performance during serious scenes, such as when Gimli discovered Balin’s tomb in the Mines of Moria. For most fans of The Lord of the Rings, it is hard to imagine anyone else in the role of Gimli, but that was not the part for which Rhys-Davies originally auditioned. Initially, he wanted to play Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, whom John Noble ended up portraying in Jackson’s films. As revealed in interviews, Rhys-Davies was hesitant to play a Dwarven warrior instead of a Gondorian nobleman. He nearly declined to appear in The Lord of the Rings at all, which would have significantly altered the trajectory of his career.

John Rhys-Davies Was Not Optimistic About The Lord of the Rings

At first, Rhys-Davies lacked confidence in Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films. He thought that J. R. R. Tolkien’s magnum opus was too complex to be done justice in the medium of film, and he feared that Jackson was ill-prepared for such an undertaking since he had mainly directed low-budget horror films in the past. Nonetheless, he tried out for the part of Denethor. Rhys-Davies was attracted to that role since Denethor’s appearances in the story were infrequent; he could leave his mark on The Lord of the Rings without needing to commit much of his time to what he suspected was a doomed project.

Jackson and his team were impressed by Rhys-Davies’ audition, but they thought that he was better suited to Gimli than Denethor. Rhys-Davies was hesitant to commit himself to such a prominent role as Gimli. He also disliked the idea of undergoing the extensive makeup process that would be necessary for anyone playing a Dwarf. Though he had no way of knowing it at the time, he would end up suffering from extreme allergic reactions as a result of his prosthetic makeup from The Lord of the Rings; Rhys-Davies’ scale double, Brett Beattie, often filled in for him during filming so that he did not need to subject himself to the painful makeup process so often.

Peter Jackson Won John Rhys-Davies Over

Rhys-Davies was tempted to reject the offer to play Gimli, but his talent agents and his son convinced him to at least check out the production. This was a similar story to that of Viggo Mortensen, who was only convinced to play Aragorn by his son. Rhys-Davies flew to New Zealand to meet Jackson and the rest of The Lord of the Rings‘ cast and crew. He had expected the worst, but he was so impressed by what the team had prepared that he agreed to play Gimli despite his earlier reservations. Aside from his makeup woes, Rhys-Davies loved the experience of filming The Lord of the Rings. Though he refused to return for The Hobbit trilogy since he would need to wear prosthetics, he lent his voice to the 2023 video game The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria and has expressed a willingness to reprise the role of Gimli through CGI.

Name
Gimli
Denethor II

Race
Dwarf
Man

Birthplace
The Blue Mountains
Gondor

Age in The Return of the King
140
89

It is strange to think that the same actor was considered for both Gimli and Denethor, as they are very different characters. Gimli was a boisterous warrior who never shrank from a fight, while Denethor was a withdrawn aristocrat who abandoned all hope when Sauron’s army besieged his city. Jackson’s films made these differences even more stark than they were in Tolkien’s novel by turning Gimli into a more comical figure and highlighting Denethor’s depravity. If Rhys-Davies had played Denethor — or if he had not been in The Lord of the Rings at all — it is unknown who Jackson’s second choice for Gimli would have been. Warwick Davis and Bill Bailey both auditioned for the part, and it was rumored that Timothy Spall and Robert Trebor did as well. Rhys-Davies likely would have done as well as Denethor, but most viewers would agree that he was the ideal actor to bring Gimli to life.