How tall is John Rhys Davies

John Rhys Davies Height

5ft 9 ¼ (175.9 cm)

Peak height was 6ft ½ in (184.2 cm)
English Actor, best known for playing Salla in Raiders of Lost Ark, Gimli in the Lord of the Rings and Professor Maximilian Arturo on TV series Sliders. John used to list his height in the Spotlight Casting directory as 6 feet 1/2 inch in the early 1980's, but lost a few inches through severe injuries he suffered when a stage wall collapsed on him. In 2007, I would guess he was about 5ft 10.

How tall is John Rhys Davies
5ft 8 Rob and John @ Collectormania Glasgow, 2007

How tall is John Rhys Davies

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Add a Comment143 comments

Average Guess (57 Votes)
Peak: 6ft 0.62in (184.5cm)
Current: 5ft 9.55in (176.7cm)
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 10/Apr/23
Really didn't look much shorter than Dalton in License so his peak is on point...insane amount of height loss
Hyper said on 2/Apr/23
jtm

He never had military posture.
Jtm said on 30/Mar/23
wonder why he looked 5'10 with 6'0 range harrison ford if he was truly over 6'0. his posture was decent and footwear looked similar.
Hyper said on 29/Mar/23
@jtm he definitely was over 6’0” in his younger days. See him with 6’1.75” Timothy Dalton. Too close to him in height.
Jtm said on 28/Mar/23
no way he was ever above 5'11 even at peak.
Hyper said on 28/Mar/23
He definitely had back issues when I saw him. Not his fault that a wall fell on him.

He has huge proportions in person. With Timothy Dalton, he looked close in height with him.
Editor Rob
Also probably making those LOTR movies and being on his knees a lot caused other problems.
Mincer said on 26/Mar/23
Rob, how come hes shrunk a quite bit?
Editor Rob
A wall fell on him which did seem to cause back issues. You only have to see in the 80's he looked 6ft and change easily enough.
Hyper said on 25/Mar/23
Rob, I met him. I think he’s still over 5’8” today but I had a disadvantage in footwear, again.

Click Here

He was extremely pleasant! Probably the best one I’ve met! I also met Tia Ballard and she was extremely nice! I met Stephen Amell and he was a very cool dude! (I only have a selfie with him though!)
Editor Rob
Yes it's always fun meeting John, seems to enjoy doing the conventions.

One day I will return to them!
Gerald S said on 16/Mar/23
Rob, could Rhys-Davies please join the Bond Actors tag as General Pushkin?
Tubbs said on 28/Jan/23
In cast photos for the Lord Of The Rings he looks noticeably taller than McKellen, Bean and Bloom…….always looked a good 6ft1 in his younger days, some serious height loss in recent years. Always assumed him to be similar to Brian Blessed in size, shape and that big booming voice.
berta said on 4/Mar/21
rob i think 6 feet 1/4 could be better. i think ford did look taller than him and he was at best 184 himself.
Editor Rob
he could have been around that mark, but I do think at one stage in his 20's and early 30's might have measured near that 6ft 1/2 mark
Uy said on 29/Jan/21
Rob can chiropractor increase height .I used to be 180 cm I'm shoes with tape measure now its barefoot heigjt
Editor Rob
If a back problem is causing posture problems, maybe having somebody work on your back might help.
IamRichard said on 20/May/20
I think this actor was very close 182 cm and not 184 in his younger days , and maybe 177 or 178 cm nowadays not less

Also watching the movie " riders" you see crearly he was a little short than Harrison (183 /184 cm) so i think that John never was 184 cm in peak. But it is my opinion.
Mimi said on 12/Apr/20
If he didn't have the back injuries I'm pretty sure he would still be a strong 5ft11 at his current age.
VitoCheng said on 13/Dec/19
Current: 5 ft 10.25
Peak: 6 ft 1.5
movieguy12 said on 13/Aug/19
Usually I doubt stories of height loss. The star in question was probably not that tall to start with. However given he was in a serious accident in this case it is believable.
Sandy Cowell said on 30/Jan/19
Once seen, never forgotten!

I just turned over to the 'Horror Channel' to see what was going on, and I saw him in 'Sliders'!

He definitely looked his shorter height, so I shall go for 5ft9.5 and 6ft0.5 for his premium height.
Sandy Cowell said on 24/Dec/18
Ha ha! I like the second picture!

I just came across on eBay a set of Pez sweet dispensers for an array of male characters from 'The Lord of the Rings'! Gimli's was definitely the best!

6ft0.5 for John's peak and 5ft9.25 for now - quite a large height-loss.
Editor Rob
Last time I seen John this year he still looked in 176cm range, so I think he's stabilised loss a bit approaching mid 70's, though you can tell his back is done in.
MrFish said on 19/Aug/18
Rob, would you say that John and I are within a half inch of one another here?

Click Here
Editor Rob
He looks a bit taller yeah, I think somewhere in 176 range in 2018 is still possible.
Rourke said on 4/Aug/18
This is some substantial loss in height
Andy 182 cm said on 21/May/18
When he was young he was about my height 182 or 183 maximum, no more! In Lord of the Rings he lost some cm due to the age, I think at the time he was 180, and now maybe 177 cm
berta said on 10/Apr/18
i believe ford this guy was 183, 184 earlie in the day and ford barely 184. Ford could look slightly taller but they could have been the same height
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 18/Jan/18
His height loss is no exaggeration. Watching Raiders and Living Daylights it is clear he was easily a good 4in or more taller than guys similar to Rob.
Editor Rob
He wasn't that much shorter than Dalton...well, I mean his posture wasn't exactly Bond-like, but he clearly was close to his 184cm listing.
Dingus said on 12/Nov/17
Peak height was 6'00.75". Current height is 5'09.75".
Bobby said on 12/Oct/17
Didn't this guy have a 6'1 listing for peak height? What happened to that?
Editor Rob
he's been at 6ft 1/2 inch for 10 years, although when first added I never gave him a peak.

Of course he claimed 6ft 1/2 inch, which is why he's been on that mark.
berta said on 8/Sep/17
i also believe ford was little taler than him and ford was not taller than this so i think there is a big chanse that this guy was never taller than 6 foot at peak.
Cameron said on 27/Aug/17
That's some pretty intense height loss. Still he does look a weak 5'10" in the photo if you account for the bad posture.
Editor Rob
about 10 years ago he was more 5ft 10 and lost a bit more height, most people would think he is no more than 5ft 9 today if they see him.
RichardSpain said on 26/Aug/17
He is still near 179 cm the problem he has bad posture

I see at least 3 cm difference about you Rob

If you are 174cm John could be 177/178 cm nowdays.

And he was a bit shorter than Harrison Ford, I think John was between 182-183 cm in his youngers days and Ford was between 183'5-184'5 cm MAX when "Raiders" was filmed.

Is my opinion.
Dingus said on 14/Aug/17
I can;t believe he's lost so much height!
Vexacus said on 7/Aug/17
He has a bad posture because of his age , he's between 5'9.5 and 5'10
jesse said on 27/Jul/17
he has really bad posture in all the recent photos i have seen of him but i feel like he is almost 5'10 now and a solid 6 feet then
RichardSpain said on 3/Apr/17
Good caracter Sallah at Indy movies and great actor John.

In my opinion;

178cm today
183cm young
Adijos said on 21/Mar/17
Peak: 6'1" (185 cm)
Today: 5'9.5" (177 cm)
Sandy Cowell said on 9/Jan/17
He was perfect as 'Gimli' the dwarf in 'The Lord of the Rings'! You'd never have been able to tell that he stands 5ft9.25, and what's that? He used to be over 6ft! Amazing!
Next time I see LOTR I'll find it all the funnier to see him as a very convincing and humorous dwarf!
berta said on 5/Jan/17
i think he was no taller than 183 at peak. If this guy was 184 then he is one of the few guys that make harrison ford really 185 peak.
Christian-196.2cm (6ft5.25) said on 15/Dec/16
Rob, How did he lose over 3 inches when he's barely over 70? At this rate, he'll probably shrink down to 5ft7 before he's 90. A 5.5" height loss is unheard of.
Editor Rob
Christian, injuries to his back and probably cumulative damage over 20 years.
Mark(5'9.25 said on 23/Nov/16
A big six footer back then. Davies did edge out Peak Harrison Ford.

I feel bad for him. If he wanted to say 'he was 6 feet,' I wouldn't doubt him.
josh jeffords said on 21/Oct/16
Wow that is crazy he looked huge back in the day, you can see his bad neck and back posture in photos poor guy.
Speaking from experience that can cost inches even in a short guy like me I loose over an inch between adjustments.
Been measure as little as 5 7 .5 and just under 5 9 the neck vertebrae are the worst. " I have 8 oh actually 9 dysfunctional"
I do remember he was noticeably taller than ford with worse posture and most every body else.
Good actor as a good guy was big and scary but didnt have the evil bad guy vibe great voice though.
He still towered over folks in the 90s in several b movies always in flats.
Rory said on 24/Sep/16
Definitely over 6ft peak. On tele opposite 6'2 James Booth he only looked 1-2 inches shorter, and generally looked tallish in the 70s, similar in height and build to Robbie Coltrane. Obviously he's been unlucky with height loss though.
Mark said on 31/Jul/16
Though this is my current height in the afternoon and that I would drop to 5'9" or 5'8.8" at night, I do wish to be as tall as John Rhy Davies' peak height. This wouldn't be the case since I have short parents and I'm turning 18 this coming August! I can't lie about my height and I refuse to do so myself.
Mark said on 16/Jul/16
I'm actually Davies' current height in the afternoon. Rob, how tall would you think I am with shoes on in the morning?
Editor Rob
you could be 5ft 11 range with a shoe
Raiders of the Ark said on 10/Jul/16
Hey Rob, how tall do you think he was during the filming of the Lord of the Rings?
Editor Rob
he probably was around 5ft 10 range
Mark said on 8/May/16
He seems to edge out Prime Harrison Ford in his younger days despite having terrible neck posture.

Click Here
Mark said on 5/May/16
Mini, to be fair, Davies did get into alot of accidents. Now a Plane accident, I can see why Davies would lose that much height.

Don't blame Davies for the great height lost. He probably wasn't expecting any of it to happen.

To be honest, I think he pulls off a full 6'1" in his prime in the morning.
TJE said on 4/Mar/16
If anything, he'd be more 5'8 range today if he was good 5'9 range 8-10 years ago.
Mimi said on 1/Mar/16
Wow! Rob do you think it's usual to lose almost 4 inches of height?
Editor Rob
actually I think giving him 176cm today is probably fair. Over 3 inches is a lot more than normal for his age, but as I've said he damaged his pelvis and back with the wall accident, and he also had a plane accident.
Jack said on 22/Feb/16
In The Living Daylights he looked like a legit 6ft standing next to Dalton, heck he pulled off 6'1 when standing with the cast of Fellowship. What on earth caused him to lose 3 inches?
Editor Rob
a wall falling on his back and then cumulative problems. I'm sure he had another crash at one point. He really does look near 5ft 9 range today, but back in 80's still looked a big six foot plus range if standing tall.
Judd ISR said on 21/Sep/15
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 17/Sep/15
Rob, are you still convinced he was 184cm?
[Editor Rob: it seems a lot to lose, but 183-4 range I can buy in his 20-30's.]

In the raiders of the lost ark (1981) he was slightly shorter than Ford, maybe 0.5", but it's difficult to guess their difference because at first JRD has bad posture, and Ford too in a couple of scenes, and overall we don't know what kind of shoes they had on...
If we start from the point of view that Ford was at peak a weak or even flat 6'1" then 6'0.25-0.5" for JRD is believable, considering he was 37 when the movie was filmed...
but in my opinion Ford was at times 6'0.5" (his peak height) so JRD might have been 5'11.75"-6'...
7 cms of loss are a little more believable than 9cms, considering his bad posture and his back problems...
Editor Rob
when he was in Bond I think he could look 183-4 zone. Here with Dalton.
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 17/Sep/15
Rob, are you still convinced he was 184cm?
Editor Rob
it seems a lot to lose, but 183-4 range I can buy in his 20-30's.
MOF said on 3/Sep/15
He was probably never over 6 feet, it's pretty obvious. Noticeably shorter than Harrison Ford in 1980 and always looked about 3 inches lower than 6'2" Jerry O'Connell in the Sliders series from 1995-1997.

He may have been 6 feet max in his youth but I would guess anywhere between 180-182cm is a good estimate.
George said on 23/Jul/15
In the photo looks 177cm
Guyster said on 1/Jun/15
Look's in the 176 range imo, yes he has lost a lot of height.
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 23/May/15
Nearly 10cm loss! That's.....upsetting
Modeus said on 27/Apr/15
8 inches loss is insane
Yaspaa said on 11/Apr/15
Raiders was on last night. He was noticeably shorter than Ford. I don't think he was ever over 6'0.
Jared said on 2/Nov/14
He looks taller than 175 next to you at 174 almost. I would say he looks 177 at least
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 2/Oct/14
He looks messed up...
littlesue said on 29/Sep/14
I've said before, My Nan and her 2 sisters were around 5ft 2 in their youth, they all lived to 93 and ended up about 4ft 6, no specific back problems or back injuries just probably Osteoporosis'
John86 said on 28/Sep/14
Height loss happens with age and back problems. My grandfather stood at 6'1 during his peak, as confirmed in photos next to my parents when he was younger. In his later 70s he had shrunk to 5'10ish and in his 80s came down to 5'8, though he was hunching a little at that point. Believe it, it can happen. You'd be surprised how many inches start to get lost when your discs break down and the joints weaken.
Alex 6'0 said on 4/Sep/14
Rob, wow 3.5 inches lost is a lot but with a damaged back plus getting older is can make sense. How old is he now?
Editor Rob
he's now 70. Back in 2007 he was 5ft 10, I think he is an extraordinary case of having damaged his back and then other discs having been worn down more than normal.
176,2Tunman said on 18/Aug/14
Incredible loss at only 70.Back in the 1960's he was probably in the 90 or 92 percentile and today he's only weak average for youngsters.If he lives say to 100 years he will end under 10 percentile for sure.Must be a nightmare for everyone here.Hope the guy doesn't care that much about his height.
Nick said on 3/Aug/14
Even though he edges out Rob and Jenny by an inch or so, you can clearly tell that he was a big guy by looking at his physical structure.
176 cm man said on 17/Jun/14
looks 5'10'' here
Arch Stanton said on 16/Jun/14
He did Justin which would make him 6'0.25 as Dalton is a measured 6'1.75. I think 6'0.25" would be spot on!
Justin said on 13/Jun/14
Looked 6 feet 1 in Living Daylights. Looked an inch and a half smaller than 6 feet 2 tall Timothy Dalton.
Arch Stanton said on 27/May/14
About 1.5 inches on 5'10 range Robert Preston and about 1.5-2 inches shorter than 6'2 James Garner in Victor Victoria. Leaning towards 6' than 6'1", I think around Alex's height peak might be right. 6'0.25" I'd list him as!
J.Lee said on 11/May/14
Wow Rob, 3.5 inches lost? How rare is that?
Editor Rob
uncommon.
Realist said on 10/May/14
I think Rob is right on this one. Cause he looks a tad bit taller than Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones. So Rob i am with you on this one. But this is a very rare case people usually lose about 3-4 cms in a lifetime.
Gorast said on 12/Apr/14
@Rob

Ok, he's damaged his back, but his spine didn't shrunk for god's sake. He may not be able to stretch his back for a proper measurement due to the pain, sure, but you don't list people on this site or anywhere by the height they walk during the day, but by their supposed maximum stretched height - and I don't mean their peak height. So, he may walk at 5 ft 9, but his overall height loss caused by the accident would be 1 or 2 inches at most I guess.
My comment is benevolent, I am a fan of your website, but I strongly disagree with you on this one Rob.
Editor Rob
well back in 2007 he was talking with me/photographer in that shoot and he wasn't above 5ft 10 that day...I know nowadays he can generally look 5ft 9, maybe measuring he might still exceed it a little though. He had a plane crash 80's and the huge wall accident damaging back/pelvis. Maybe he has lost more height than normal, if you look at him early 80's he looked noticeably taller.
curious said on 7/Apr/14
Rob... Seriously? 4 inches? That's like 10 cm... Even if he's got back problems it's really hard to believe and I've honestly never heard anything like that before. At least you should consider readjusting his peak height.. Bu how is such a big height loss even possible?
Editor Rob
it didn't help having a wall collapse on him and damage his back
thatguy said on 3/Apr/14
Wow, he sure lost a lot of height. Hey Rob, wouldn't it be a good idea to have a pic of a celeb's peak height and current height side-by side to see the difference in height loss. Tho that might be a lil too hard considering different footwear in pictures
Josh b said on 3/Mar/14
Click Here
Here's my photo with him, again very similar footwear here.
Josh b said on 1/Mar/14
5'9 at best.
avi said on 14/Feb/14
@Rob
Is it possible he was just 6'0 peak? I recollect Jerry O'Connell looking almost 2 inches taller in sliders. I'll have to watch again. Also looked over 1.5 shorter than Dalton in Bond
Editor Rob
6ft - 6ft 0.5 I think is more likely peak, but now can look anywhere between 5ft 9-10 range.
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 16/Jan/14
Well then, why isn't he listed 177cm?
Editor Rob
because of the state of his back I don't know if he could still make it to 5ft 10 for a measurement...he can look shorter of course
avi said on 14/Jan/14
@Rob
He stands very placed right? He can stretch up another .3-.4 of an inch to about 5'9.75 right?
Editor Rob
well he was a couple inches shy of the photographer (a 182 range guy), his back definitely is screwed up...if he measured 5ft 9-9.5 range today it wouldn't be a surprise, as he can look about that range.
Ali said on 6/Oct/13
Its funny how no body on any celebrity agrees that the stated height is correct and they always state the person is shorter. Not even one persons height has been accepted. It funny how peoples defense mechanism cannot let them accept that the person mightbe tall so they can just feel better about them selves for that time. LOL.
Byron T. said on 25/Jul/13
Based Shane's photo, he's struggling at being 5'9.'' I'm sure when Rob met him back in 2007, he was probably 5'10.''
Editor Rob
he could look 5ft 9 in 2013, although his posture and back means he doesn't hold height well
avi said on 17/Jul/13
@shane says on 26/May/13
you look 5'11 without shoes in that picture thats an extreme 2 inch difference. hes looking 5'8 zone now. my god.
Emil said on 12/Jul/13
@Rob
He looked no more than 5'0 in LOTR :P ;)
Steevn said on 4/Jun/13
He certainly has shrunk substantially, in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' he looked atleast as tall as Harrison Ford and heavily built. This often happens to naturally big, strong guys who don't take care of themselves. Knee, hip and back trouble creeps up on them and already by their 50's they're weak and bent.
Hey said on 31/May/13
Tbh he was only a little shorter or the same height then that guy who played Haman in One night with the king. Though in those pic he looks 5'9
J.Lee said on 1/Apr/13
Rob should one worry about getting short if they hurt their back? That is the one way you can shrink
Editor Rob
if you damage your discs you'll certainly increase chance of loss...Rhys really has lost a few inches, back in his late 30's he was still looking like a big 6ft guy, today he's struggling with 5ft 10
Aragorn 5'11 said on 15/Jan/13
Totally agree with Shaun!
fffff said on 11/Jan/13
why has he claimed 6'3??
Mathew said on 28/Dec/12
Looks like a weak 5'10" above.
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 22/Sep/12
About 5ft9.5(177cm) with Rob
Awesomimous said on 28/Aug/12
@wat, the LOTR films were made more than a decade ago...
maio said on 6/Jan/12
Peak: 5 ft 11.5 in/182 cm
Today: 5 ft 10 in/178 cm
wat said on 15/Nov/11
It's weird that 5'10.5 orlando bloom said John Rhyes Davies was 3 inches taller than him...If John is half an inch shorter.
TNTinCA said on 1/Nov/11
Did he really shrink that much? I am also wondering if he wore lifts.
Shaun said on 31/Oct/11
Wasn't much smaller than 6'2" Joe Don Baker in Living Daylights, 1-2 inches like with Dalton. I'd say 6'0.5" is legit for peak.
PatB said on 7/Oct/11
Well I saw him in Lord of the Rings and he looked to be about 4'11".
Maximus Meridius said on 1/Sep/11
Rob is there a chance he was 6ft 1in at his peak.
Editor Rob
it's a lot of height to lose, maybe not quite 6ft 1 peak is more probable.
Maximus said on 31/Aug/11
He may have also wore lifts...who knows since a lot of celebrities, especially the shorter ones, have the need to be taller than their natural height.
Shaun said on 23/Jul/11
Yeah Rob has this right he looked 1-2 inches shorter than Dalton in Living Daylights. He did look close to 6'1" peak for sure. Nowadays? Barely 5'10", more likely 5'9.5"
Sasha said on 3/Jul/11
In the given photo John slouches a lot. So he can easily be 5'11", if he straightens up.
Editor Rob

I saw him in front of me with a guy I've measured 5ft 11.5 and he was barely even 5ft 10 'stretching up'...
rob89 said on 18/Jun/11
Looks barely over 5'9 with Rob to be honest, and i find it really hard to believe he could have shrunk more than 3 inches.
Yaspaa said on 17/Jun/11
The guy hasn't looked too healthy in recent years and with the back ailment he looks like he actually has lost height. I still say height loss only occurs after 70 years or due to ailments, if the guy was healthy he'd still be 6'0.
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 29/May/11
Lol he looks 186cm next to Dalton in that pic
Dean said on 11/May/11
@ Physics enemy - Rob is not 5'9 and nowhere near..hes 173.5 at most in this photo so this guy looks 176.5(5'9.5) as he has 3cm at best here..
Physics Enemy said on 8/May/11
If he stood up straight he'd have 2 clear inches on near 5' 9" Rob. So I'd say he's 5' 11" now, lost 1.5-2 inch from prime height.
Jotun said on 28/Mar/11
In LOTR they used scale doubles and other techniques to make the character Gimli appear shorter - apparently he was still taller than Mortensen and Bloom when LOTR was filmed back in 99-00
James said on 1/Mar/11
looks a weak 184cm next to dalton
josh b said on 16/Feb/11
Looked very small in LOTR, camera angles maybe. :P
Shaun said on 22/Jan/11
Click Here

Definitely looks 184cm range next to 188cm Timothy Dalton in 1987.
Shaun said on 22/Jan/11
His injury in 2002 to his back has obviously affected his height. This guy looked a strong 6' next to Timothy Dalton and Joe Don Baker in Living Daylights.
maximus meridius said on 12/Jan/11
He looks so much like pavoritti does anyone notice that.
Matt said on 27/Nov/10
err yeah either that back injury was the result of this height loss or i highly doubt this guy was anywhere near 5ft 11. nowdays strong 5ft 9
Frank2 said on 2/Jul/09
Was 5'11" peak and is now about 5'10".
ZAQ said on 1/Jul/09
Peak
is more like 5'11 max
Hugh 190cm said on 22/Jun/09
He did look imposing in Raiders of the Lost ark. Okay 5ft11.5 is too low peak. 6ft0.5 peak is bang on.
Doug said on 20/Jun/09
Sheesh this guy was close to 6'1" at peak. He looked close to 6'1" next to Dalton. If ever they do a film bio on Pavarotti this guy is your man. Does anybody else here think he looks like a world class tenor?
Barnaby Joyce said on 19/Jun/09
I always thought he was more in the 6'4" to 6'6" range..... I was way off!
tubbs said on 19/Jun/09
He's lost serious height.....he was in an episode of the Sweeney opposite 6'4" James Booth, there were plenty of shots of them together. John looked about 6'1.5".......we hear a lot about Clints height loss being attributed to scoliosis, whats happened to John?
Hugh 190cm said on 9/Jun/09
you look normal rob. Why did you decide to hide your face all those years?

Editor Rob
I got tired having to draw a square on photos ;)
Hugh 190cm said on 5/Jun/09
I'd say at most he was 6ft/183cm. In Last Crusade he looked 182cm.
Del Mar said on 5/May/09
Wow, Rob sorry to ask this, but I have been away for so long. when did u decide to reveal your face for everyone at celebheights? :)

Editor Rob
only last week, about 5 years after I started writing the outline/code for the site.
bam said on 8/Mar/09
rob, is it possible he could stretch out to 5'11? What height would be at the top of the scale?

Editor Rob
I don't think he'd measure 5ft 11, I seen him trying to look up to a 6ft guy and he was unable to look 5ft 11.
Frodo said on 2/Jan/09
The fact is that he is 6'1.............
Aratirion said on 1/May/08
I'm pretty sure John is taller than that. At least he was some years ago, because I watched a bit of the Lord of the Rings bonus material today and I remember Orlando Bloom saying something like "he was a lot taller than me".
Antron said on 7/Jan/08
no not really Adam. They chose him so that he would be a few inches taller than the Hobbit actors; this allowed them to shoot two passes to composite rather than 3 if they had cast a shorter actor.
Adam Brennon said on 5/Jan/08
An odd choice to portray a Dwarf.
Cabezone said on 3/Jan/08
People lose a lot of height as they age. My pop used to be an easy 6 feet, now he's 5'10' at best at 65.
phil said on 3/Jan/08
wow he was at one time a legiment 6ft, maybe 6'1''. shocking.
TNTinCA said on 3/Jan/08
I have to agree with the previous posters. Losing 2 1/2 inches in height in old age is pretty unsual in my mind. Usually, that type of height loss is often attributed to surgeries of some type that fuse vertebrae. So unless that happened, my suspicion is that he overstated his height in the past.

Editor Rob
a wall fell on him.
Ed said on 3/Jan/08
I agree Bleemo!

Seeing this pic confirms my suspicions that Harrison Ford was never a full 6ft1! I can believe Rhys Davies was maybe 5ft11.5 at his peak, and near 6ft1 in shoes, but not a full 6ft1 in his hey day as he claims. I still strongly believe that a majority of celebs claim their with shoes height, as their actual height... and roundup.

Ford in my opinion was only around 6ft barefoot, and 6ft1 or so in shoes. I bet Ford is now about 5ft11-5ft11.25 barefoot. He doesn't look to have lost as much height as Rhys Davies, but then again he's taken great care of himself over the years and never let himself go. Rhys Davies was pretty overweight even back in the Raiders days.
Bleemo said on 3/Jan/08
Find it hard to beleive he's lost 3 inches in height, nobody does. We give these guys too much credit they lie for a living, I'd say 5'11 prime, maybe with some loose change and 5'10ish today.
dmeyer said on 28/Dec/07
in think average at 63 is 0.75 in
dmeyer said on 28/Dec/07
2.5 in loss by 63, that is impressive
bam said on 17/Sep/07
rob, when you saw him in person, did his proportions look out of whack? Did he have a big frame for a guy appearing 5'9?

Editor Rob
he did look wide but you could tell from his body that he's lost noticeable height since Indy days, I think his wall crushing accident must have contributed a fair bit to his loss because he's what, 63...
antron said on 5/Sep/07
no Darf, he claims "I'm sort of 6-1" I just watched it last night. He does not look that height now, he looks more 5-11 or 5-10

Editor Rob
he walks around like a 5ft 9 guy, I joked with him to try to stand tall but he really didn't 'grow' that much.
Darfalz said on 14/Jul/07
He claimed to be 6'3 " in the commentaries, old actors frequently give their peak height as their height, don't want to conceed they lost the height. Bloom admits that Rhys Davies has a few inches on him during the commentaries so if he's really 5'10" then Rhys Davies must still be at least 6'0" or so.
Goktimus Prime said on 13/Jul/07
I met John Rhys Davies a few years ago in Sydney and he appeared to be more 184cm, not 178cm...
Ed said on 24/Mar/07
Just saw him in The Miracle Match (aka The Game of their Lives)about the 1950 USA World Cup football(soccer)team, and Rhys Davies has never looked so small. I don't know if you've seen it Rob, but even Wes Bentley at 5ft11 looked close to 2 inches taller than Rhys Davies. Bentley also looked about 2inches shorter than Gerard Butler. In almost every frame looked small, it was strange!

Editor Rob
yes, I forgot...indeed, rhys davies is shockingly small nowadays and he's only getting to mid 60's...guys spine must be collapsing! Posture might be to blame, whether he can straighten up his back and still become 5ft 11...hmm
Ed said on 5/Oct/06
Antron, I agree he is referred to as 6ft1, that could very well have been his peak height, but with older age and a lot of weight weighing him down, I think Rob has him right at 5ft11.5. Rob, I thought Rhys Davies was taller than Ford, a good 1/2 to an inch. He always looked taller than Ford in both Raiders and Last Crusade.
antron said on 4/Oct/06
As a confessed LOTR nerd, I can tell you for certain that he is referred to as 6 foot 1 in the Extended Edition DVDs. Probably his peak height I agree.
Frank2 said on 3/Aug/06
Denholm Elliot was 5'10". I met him back when he was in Trading Places. And before that when he showed up for a screening of Too Late the Hero which I worked on.
Anthony said on 2/Aug/06
I just watched "Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade" today, and Davies was a tad bit taller than 5'11.5 Denholm Elliot, so probably 6' or a little over in his prime.
Anshelm said on 26/May/06
Apparantely I have different versions of the LOTR Extended Edition DVD:s as Darkfalz, since I heard him say his height only once in the extras, and he said 6'1". He also said that he was the tallest of the actors portraying the Fellowship members.
Anonymous said on 2/Mar/06
He looked about an inch shorter than Harrison Ford in the Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Editor Rob
he always maintained he was 6ft 1...I never heard this '6ft 3'...he really said this on a commentary, maybe exaggarating in relation to his playing of the dwarf?
Darkfalz said on 2/Mar/06
He claims to be 6'3" all throughout the DVD commetaries for LOTR
Rat said on 10/Feb/06
Actually, I met John a few months ago and he's still quite a bit taller than my 5'4". I'd say he's right along 5'11"-6ft.

If anything, his poor posture should be attributed to the fact that he had a wall collapse on him on a film set (broken his forearm and pelvis) and his back is in almost constant pain these days. That'll keep anyone from standing up straight.

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