Original Lord Of The Rings Cast Member Returns In A Brand New LOTR Project

Actors can fall in love with their characters just as easily as fans, and in the case of John Rhys-Davies, he remains fully enraptured by his Gimli persona. «Actors often create characters out of love, and it’s very hard, sometimes, to let them go,» Rhy-Davies told Eurogamer. «Certainly, Gimli is, for me, a character that I really adore, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to reprise him in a different context.»

Rhy-Davies was able to provide interviews despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike as long as he talked about the game and didn’t discuss the films — something he indicated in another interview with popular Tolkien influencer Nerd of the Rings.

Rhy-Davies told Eurogamer that the opportunity to explore Gimli’s story arc in the context of «Return to Moria» is especially enticing because it allowed him to revisit a loose thread in his character’s story. «It’s always fun to come back and think of the ‘what-ifs,’» the actor said, «and the chance to work on this game is an exploration of one of the what-ifs, isn’t it?» It turns out that this particular «what if» isn’t just an interesting cinematic adaptation or artificial extension of Gimli’s story, either. The game delves into very real Dwarven history that takes place in the wake of «The Lord of the Rings» story (even if they do alter it a bit to have Gimli present).