Warwick Davis Warwick Ashley Davis is an English actor with
dwarfism. He played the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun film series, the
Ewok Wicket in Return of the Jedi and Professor Filius Flitwick and Griphook in the Harry
Potter films. Davis has also starred as a wizard dwarf in Dwarves Assemble and a fictionalized
version of himself in the sitcom Life's Too Short, written and directed by Ricky Gervais
and Stephen Merchant. Early life
Warwick Davis was born in Epsom, Surrey, to an insurance broker and his wife. Davis also
has a younger sister. He was educated at Chinthurst School and later the City of London Freemen's
School. When Davis was 11, his grandmother heard a radio advert calling for people who
were 4 ft./1m 20 tall or shorter to be in Return of the Jedi. To Davis, who was a fan
of the Star Wars films, it was a dream come true. On the set of Return of the Jedi, Mark
Hamill bought Davis every single Star Wars figure he did not have.
Career Davis was originally cast as an extra Ewok,
but when Kenny Baker, who was originally going to be Wicket, fell ill, George Lucas picked
Davis to be the new Wicket after seeing how he carried himself as an Ewok. Davis based
his Ewok movements on his dog, who would tilt his head from side to side whenever he saw
something strange. During production on the film, Davis was the subject of a short mockumentary
film about his experience as Wicket, titled Return of the Ewok, made by Return of the
Jedi's first assistant director, David Tomblin. The unreleased film was a fictional look at
his decision to become an actor and act in the film and his transformation into Wicket
the Ewok. Davis reprised his role as Wicket in the ABC made-for-TV films Caravan of Courage:
An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor.
In 1987, Davis was called to Elstree Studios in London to meet with Ron Howard and George
Lucas to discuss a new film project called Willow, which was written with Davis specifically
in mind. Willow was his first opportunity to act with his face visible. He co-starred
with Val Kilmer in the film, which received a Royal Premiere before the Prince and Princess
of Wales. He then moved to television to be in the BBC Television adaptation of the classic
The Chronicles of Narnia, specifically in Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
(as Reepicheep), and The Silver Chair (as Glimfeather) and an episode of Zorro filmed
in Madrid. In 1993, he played the villainous Irish goblin in Leprechaun. He then returned
to the Star Wars universe, playing three roles in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace:
Weazel, a gambler sitting next to Watto at the Podrace; Wald, who was Anakin's Rodian
buddy; and Yoda in some scenes where Yoda was seen walking.
Davis played the role of Professor Filius Flitwick in the Harry Potter films. Davis
played a white-moustached Flitwick in the first two films, and then a black-haired unnamed
chorus conductor (presumably Flitwick but not credited as such) for the third instalment
of the series. In the fourth film, Flitwick is younger looking, with short, brown hair
and a trimmed moustache. In addition to playing Flitwick, Davis played the role of the goblin
Griphook in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, despite the role being played previously by
fellow dwarf actor Verne Troyer. In 2004, Davis played the character "Plates"
in the indie film Skinned Deep, directed by special effects artist Gabriel Bartalos. In
2006, Davis appeared, alongside fellow Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, in an episode
of BBC's comedy series Extras as a satirical version of himself. Davis starred in the film
version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, as the "body" of Marvin the Paranoid Android
(the voice was provided by Alan Rickman). In December 2006, Davis starred in the pantomime
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves at the Opera House, Manchester, and again in 2007–08
at the New Wimbledon Theatre. Davis appeared in The Chronicles of Narnia:
Prince Caspian, in which he played Nikabrik the Dwarf, adding to his previous involvement
in TV adaptations of the Chronicles of Narnia series. He also appeared as a contestant on
the 2007 series of Children in Need reality show Celebrity Scissorhands. Davis starred
as a fictional version of himself in Life's Too Short, written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen
Merchant, who also starred. In December 2012, Davis returned to New Wimbledon Theatre to
reprise his role in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
In late 2013, Davis appeared for one month as Patsy in musical comedy Spamalot, based
on the film Monty Python's Holy Grail in London, At the same time, Davis hosted a press conference
to announce the Monty Python reunion. In April and May 2014, Warwick hosted a six-part
documentary series called Weekend Escapes with Warwick Davis. The show sees Davis and
his family travelling around Britain for weekend holiday breaks.
In 2014, he will host a revived series of game show Celebrity Squares.
Other In addition to his acting career, in 1995
Davis co-founded, with fellow dwarf actor and father-in-law Peter Burroughs, the talent
agency Willow Management, that specialises in representing actors under five feet tall.
Many of Davis's co-stars and fellow dwarf actors from Star Wars, Willow, Labyrinth and
the Harry Potter series are represented by the agency. In 2004, the agency also began
representing actors over seven feet tall who had also suffered from being confined to "niche"
roles. Over 40 members of Willow Management were cast as goblins in Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows – Part 2. In April 2010, Davis published his autobiography, Size Matters
Not: The Extraordinary Life and Career of Warwick Davis, with a foreword by George Lucas.
In January 2013 he appeared in a Comic Relief episode of The Great British Bake Off, winning
that episode's title of "Comic Relief Star Baker".
In March 2013 he presented an episode of the ITV series Perspectives: Warwick Davis – The
Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz, in which he explored the story of the Ovitz family, a touring musical
troupe which included seven dwarfs who survived the Nazi Auschwitz concentration camp and
the experiments of Josef Mengele. Davis is a founder of The Reduced Height Theatre
Company, which stages theatrical productions cast exclusively with short actors and using
reduced height sets. Their first production was See How They Run, touring the UK in 2014.
Personal life Unlike most dwarfs (70%) who have a condition
called achondroplasia, Davis' dwarfism is caused by an extremely rare genetic condition
called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED). He has said the only real drawback
to being small was the associated health problems. Of his own dwarfism, Davis has said, "As you
get older, you can suffer from painful hips, and our joints wear a lot quicker than for
people of average height". Davis is married to Samantha (b.1971) and
has two children, daughter Annabelle and son Harrison. They live in Yaxley near Peterborough,
Cambridgeshire. Warwick's wife, Samantha has achondroplasia,
and his two children also have SED. Samantha is the daughter of his business partner Peter
Burroughs, and the sister of actress Hayley Burroughs. Davis met the Burroughs family
while filming Willow, where they had minor roles as Nelwyn villagers.
Filmography