Gimli (Middle-earth)

In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Gimli is a Dwarf of Durin's Folk who is chosen to accompany Frodo Baggins as a member of the Fellowship of the Ring on the quest to destroy the One Ring. An honourable and tough warrior favouring the axe as his weapon with the occasional flair for poetics, he has become an archetype for dwarves in contemporary fantasy settings.

In the film adaptation

In Peter Jackson's movie adaptations Gimli is played by John Rhys-Davies, who was deliberately chosen because he was taller than the actors playing the Hobbits. Thus in scenes where Gimli and the Hobbits appear together their respective sizes remain in proportion, whereas in scenes where they have to interact with human-sized characters tricks of scale had to be employed.

Related Topics:
Peter Jackson - Movie adaptations - John Rhys-Davies - Hobbit

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In the movie, Gimli's rougher personality compared to Aragorn and Legolas is somewhat exaggerated, and he sometimes provides the defusing comic relief, which some Tolkien purists find distasteful. A common cinematic defence to this is Merry and Pippin were the comic relief initially, but as the saga unfolds the War forces them to mature, so Gimli became the sole source of comic relief in order to pace dramatic tension.

Related Topics:
Comic relief - Tolkien - Merry - Pippin

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