Rhys-Davies fond of '80s films but critical of today's writers

Welsh-born John Rhys-Davies got his first big shot at international fame in 1980, for his scene-stealing role as a Spanish ship's captain in the TV miniseries "Shogun." The next year, he landed another juicy part, the Egyptian character Sallah in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," a role he repeated eight years later for "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."

" 'Shogun' was the career-maker, if you like," Rhys-Davies said by telephone from Los Angeles. "It was a great opportunity, a great break. The casting director said to me, 'If you do this as well as I think you will do it, you will never have to look for work again.'

"That's not exactly how it turned out; I could have been smarter in some of my choices. But actors don't necessarily know this. This business of having a career as a young actor is not something that is as obvious as it seems. Basically, the opportunities are pretty random, and unless you have a lot of knowledge of the business, it's hard to make the right career choices."

Sometimes, however, one opportunity leads to another. Steven Spielberg saw "Shogun" and thought Rhys-Davies would make a good Sallah. "I went and saw him," Rhys-Davies said, "and the script said that Sallah was this skinny, 5-foot-2 Egyptian character. And I said, 'So how do you expect to accomplish this — with surgery?' And he said, 'No, just do a cross between the character in 'Shogun' and (Shakespeare's character) Falstaff, preferably with an Egyptian accent."

Rhys-Davies said working for Spielberg was a dream come true. "It was wonderful. A great experience. Alas, of course, at the time, one doesn't realize what an extraordinary experience it was. But we had more creative freedom on that picture than on any other film I've done."

Of the films, he says, "They're great romps; 'Raiders' was a great, great romp. When I read the script for the first time, I said, 'I've never seen anything like this before — it's either going to be the biggest disaster of all time or set a new fashion in filmmaking. But I want in."

Asked if he's received a call about the upcoming "Indiana Jones" film that Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford are mounting, Rhys-Davies said, "No, they haven't called me about that. I assume that if there is a desert sequence or an Egyptian-type sequence, they may call for me. They may leave me out, otherwise.

"I'm not holding my breath for it. Getting the right script is a real problem. I hear these things all the time, every two or three years they erupt. The problem is, No. 4 has to be as good as — or better than — the previous three, and that's not an easy thing to do.