Back at Dragon*Con 2012, we had the opportunity to interview the redoubtable John Rhys-Davies. You’ll know him as Sallah from the Indiana Jones movies, Gimli from The Lord of the Rings, Kingpin from the early Marvel films, a Bond villain, Wing Commander, and a thousand other films, geek or otherwise.
The entire interview (along with the wonderful pictures taken by Scarlett Robotica) can be seen in the youtube video above. For those who want to put it on their iPod, Kill-tacular-tron will be getting it into the Big Shiny Robot! iTunes feed.
I have to tell you, there is nothing quite like having a conversation with John Rhys-Davies and have him break out into his deep belly-laugh. It’s infectious and puts a smile on your face. He’s just a bright and charming man.
Below are a few of my favorite highlights:
About Raiders of the Lost Ark:
John Rhys-Davies: Very early on, Steven called us together and said he wanted to film it very fast, partly because it’s his friend, George Lucas’ money, and he didn’t want to waste it, and also partly because he as a director needed to try something different, to shoot fast. He said, “We will print first and second takes, and some times we will print mistakes, but I’m hoping to get a freshness, and immediacy. We’ll throw the paint on the canvas and work it quickly before it dries and move on. For a story like this, if we do this, good things may happen.” And that smart man, Steven, was absolutely right; it was a blast to do. When I first read the script, my agent asked me what I thought and I said it was either going to be the biggest disaster of all time, or it might set a new fashion in filmmaking, but whatever, I want in.
Swank: Was it more or less challenging knowing you had to be on spot and nail it in only a few takes?
JRD: I was fairly young and innocent about this, as I’d mainly done stage work, so I didn’t know better. My job is to deliver what the director wants, to service the script and my fellow actors. To a greater or lesser extent, you do it, and if you’re lucky and do it consistently, then there’s another job. There’s no great career plan for most actors, we are more children of serendipity or blighted by disaster than we ever recognize. Any achievement of course is mine, fate has nothing to do with it!
It’s really an interview you just need to listen to, as well.
And one other note: he offered to take pictures with us and wrapped his arms around us. The first things he did was tickle us, subtly at first, then much more fiercely. You can see it in the photos:
