Kiran Shah | |
---|---|
Born | |
Occupation(s) | Actor, stuntman |
Years active | 1975–present |
Height | 4 ft 2 in (127 cm) |
Kiran Shah (born 28 September 1956) is a British actor and stunt double.
Shah was born in Nairobi, Kenya. He lived in Kenya until he was twelve years old, when he moved to India with his family. While living in India, he became interested in films, and when his family moved to Feltham, he became involved in show business. His first film was Candleshoe (1977), as a stand-in. When stunt coordinator Bob Anderson asked him to do stunts as well, his career was started. Shah played the part of Bolum in The People That Time Forgot (1977).
Shah is often confused with Deep Roy; they are both dwarf Nairobi-born Kenyan actors of Indian descent who got their starts in film and television in the late 1970s. He is the world's shortest stuntman according to the Guinness World Records . He has appeared as an actor in 31 films; and 37 as stuntman or body double.
He has been in several blockbuster films since, such as Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Dark Crystal (1982), Return of the Jedi (1983), Legend (1985), Aliens (1986), The Sign of Four (1987), Bullseye! (1990), Braveheart (1995), and Titanic (1997) where he stunt doubled all the children in the film.
He has appeared as a stunt double or stand-in in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series. He was the scale double for Elijah Wood as Frodo, [1] though he doubled for all the other main hobbits, being the only scale-double capable of stunts. He doubled Bilbo Baggins as played by both Martin Freeman (in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey , The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug , and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ) and Ian Holm ( The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ). He is one of only three actors to play the titular character in the Hobbit films.
His most featured role was in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe , where he played Ginarrbrik. He also portrayed an Andaman islander in the Sherlock Holmes film The Sign of Four, and the monster who came out of a painting and attacked Natasha Richardson in the 1986 film Gothic . In addition to doubling for Martin Freeman as Bilbo in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, he also appeared as the Goblin Scribe.
Shah appeared as the mysterious figure in the Steven Moffat scripted "Listen", the fourth episode of the eighth series of Doctor Who , also episode 2 of series 10 as Emojibot 1 in "Smile". [2]
Shah appeared in the 2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens , as Teedo, a small, brutish scavenger that roams the planet Jakku's vast wasteland on his semi-mechanical Luggabeast. [3] [4]
In addition to being an actor and a stuntman, Kiran is also a poet. His poetry has been published in Great Britain and the United States, and is based on his personal thoughts, feelings, and experiences. [5]
Thorin Oakenshield is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit. Thorin is the leader of the Company of Dwarves who aim to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon. He is the son of Thráin II, grandson of Thrór, and becomes King of Durin's Folk during their exile from Erebor. Thorin's background is further elaborated in Appendix A of Tolkien's 1955 novel The Return of the King, and in Unfinished Tales.
Bilbo Baggins is the title character and protagonist of J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit, a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings, and the fictional narrator of many of Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. The Hobbit is selected by the wizard Gandalf to help Thorin and his party of Dwarves to reclaim their ancestral home and treasure, which has been seized by the dragon Smaug. Bilbo sets out in The Hobbit timid and comfort-loving, and through his adventures grows to become a useful and resourceful member of the quest.
Bag End is the underground dwelling of the Hobbits Bilbo and Frodo Baggins in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. From there, both Bilbo and Frodo set out on their adventures, and both return there, for a while. As such, Bag End represents the familiar, safe, comfortable place which is the antithesis of the dangerous places that they visit. It forms one end of the main story arcs in the novels, and since the Hobbits return there, it also forms an end point in the story circle in each case.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Jackson, based on 1954's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The film is the first instalment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It features an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, and Andy Serkis.
The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy of epic fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson, based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by British author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003). Produced and distributed by New Line Cinema with the co-production of WingNut Films, the films feature an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis and Sean Bean.
The Return of the King is a 1980 animated musical fantasy television film created by Rankin/Bass and Topcraft. It is an adaptation of part of J. R. R. Tolkien 1955 high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. It takes its name from The Return of the King, the third and final volume of the novel, and is a sequel to the 1977 film The Hobbit.
Sala Baker is a New Zealand actor and stuntman. He is best known for portraying the villain Sauron in the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson.
Robert James Gilbert Anderson was an English Olympic fencer and a renowned film fight choreographer, with a cinema career that spanned more than 50 years and included films such as Star Wars, Highlander, The Three Musketeers, The Princess Bride, The Mask of Zorro, The Lord of the Rings, and Die Another Day. He was regarded as the premier choreographer of Hollywood sword-fighting, and during his career he coached many actors in swordsmanship, including Errol Flynn, Sean Connery, Antonio Banderas, Mark Hamill, Viggo Mortensen, Adrian Paul, and Johnny Depp. He also appeared as a stunt double for Darth Vader's lightsaber battles in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
Mana Hira Davis is a New Zealand stuntman, known best for his stunt work in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
"A Walking Song" is a poem in The Lord of the Rings. It appears in the third chapter, entitled "Three is Company". It is given its title in the work's index to songs and poems. There is a companion poem near the end of the novel.
Gollum is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He was introduced in the 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became important in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings. Gollum was a Stoor Hobbit of the River-folk who lived near the Gladden Fields. In The Lord of the Rings it is stated that he was originally known as Sméagol, corrupted by the One Ring, and later named Gollum after his habit of making "a horrible swallowing noise in his throat".
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, and one of the protagonists in The Lord of the Rings. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins, described familiarly as "uncle", and undertakes the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor. He is mentioned in Tolkien's posthumously published works, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.
Hobitit is a nine-part Finnish live action fantasy television miniseries directed by Timo Torikka, originally broadcast in 1993 on Yle TV1.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a 2012 epic high fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, based on the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is the first installment in The Hobbit trilogy, acting as a prequel to Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Colin Skeaping is a stuntman with a long career in Hollywood stunts. He was the stunt double for Mark Hamill's role as Luke Skywalker in all three original Star Wars films. He was also a stunt double in other noteworthy film series such as the James Bond and Superman movies.
Lego The Lord of the Rings is a Lego theme based on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson and the novel by the English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. It is licensed from Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema. The theme was first introduced in 2012. The first sets appeared in 2012, to coincide with a release of the video game Lego The Lord of the Rings. Subsequent sets based on The Hobbit film trilogy would also be released and the video game Lego The Hobbit was released in 2014. The product line was discontinued by the end of 2015. Later, the theme was relaunched in January 2023 with three new sets released as the part of the Lego BrickHeadz theme. In February 2023, The Lego Group unveiled a new Rivendell set that released on 8 March 2023 as the part of the Lego Icons theme.
Scholars, including psychoanalysts, have commented that J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth stories about both Bilbo Baggins, protagonist of The Hobbit, and Frodo Baggins, protagonist of The Lord of the Rings, constitute psychological journeys. Bilbo returns from his journey to help recover the Dwarves' treasure from Smaug the dragon's lair in the Lonely Mountain changed, but wiser and more experienced. Frodo returns from his journey to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom scarred by multiple weapons, and is unable to settle back into the normal life of his home, the Shire.