An excerpt from an interview John Rhys-Davies gave for heyuguys.co.uk

By David Sztypuljak

 

HeyUGuys: So you’re currently in Holland and I’ve been reliably informed you’re off to New Zealand, is that for some Hobbit related purpose?!

 

JRD: It’s for marital purposes as I have a wife and child there!

 

HeyUGuys: Ahh, I didn’t know that! We saw you on set in the latest Peter Jackson Production diary. What was it like going back and is there any chance you might cameo in it?

 

JRD: I would love to! I’ve had a great sort of 180 degree turn. After I did The Lord of the Rings, I didn’t want to get near prosthetic masks ever again, I still don’t really, and I didn’t want to play a dwarf to be honest with you. Why be one of thirteen when you can be one of one. As time comes between you and the horrors of that make-up, slowly you begin to see things through rather rosy spectacles. I did go down and see him (Jackson) and I did come as close to grovelling as you can get (Laughs!). I’m sure that Peter knows that I grovelled!

 

HeyUGuys: So you haven’t had confirmation that you’re in it yet?

 

JRD: I haven’t had confirmation that I’m not, but realistically I’m not. It sure would be sweet if one could. Let me tell you about it…..

 

I believe Peter Jackson has everything that a Director needs. His organizational ability alone is completely remarkable. I think it will change the way films are made. I think he’s upping the game for every other film-maker in the world. Projecting in 48 frames alone is going to give a level of clarity that we’ve never had in film before, and I think he’s housebreaking 3d. He is such a grounded level man with all the characteristics that a great Director must have. Added to which, he built a film industry from scratch to an international level. Marvellous intelligence and a marvellous modest nature, Peter has got it all!

 

HeyUGuys: How did it feel to be back on set?

 

JRD: Very much like going back to your old school where you’d been ‘cock of the walk’ and suddenly realizing that there was a whole new generation of new cocks walking around and you were just politely being treated as one of the quite distinguished old boys of the school, but not really today’s news. It did have a very nostalgic feeling and that’s how it should be. Time has moved on. Lord of the Rings was state of the art, but now it’s long live The Hobbit, which is now state of the art!

 

HeyUGuys: How would you compare working between Jackson and Spielberg? Is working for them quite similar or is working for them completely different?

 

JRD: Both are geniuses. Both have that extraordinary pallet that an artist needs to make great work. Different styles yes, but both masters. I’ve worked with extraordinary masters – Blake Edwards, Franklin Schaffner, Spielberg is one of the giants. If dialogue were not permitted in film, Steven Spielberg would be the greatest filmmakers of all time. He can tell a story in pictures better than anyone I know.

 

PJ, well, I love PJ! You can’t really compare the two, as they’re both giants. Very good at casting, and very good at getting great performances from their actors. I suppose Jackson has a greater literary awareness ability, and that is a real advantage as a director. Steven though knows bad dialogue when he hears it, but I’m not sure that he can initiate great good dialogue. I admire them both very much!

 

 

John Rhys-Davies on Treebeard

John Rhys-Davies speaks on ulcers and an invitation to The Hobbit Films set

The 66-year-old Lord of the Rings star, John Rhys-Davies, speaks to Kirsty Johnston from stuff.co.nz and said he initially told Jackson he wouldn’t be returning to Middle Earth as the dwarf Gimli, but later had a change of heart.

“The other day when I realised it was about to start a little shiver of regret went through me,” he said. “So I called Peter Jackson’s assistant and said, ‘If there was anything or even just an excuse to come down do let me know…’ PJ promptly collapsed and was admitted to hospital, I never heard back. I didn’t think I was that bad!”

Rhys-Davies also revealed he may be spending more time in New Zealand meeting fans at the weekend’s expo.

This next video shows him doing just that and clarifying the joke he made about PJ’s ulcer. 🙂

Source

“Why would I want to be one of 13 when I could be one of one?” – John Rhys-Davies

The character John Rhys-Davies played in the LotR, Gimli, doesn’t feature anywhere in The Hobbit. It is his father Gloin who happens to be one of the thirteen dwarves who go off on their adventure to the Lonely Mountain.

This is what Rhys-Davies had to say about getting a role in The Hobbit, back in 2009: “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.”

While filming the LotR, Rhys-Davies had to undergo a facial reconstruction with prosthetics and it was a very painful process for him. Painful indeed, and not just ardous, because he developed a sort of an eczema in reaction to the prosthetic make-up. He does have a few different ideas about playing a different role in The Hobbit.

Rhys-Davies says, “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.”

TheOneRing.net reports that he recently mentioned: “I was asked to return as one of the 13 dwarves, and I thought, why would I want to be one of 13 when I could be one of one?”

Rhys-Davies mentioned that he rang Matt Dravitszki, Peter Jackson’s assistant, and asked if they wanted him down in New Zealand to be a sort of “dwarf assistant”, talking to the new actors and helping them out here and there with his experiences. He said they never returned his call. Finally, he said that the 13 new dwarves have his “deepest sympathies” and that he is eagerly awaiting ‘The Hobbit’ just as much as anybody else.