RichDrama - Blog #John Rhys-DaviesRichDrama - Blog #John Rhys-Davieshttps://www.richdrama.com/blog/tag/John-Rhys-DaviesThu, 09 Apr 2026 00:31:11 -0700http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[The Dragon and the Raven]]>https://www.richdrama.com/blog/post/TheDragonAndTheRaven
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ClP2FBfQXZY?rel=0

with John Rhys-Davies
of The Lord of the Rings and
Beyond the Mask
I played Theodore the Monk, three other featured roles and numerous Danes and Saxons on Group Day in the "audio movie" The Dragon and the Raven, based on G.A. Henty's book of the same title. We recorded it in London, England!

You can order your copy now. Joyce and I were really pleased at how it all came together! 

Heirloom Audio produces world-class radio dramas, recording in London and LA. Their flagship program is The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty.

I got to work with John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings). I brought him a poster from Beyond the Mask, in which he plays the villain, Charles Kemp. I played Dr. Bonneville in the film, and I told JRD (as he was affectionately known in the studio) that I apologized for patching up that infamous scoundrel William Reynolds (the hero of the film). JRD scowled at me for a full beat before bellowing, "I should have had him poisoned!" It was great fun to play with him in that moment, and he brought great fun and creativity into the booth as well, playing the father of Helen George's character.

On Group Day there were five to ten of us portraying massive armies on both sides of the battle. At one point Helen came into the booth and we ceased our grunting and bellowing to welcome her. She was gracious and kind and told me behind the scenes stories from Call the Midwife in which she plays Trixie. She said the opening episode of season one--in which a baby comes back from the dead--is based on a true story.

with John Bell of The Hobbit
John Bell, who helped slay the dragon in The Hobbit, helped The Dragon set sail in this adventure. The dragon, in this story, is a ship and a symbol of a nation which has lost its faith, like a dragon with no fire. I wasn't the only foreigner performing an English accent amongst Englishmen. John came down from Scotland.

with Brian Deacon, who played
Jesus in The Jesus Film
Brian Deacon (Jesus of The Jesus Film) and I played brothers. I was able to tell him that our denomination, The Church of the Nazarene, has tripled in size since we started partnering with The Jesus Film in the mid-90s. I also mentioned that I went to seminary with people who were there because of The Jesus Film. He was curious about my seminary training, so I was able to tell him how the Lord clarified my calling while I was at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary: I was to minister through the performing arts, not as a pastor. "And now here I am playing a monk." 

We were directed by John Fornof, who recently taught at The Rocky Mountain Christian Filmmakers Camp with me. He also wrote the script, and he's won two Emmy Awards for that skill.

Crowd Day
Synopsis for The Dragon and The Raven
It's the 9th century. The Danes have invaded--and are taking over England. One by one, each kingdom falls. The Danes destroy entire villages, level monasteries and churches, and massacre men, women and children. 

Only one kingdom is left—a small sliver of southwestern England known as Wessex. And only one king stands against them.  His name is King Alfred.  And he’s 22 years old.  

It's all about making the story come alive in the imagination with the best actors, movie-quality sound design, and a custom music score.  

The final product is a retail CD, with future plans to launch as a radio drama.

Past cast members include Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings, Mom's Night Out), Kirk Cameron (Fireproof), Skandar Keyens (Narnia), Billy Boyd (The Lord of the Rings), and Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey). 

My scenes begin at:
Disc 1, 13:00 - Theodore the Abbott with Brian Deacon as Eldred
Disc 1, 30:00 - Theodore the Abbott
Disc 2, 13:00 - The Saxon who yells, "Look out!" before being shot by an arrow
Disc 2, 28:40 - The Last Villager Alive
Disc 2, 40:00 - Olaf

I also got to perform in all of the crowd scenes as Saxons and Danes, including the songs.

Here's a video from their most recent production:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/w6GLCJdVz8Y?rel=0


Here's their audio trailer:
https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/232458512&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true

And a sneak peak (er listen) to the soundtrack: 
https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/231685816&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true

Heirloom Audio was nominated for ten Voice Arts Awards and won four of them for In Freedom's Cause.


See more photos from London,
Ireland and Northern Ireland,
as well as extra Behind the Scenes
shots here.
This month (July) marks 20 years of working full-time in the performing arts and applied theatre. This recording adventure was an amazing way to celebrate!

While on a tour of the Pacific Northwest (Instagram and Facebook: #NWTour15) I recorded myself talking about the fantastic experience of working on The Dragon and the Raven and spending time in London:

https://archive.org/embed/TheDragonAndTheRaven

Here's a recording of our church praying over me before the journey:

https://archive.org/embed/PrayerForTheDragonAndTheRaven


Hear about many of the Divine Appointments the Lord set up while I was in London here.





You can direct people to this page via www.RichDrama.com/TheDragonAndTheRaven.



 
]]>Fri, 03 Jul 2015 13:08:00 -0400<![CDATA[Beyond the Mask]]>https://www.richdrama.com/blog/post/BeyondTheMask

Beyond the Mask, in which I play Dr. Bonneville, is in theaters across America now! Thank you everyone who came out and supported the April screenings, which made this larger distribution possible. It more than doubled the previous record for the theatrical-on-demand model. Thanks to those that supported the film on opening weekend it's still available for public screenings in your area.

It is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray in Walmarts and online to rent or own.

The Christian Post included me and the NYC April screening in their article "New Faith Based Film 'Beyond the Mask' Uses More Green Screen and CG Effects Than Any Other Christian Movie."

They most certainly pull it off! I got to see Beyond the Mask with about 1000 people in San Antonio at the Christian Worldview Film Festival. They all leapt to their feet as the credits rolled. After the show two-time Emmy Award winner John Fornof, who directed Sean Astin of The Lord of the Rings and Joanne Froggatt of Downton Abbey in The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty, told me, "Tonight everything changes."

Then he sent me this: "I remember when Star Wars came out--it revolutionized how movies were made. I got that same feeling watching Beyond the Mask. Rich and I were stunned. We both agreed. This is truly a breakthrough movie in Christian filmmaking. It fires on all cylinders--an intriguing and exciting story of God's redemption with plenty of surprising twists and turns, solid acting, captivating cinematography, blow-your-mind special effects and sets, and a powerful music score. Beyond the Mask sets a whole new standard for what a faith-based film can be--and should be.”

All of these fantastic elements come together in a fictional story based around actual historical events. I play a doctor who helps an assassin recover in a village that thinks he's the expected pastor. He must immerse himself in the Word and there comes face to face with Grace. He's ready to leave his past behind him, if only his former boss--played by John Rhys-Davies (who carries a significant amount of screen-time) will let him.

Rich plays the doctor who nurses a
reformed assassin back to health in the
village where he is thought to be the
new pastor.
Faith Flix and Jeannie Ortega, who used to cover Rihanna, also covered my performance and the NYC screening: Action Film 'Beyond the Mask' Set to Hit Theaters April 6 in NYC For Special Screening.


Dr. Diane Howard reviewed the film and included elements from an exclusive interview with producer Aaron Burns for Sonoma Christian Home: "''Beyond the Mask' Producer Aaron Burns Talks Adventure & Family Entertainment."

We had been hearing about the film for over a year before I was cast in it, and I believe the first time we heard about it was when we were on the set of Indescribable. Beyond the Mask is a spectacular story, written by Paul McCusker, who wrote for the children's radio program Adventures in Odyssey.

I was cast as Dr. Bonneville by Bev Holloway and got to work with acting coach John Kirby, both of whom I've worked with a number of times over the years.

It was a delight to reconnect with crew from Christmas Grace, The Screenwriters, Indescribable, Pawn's Move, and Alone Yet Not Alone, and to work with a lot of new friends, many of whom I would work with on later projects like Princess Cut and Polycarp.

John and I both think Beyond the Mask is going to be a hit. He was thrilled with what he was seeing in the monitors.  

To learn more about the film and get involved in spreading the word, go to www.BeyondTheMaskMovie.com.
 
This is the set, where I performed my scenes.
Here's a Behind the Scenes piece they did on the mansion. You can see me briefly at the start.
I thought it was a beautiful parallel that the mansion is a place of healing, and that was the central scene that we shot there. I pointed that out to director Chad Burns, and he invited me to pray before we shot that scene, which he also did before the film screened at the Christian Worldview Film Festival. 
Christians should also know:

*The film is rated PG. 
*There’s some swashbuckling action, mostly aimed at stopping the villains. At one point someone gets conked on the head with a candlestick, but it’s stumbling over the fallen candlestick that puts an end to the fight. You see him tripping from the knees down, and then there’s a cut to him lying on the fireplace hearth. At one point someone gets electrocuted, but it’s seen from a distance.
*There's one smooch to celebrate an engagement.
]]>Thu, 19 Mar 2015 03:07:00 -0400