One of my favourite characters from The Lord of the Rings trilogy was Gimli, played by John Rhys-Davies. Gimli was the comic relief in-between all the epic battles and he had some great lines (”Nobody tosses a dwarf!”, “He’s dead because he’s go ma’ axe embedded in his nervous system!”). The character of Gimli will not be appearing in upcoming The Hobbit movies as he doesn’t appear in the book, however according to Empire Rhys-Davies was asked whether he would like to return to play another character, possibly Gimli’s father, Gloin.
“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.”
So not even a small cameo?
“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?”
But the production did ask if he’d be interested in returning.
“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 13 dwarves include Thorin Oakenshielf, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori and Ori. It would have been interesting if Rhys-Davies came back to play Gimli’s father, but I guess the role will have to be filled by another actor. I’ve no idea how Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson will handle all of the dwarves, but some will no doubt have bigger roles than others.
