Hey, my fellow geeks and nerds, we’ve had the brilliant news in from CHIC FESTIVALS, AREA 51 and TELOS PUBLISHING with their latest reveal of another fabulous guest for SFW X – PART 2 at their new venue in Great Yarmouth.
We’ve been told by the team that they are delighted to announce that JOHN RHYS-DAVIES is now joining them for SFWX:2!
JOHN RHYS-DAVIES is one of modern cinema’s most recognizable character actors, best known as Gimli in LORD OF THE RINGS and as Harrison Ford’s sidekick in two INDIANA JONES films.
John has appeared in over 150 television shows and films, and 90 (give or take) Stage productions.
John grew up in England, Wales, and East Africa. Upon graduating from the University of East Anglia, John worked briefly as a schoolteacher before joining London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He spent the next eleven years as a stage actor, including several seasons at the Royal Shakespeare Company.
John was 28 when he made his first regular television series appearance in 1972. In 1975, he joined Patrick Stewart, Derek Jacobi, and John Hurt for the BBC miniseries I, CLAUDIUS. He subsequently starred as Vasco Rodrigues in the miniseries SHOGUN, starring Richard Chamberlain. which told the adventures of an English sailor stranded in Japan during the early 17th century.
In 1999, John was offered the role of the warrior dwarf Gimli in Peter Jackson’s three-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. As Gimli, John is utterly unrecognizable: The part required that he wear heavy facial prosthetics and perform on his knees to portray the 4’2″ dwarf (the actor, himself, was then over six feet tall).
John returned to US television in LADY MUSKETEER (2004) opposite Gerard Depardieu. Shot in Croatia in 2002, this film nearly ended his life when a 55′ long and 12′ high wall and roof blew over onto him, breaking his back in five places. He is alas, no longer over 6’ tall!
John has also branched out to other media, starring in video games such as WING COMMANDER III: HEART OF THE TIGER, DUNE 2000, BALDUR’S GATE: DARK ALLIANCE, and QUEST FOR GLORY IV. He is working on Chris Roberts’ (Wing Commander) new game SQUADRON 42.
John recorded voice work for the animated films ALADDIN AND THE KING OF THIEVES (1996) and CATS DON’T DANCE (1997). The actor has done additional voice work for ANIMANIACS, BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, GARGOYLES, PINKY AND THE BRAIN, THE FANTASTIC FOUR, and THE INCREDIBLE HULK.
John has two grown up sons, Ben and Tom from his first marriage to his late wife Suzanne. He is now married to former journalist Lisa Manning with whom he has an 11-year-old horse-mad daughter Maia. He resides in both New Zealand and the Isle of Man, and in airport lounges around the world.
More Guests Heading to SFW X Part 2
There have been some amazing guest announcements already been made for the event starting this Halloween in Great Yarmouth, the amazing Sophie Aldred (Doctor Who) is making a welcome return to the event.
Other guests include author David Gerrold (Star Trek, The Twilight Zone), David Warner (The Omen, Star Trek V & VI), Gil Gerard (Captain Buck Rogers), James Faulkner (Game Of Thrones) and Andrew Lee Potts (Primeval, Alice).
If you’ve read our review of Shed of the Dead then you will be pleased to hear that Emily Booth is returning to SFW along with Ewen MacIntosh.
But that’s not all other guests that will be enjoying the warm SFW family hospitality will be Toby Sebastian (Game of Thrones), Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains, Lisa Bowerman, Fintan McKeown, Richard Dinnick, Zen Cho, Ian Whates, Bryony Pearce, Dave McCran, Raven Dane and Dacre Stocker.
And let’s not forget the brilliant entertainment that is lined up for the weekend:
Bands
Henge
John Coghlans Quo
The Swinghoppers
EZXP
Jollyboat
Forktail
Doomtrodon
Blues Harvest
Flesh Tetris
Hats Off Gentlemen, It’s Adequate
Cabaret
The Elvis Dead
Foxdog Studios
Level Up Leroy
Professor Elemental
Pat Sharp
The Dark Room
Pop Up Puppet Cinema
MMORPG from the creators of Knightmare Live
Imaginarium & Area 51
Experimental Sonic Machines
Panaoke
Behind The Sofa
Plus
Children’s writing workshops
Comic Strip Club
Minevention
Retro Gaming Museum
Exclusive preview screening of Tom Paton’s “Stairs”
Cosplay
For more details of the event head to www.scifiweekender.com
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
