John Rhys-Davies (b. May 5 1944, on Trent Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK), played Gimli and voiced Treebeard in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. Strangely, although he played the part of Gimli, a dwarf, he is the tallest member of the actors in The Fellowship of the Ring, his height being of 6'1". That was the perfect height to play a dwarf as tall as he was compared to hobbits. He was invited to be in Peter Jackson's upcoming movie, The Hobbit. He refused the part and said, " I don't think my face could take that punishment again", being allergic to the heavy makeup needed.
He is also known for his many television credits including Professor Maximillian P. Arturo in Sliders, Agent Michael Malone in The Untouchables, the voice of Macbeth in Gargoyles, Sammy Mutterperl in War and Remembrance, Professor Lampley in Revelations, the Narrator for Takezo Kensei: Sword Saint, and he also appeared as the hologram of Leonardo da Vinci in Star Trek: Voyager.