John Rhys-Davies made his debut in the 1973 British drama film ‘Penny Gold’ where he played the role of a Rugby player. Following his debut, he went on to star in films like ‘The Black Windmill’ (1974), ‘The Naked Civil Servant’ (1975), ‘The Nativity’ (1978), and ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’ (1979). In 1981, he portrayed ‘Sallah’ in the American action-adventure film ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ directed by Steven Spielberg. The film saw critical acclaim upon release and was a massive box office success, grossing over $389.9 million on a $20 million budget. The following year, he was seen playing the role of ‘Andre Cassell’ in the British-American musical comedy film ‘Victor/Victoria’ directed by Blake Edwards. The film opened to universal acclaim and scored a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. He was next seen in films like ‘Sahara’ (1983), ‘Sword of the Valiant’ (1984), ‘Kim’ (1984), ‘King Solomon's Mines’ (1985), ‘Firewalker’ (1986), ‘The Living Daylights’ (1987), ‘Waxwork’ (1988), ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ (1989), ‘The Lost World’ (1992), ‘The Unnamable II: The Statement of Randolph Carter’ (1993), and ‘The High Crusade’ (1994). In 1995, he joined the cast of the American science fiction and fantasy television series ‘Sliders.’ He played the role of ‘Professor Maximillian Arturo’ and remained a part of the show until 1997.
He was next seen in television series like ‘The Incredible Hulk’ (1996), ‘Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm’ (1996), ‘Freakazoid’ (1997), ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ (1997), and ‘Au Pair’ (1999). In 2001, he portrayed ‘Gimli’ in the epic fantasy adventure film ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’ directed by Peter Jackson. The film was a massive critical and commercial success and was named one of the 100 greatest American films in history by the American Film Institute. He reprised his role as ‘Gimli’ in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ (2002) and ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ (2003). In 2004, he starred in the American romantic comedy film ‘The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement’ where he played the role of ‘Viscount Mabrey.’ Despite opening to a mixed reception, the film did decent business at the box office.
Rhys-Davies continued to star in films like ‘The Game of Their Lives’ (2005), ‘The King Maker’ (2005), ‘One Night with the King’ (2006), ‘In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale’ (2007), ‘31 North 62 East’ (2009), ‘Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes’ (2010), ‘Ferocious Planet’ (2011), ‘Prisoners of the Sun’ (2013), and ‘Saul: The Journey to Damascus’ (2014). In 2015, he played the role of ‘Charles Kemp’ in the American Christian historical action-adventure film ‘Beyond the Mask.’ The film was panned by critics and was given a 29% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. He next appeared in films like ‘The Apostle Peter: Redemption’ (2016), ‘Camera Store’ (2017), ‘Aquaman’ (2018), ‘Valley of the Gods’ (2019), and ‘Grizzly II: Revenge’ (2020). He was last seen in the 2021 action comedy film, ‘Prick'd’ directed by Diane Cossa and Neal Howard.
