The Lord of the Rings SHOCK: Guess which trilogy star is NOT a fantasy fan (EXCLUSIVE)

JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is the most famous high fantasy epic in modern history. The film trilogy adaptation is much loved by fans, but now it turns out one of the original Fellowship of the Ring is not a fan of the fantasy genre. Gimli star John Rhys-Davies spoke exclusively with Express.co.uk recently when we asked the 75-year-old to clarify his previous negative comments on the upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series. The actor said: “I’m not a great fantasy fan, I confess.”

Over the years, Rhys-Davies has revealed he’s actually more into science fiction.

But this wasn’t the reason for saying that “Tolkien must be spinning in his grave” over the new Lord of the Rings TV series.

He told Express.co.uk that he “misspoke”, not realising that Amazon’s Lord of the Rings TV series would not be another adaptation of Tolkien’s trilogy, but set in another time and place in Middle Earth.

The actor told us: “I’m not a great fantasy fan, I confess.

“I misspoke when I was asked because it was presented to me as ‘what do you think of this remake of Lord of the Rings?’ and I shot from the hip and I misspoke.

“It isn’t really about that at all.”

READ MORE: JOHN RHYS-DAVIES ON PILGRIM’S PROGRESS MOVIE

Rhys-Davis added: “There are so many other histories attached to it and its the pre-history and the pre-setting of Middle Earth that Amazon is going to be doing and I wish them well for it.

“I think a great storyteller’s stories should all be told if they will hold up.”

Amazon’s Lord of the Rings TV series is set in the Second Age of Middle Earth, while the film trilogy was in the third of four.

The Second Age took place over the course of about 3,500 years, so its unknown if familiar characters already seen on the big screen will feature.

Meanwhile, the Gimli star voices Evangelist in a new animated adaptation of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress.

Speaking exclusively with Express.co.uk, the 75-year-old legend lamented how many today haven’t heard of what was once very familiar to the Western World.

He said: “Not many people do know The Pilgrim’s Progress [or its author].

“The man [John Bunyan] had steel in him, as well as a wonderful skill to communicate simply and clearly.”

Rhys-Davies agreed that what is essentially the first English novel, had quite the influence on popular fantasy epics with Christian imagery like JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings and CS Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia.

The actor added: “We are suckers for stories, allegories. It really derives from our earliest social experiences as man.”