Dr. Henry Jones Jr. is riding a mine cart with Short Round into video stores across the country on September 18 with the long-awaited Blu-ray release of "Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures." We got a chance to talk with Sallah himself, John Rhys-Davies, about his contribution to one of the greatest trilogies of all time! Also, "Crystal Skull."

A veteran Welsh actor who also famously played Gimli in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Rhys-Davies co-starred in 1981's "Raiders of the Lost Ark" as Sallah, "the best digger in Cairo," who over the course of the film helps Indy evade the Nazis in order to recover the title maguffin. He returned again in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" to help Indy et al protect the Grail from those tirelessly treasure-seeking Nazis. We talked about his experience in both films during an exclusive chat with the 68-year-old fan favorite.

Actually, I had done "Shogun," and Steven had seen it. He asked to see me for this one. I said, "Well, look, I'm not as described here a five-foot-two skinny Egyptian." He said, "No, what I want from you is something of Rodrigues in 'Shogun,' and at the same time a touch of Falstaff about him." Adding to which I brought my own private passion for archaeology and history. I didn't want to make him the silly colonial fellow. I realized there was a comic quality to him that was necessary, but at the same time he's a responsible man. He's the best digger in Cairo because he has good connections, he has good instincts about it. He can lead men and lead a group of diggers. At the same time, he's a father and bringing up children. He's a man who lives in the real world.

Is it true that Danny DeVito was at one point up for the role?

I have no idea! That's the first time anyone's ever said that to me, but wouldn't he have been wonderful. [Laughs]

It always seemed like he was kind of your character's surrogate in the "Romancing the Stone" movies.

Oh, isn't that interesting. Yes, I guess so. The "Romancing the Stone" movies are an attempt to get into the genre. They don't quite work, they're okay. If you've gotta follow a fashion, pick a good fashion I say, yes.

Obviously, these films have been picked apart like crazy, there's been a million documentaries, but what is something from your vantage point that people don't know about the making of "Raiders"?

[Laughs] You don't think I've been asked that question a thousand times, my dear fellow? Well, I tell you, the thing from my vantage point right now, looking at some of the behind-the-scenes stuff, it becomes clearer and clearer to me what an extraordinary contribution Harrison makes to this. You can see as he works and is rehearsing that he has a clear line of definition, that he's defining this character very precisely, deliberately. It's so strong that [when you see] just the shadow of a hat and the man on the ground, suddenly you know it's Indiana Jones. I suppose I was aware of that at the time, but I didn't have the awareness I have now. This is a very thoughtful, intelligent actor creating an iconic character as part of his determination that he will become one of the great screen actors of his generation. It is a tribute to him that he has become so, which just goes to show that it's not just serendipity that makes greatness, it is deliberation and hard work and drive and determination as well.

"Last Crusade" is so good that a lot of people think it's better than the first. You talk about Ford's determination on the first one, but was there a feeling of fatigue with the series by the time he and Spielberg made "Last Crusade," or was it just as energized as your "Raiders" experience?

I think it was more a "done and dusted" thing. I think they knew what they wanted to do, they knew what they were doing. There was a sense that Steven had shot the whole thing in his head before we rolled the camera, which I guess is one of the things you have to do when you're a director. There was a more open and uncertain quality of exploration in the first one, but I think that image of the four of us riding off into the sun [laughs] I would recall Steven very deliberately saying, "Yes, that is the final moment, it is a trilogy!"

Well, I was mentioning this to Steven the other day… [laughs] I think he would probably agree. It's the story, I suppose, in the end that makes it. I dunno, it was such a perfect collection of actors in that first one. The perfection of the third one is because suddenly you've got another megastar and fine, fine film actor in Sean [Connery]. You expect them to collide, but in fact, the collision is just so beautiful, so wonderful. You sense a father-son thing there that was a little more than I expected to happen. You put two alpha males together, it's not necessarily a recipe for peace and quiet. It worked wonderfully well, and that's a tribute to both of them, really.

What do you imagine became of Sallah after he rode off into the sunset with Indy and Co.?

What happens is, in fact, the Colonel's Revolt, when Colonel Nasser comes to power. The conflicts of people like poor old Sallah are made acute by there suddenly being a Russian presence in Egypt. I think Sallah has an old-fashioned loyalty to the British empire in his own funny way. Yes, he's Egyptian, and he's proud of it, but he's aware of a wider world. I think the years that follow would have seen Sallah being bypassed. He's never really accepted. The party members, the Zahi Hawasses of the world, sort of rise to become the preeminent archaeologists of Egypt. Regimes may change, but they're always back in power again. Egypt is changing now. I fear for the people of Egypt, I fear for them very much so.

Why was Sallah so fond of camels? Indy clearly told you no camels?

One's got to earn a little money on the side, old chap. We've wrecked my brother-in-law's car, I'm going to be facing some real problems at home. Why not a few camels, just on the side, if they're going free? You can make a reasonable exchange for the camel.

Yeah, yeah, get a little Holy Grail and some camels on the side.

Absolutely! Would it kill him?