Ford and Davies
One of the most popular recurring characters in the Indiana Jones series has been his upbeat friend Sallah. In the original movie, Sallah acted as an aid and best friend to our titular main character and was instrumental to the recovery of the Ark of the Covenant. There was also a duty on his shoulders to act as comic relief during some of the movie’s more frightening scenes. This is what made Spielberg and Lucas consider bringing him back in this third installment. After the backlash that The Temple of Doom received because of its severe darkness in comparison with the original film, they wished for a return to form.
John Rhys-Davies, the actor who played the character, was a Welshman who was a fine patron of the performing arts throughout his illustrious career. The part of Sallah was one of his first real breakout roles and it opened up his way into some more substantial roles.
He is best known for his work in Indiana Jones, as well as in The Lord of the Rings and The Living Daylights. He also has the distinction of voicing a recurring character in Spongebob Squarepants. Davies, unfortunately, didn’t want to reprise his role in the fourth installment because he felt that the series should’ve ended with the third movie and that making a fourth one was pushing it. Even more unfortunately, most fans have this same mindset after seeing Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
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