# Sallah is Gimli?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 1, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792 "2010-08-01T14:44:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/1 "2010-08-01T14:44:27Z")
[Sallah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sallahcrusade.JPG) is Gimli?! Excuse me while I have a heart attack. A 6’1 tall actor played Gimli?! Excuse me while I have another heart attack. Were you all aware of this? I can’t have been the only one! ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/2 "2010-08-01T14:45:36Z")
Yes, we did know this. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/3 "2010-08-01T14:46:14Z")
CGI effects if I remember correctly. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/4 "2010-08-01T14:47:11Z")
That was fast. Yeah. I feel ashamed of myself. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/5 "2010-08-01T14:52:32Z")
He also did the voice of Treebeard. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/6 "2010-08-01T14:59:36Z")
This is certainly not breaking news. The actors that played the hobbits weren’t particularly short, either. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/7 "2010-08-01T15:00:49Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > The actors that played the hobbits weren’t particularly short, either. I knew that, but all this time I thought that they’d casted a little person as Gimli. \>.\< ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/8 "2010-08-01T15:01:13Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > CGI effects if I remember correctly. They actually used surprisingly little CGI to create the effect. John-Rhys Davies was proportionally the right size against the size of the actors playing the hobbits. The sets were built on 2 different scales, one for the hobbits and Gimli, another for everyone else. Forced perspective was used a lot. [Here’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=163382) an old thread discussing the techniques employed. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/9 "2010-08-01T15:10:55Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > This is certainly not breaking news. > > The actors that played the hobbits weren’t particularly short, either. When yo say “not particularly short”, what do you mean? They weren’t Hobbit short, of course, but they all look shorter than average to me. Dominic Monaghan is 5’ 7". Average height for men in the UK is 5’ 10". ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/10 "2010-08-01T15:22:00Z")
Let’s put it this way: between the beard, the armor and the helmet, they could use a body double for any shot longer than a closeup. The hobbits were tougher to do. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/11 "2010-08-01T15:27:19Z")
Ian McKellan’s not a real wizard either, sorry to break it to you! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/12 "2010-08-01T15:28:07Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > When you say “not particularly short”, what do you mean? Within two standard deviations of the mean. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/13 "2010-08-01T15:31:52Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Ian McKellan’s not a real wizard either, sorry to break it to you! > 😃 So they used CGI to make him look like one? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/14 "2010-08-01T15:36:59Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > > [@Steophan](#): > > > > Ian McKellan’s not a real wizard either, sorry to break it to you! 😃 > > So they used CGI to make him look like one? 😛 That and a pointy hat. Which does make me think, if I were a wizard, I’d take off my hat and get up to all kinds of undercover shenanigans with people non the wiser! ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/15 "2010-08-01T16:25:05Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > [Sallah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sallahcrusade.JPG) is Gimli?! Excuse me while I have a heart attack. A 6’1 tall actor played Gimli?! Excuse me while I have another heart attack. > > Were you all aware of this? I can’t have been the only one! This thread is _ **so** _ 2001. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/16 "2010-08-01T16:30:48Z")
Holy crap, Elrond is Agent Smith?! ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/17 "2010-08-01T16:37:52Z")
I knew that since before **Fellowship** came out. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/18 "2010-08-01T18:35:42Z")
This is one where I have to admit I was wrong. I first heard way back when that they were going to use normal size actors to play the hobbits and dwarves and make it work with trick camera angles. And I was one of the people who said that was a stupid idea that could never work. And I was wrong. Jackson was able to pull it off and it worked so flawlessly most people didn’t even realize he was doing it. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/19 "2010-08-01T20:13:10Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > He also did the voice of Treebeard. Ok. That I did not know. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792/20 "2010-08-01T20:25:22Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Ian McKellan’s not a real wizard either, sorry to break it to you! You _lie!_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sallah-is-gimli/548792.md?page=2)