John Rhys-Davies won’t play Gimli again

November 1, 2009 by Jane Boursaw

Fans of “Lord of the Rings” have been speculating on who would be back for the two-film “Hobbit” prequel, scheduled to hit theaters Dec. 2011 and Dec. 2012. Will Ian McKellen be back as Gandalf? And what about the creature Gollum? Will the pivotal role once again be played by Andy Serkis?

We’ve got our answer for at least one of the characters. John Rhys-Davies will not be back as the dwarf Gimli or any other dwarf, for that matter. But probably not for the reasons you think.

In an interview with Empire, he talked about the severe allergic reaction he had to the prosthetic makeup he wore for “Rings,” saying he wouldn’t play the character again.

“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."

In fact, it got so bad that Rhys-Davies could only work one day out of three. And he says he probably wouldn’t consider a smaller part. “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?”

Ok, so how about a different race? “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."

It’s disappointing, but hopefully we’ll see him in a different role.