Every action hero needs a strong nemesis, and Indiana Jones had his in French archeologist Belloq, played by Paul Freeman. The actor has nothing but good things to say about the production, despite it's frequently uncomfortable working conditions.

"Raiders was incredibly difficult for the actors, no so much for me," Freeman explained. "Because I wasn't working every day, but it was for Harrison Ford. Everybody except for Spielberg got dysentery on that movie. I got mine on the plane going back, which wasn't as terrible, Actually, it wasn't quite as simple as that, because the last but we shot was in Hawaii, and that was the first bit in the movie, the jungle scenes. We went from Tunisia back to London for a couple of days and then on to Hawaii, and I spent most of the time in Hawaii being ill while everybody else had already recovered."

Years after Raiders, Freeman still considers Raiders to be a peek in his career, which also includes Without A Clue, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, and a pair of Young Indy episodes. "The scene with the giant rock rolling down has almost become a cliché, hasn't it? I don't think anybody had dared to start a movie like that, with that incredible 10 minutes, stop, and then tell the story very slowly until it starts up again. The impact of that first 10 minutes carries you through the next 45, until you get back to that level of excitement again. It's an incredibly well well-made film. I'm happy with my performance when I see it. If I did it now, it would be different, but I think it works well and I'm pleased with what I did. Raiders has been only very good for me, and I'm immensely grateful to have been in one of the best films ever."

Raiders was, of course, a huge hit and opened career doors for those involved. Freeman was no exception, although it was something of a catch-22. "I was starting to get offers, but at the same time, those doors were opening up, in a funny sense, they were also closing. It opened more doors in Europe, because people who hadn't thought about me before were now aware that I was there and making films. In the States, I was just getting more and more offers of the same thing -- endless Nazis and Nazi sympathizers -- which I took for a while, until five years later, I had played everyone except Adolph Hitler and I thought no more. In one year, I played the commandant at Treblinka and the commander of Auschwitz, and that's enough." 

As Indy's loyal Cairo-based sidekick Sallah, veteran Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies charmed audiences...and Marion Ravenwood....with his endearing characterization. "When I first got the Raiders script," recalled the 6'2' actor. "It said that it was actually written for someone who was about 5'2', I believe. And I said to Steven, 'What do you want me to do -- have surgery at the knees?' And he said, 'No, no, no, I want you to play this character as a combination of Falstaff and the character you played in Shogun, Rodriquez.' And it is very much that way. Sallah has a fair measure of natural cowardice in him, but he can overcome this. Because he has a loyalty to Indy, he will do most things. Perhaps he's grateful to Indy because Indy has always brought out the best in him."

Sallah had additional sequences in Raiders Of The Lost Ark that were unfortunately edited prior to release. "There were two sequences," Rhys-Davies explained. "When Indiana is in the map room, Sallah's on top keeping watch and a couple of soldiers come along and they want and they want his rope to pull their truck. At gunpoint, he gets conscripted to help pull this damned truck. Then, Sallah manages to get away. By now, he's lost the rope, and he knows he has to get Indy out. So, he goes rummaging through the Germans' camp trying to steal bits of clothing in order to tie them together and make a rope. He's discovered and chased by a young German. Sallah then gets commandeered by another lot of Germans to start get serving up the food. There's a very prolonged scene where he manages to tip the food over on this Nazi officer. And he finally manages to get back and help Indiana, and they go down into the Well Of Souls. When Indy and Marion get down into the Well and get locked in, we cut to Sallah on top and the nasty Nazis order his death. They give this order to this young German who has been chasing him because Sallah has been stealing his clothing. The snag is the young German is a cook. He's a soldier, but he's never actually killed anyone. He lines Sallah up against a tree and aims. Sallah's looking at him, and he can't do it. So, he lets Sallah off with his life. It was a very nice sequence."

Since Raiders, Rhys-Davies appeared in another adventure involving a legendary hero: the 1987 James Bond thriller The Living Daylights, in which he took the compelling part of a tough but noble Russian General. And in 1989 the actor returned to his most famous role as Sallah joined Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade. Recently he's earned extra attention for his work in The Lord Of The Rings, and it's equally successful sequels..