Warwick Davis
| Warwick Davis | |
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 Davis in 2007 |
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| Born | 3 February 1970 Epsom, Surrey, England |
Warwick Ashley Davis (born 3 February 1970) is an English actor. Davis is known for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun series of films; other prominent roles include Wicket W. Warrick in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Professor Filius Flitwick in the Harry Potter movies, Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, as well as Nikabrik in the BBC television versions of Prince Caspian, Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Mr Glimfeather the owl in The Silver Chair. Davis has a condition resulting in dwarfism, and stands at 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) tall.
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Early life
Davis was born in Epsom, Surrey, England to an insurance broker and his wife. Davis also has a younger sister. He was educated at the City of London Freemen's School.
Career
When Davis was 11, his grandmother heard a radio advert calling for people that were 4 ft. tall or shorter to be in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. To Davis, who was a fan of the Star Wars movies, it was a dream come true. He was originally cast as an extra Ewok, but when Kenny Baker, who was originally going to be Wicket, fell ill, George Lucas picked Warwick 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 made a 'short' mockumentary film about his experience as Wicket, titled Return of the Ewok, made with help from 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 movie and his transformation into Wicket the Ewok. Davis reprised his role in the ABC made-for-TV movies 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 movie 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 went back 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 villain 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 scenes where Yoda was walking.
Lately, Davis has played the role of Professor Filius Flitwick in the Harry Potter films. Davis played a white-mustached Flitwick in the first two movies, and then a black-haired unnamed chorus conductor (presumably Flitwick but not credited as such) for the third installment of the series. In the fourth movie, Flitwick is younger looking, with short, brown hair and a trimmed mustache. In addition to playing Flitwick, Davis will play the role of the Goblin Bank Teller in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, despite the role being played previously by fellow dwarf actor Verne Troyer
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 Manchester Opera House, and again in 2007/8 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 film 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.
In addition to his acting career, Davis is the co-founder, with fellow dwarf actor Peter Burroughs, of a talent agency (Willow Management, founded in 1995) that specialises in representing actors under five feet tall. As of 2004, his agency also began representing actors over seven feet tall who had also suffered from being confined to "niche" roles.
Davis will star as himself in an upcoming show titled Life's Too Short, written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who will star as well.[1]
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' family includes a wife and two children, who live in Yaxley near Peterborough. His wife, Samantha (b. 1971) has achondroplasia, as do his children Annabel (b. 1997) and Harrison (b. 2003). Samantha is the daughter of his business partner Peter Burroughs, and the sister of actress Hayley Burroughs.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Return of the Ewok | (unreleased film) | |
| 1983 | Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi | Wicket W. Warrick | |
| 1984 | Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure | Wicket W. Warrick | |
| 1985 | Ewoks: The Battle for Endor | Wicket W. Warrick | |
| 1986 | Labyrinth | Goblin Corps | |
| The Princess and the Dwarf | |||
| 1987 | Conor Finans Adventures in Naas | ||
| 1988 | Willow | Willow Ufgood | |
| 1989 | Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader | Reepicheep | BBC TV serial |
| 1990 | The Silver Chair | Glimfeather | BBC TV serial |
| 1991 | Zorro One episode: The Jewelled Sword | Don Alfonso | US. TV series filmed in Spain |
| 1993 | Leprechaun | Leprechaun | |
| 1994 | Leprechaun 2 | Leprechaun | |
| 1995 | Leprechaun 3 | Leprechaun | |
| 1996 | Gulliver's Travels (TV miniseries) | Grildrig | |
| Leprechaun 4: In Space | Leprechaun | ||
| 1997 | Prince Valiant | Pechet | |
| 1998 | A Very Unlucky Leprechaun | Lucky | |
| 1999 | Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace | Wald and Weazel | |
| The New Adventures of Pinocchio | dwarf | ||
| The White Pony | Lucky | ||
| 2000 | The 10th Kingdom | Acorn the Dwarf | TV miniseries |
| Leprechaun: In the Hood | Leprechaun | ||
| 2001 | Snow White | ||
| Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Professor Flitwick | ||
| 2002 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Professor Flitwick | |
| Skinned Deep | Plates | ||
| 2003 | Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood | Leprechaun | |
| 2004 | Ray | Oberon | |
| Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Professor Flitwick | ||
| Skinned Deep | Plates | ||
| 2005 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | body of Marvin the Paranoid Android | |
| Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Professor Flitwick | ||
| 2005 | Small Town Folk | Knackerman | |
| Extras | himself | ||
| 2007 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Professor Flitwick | |
| 2008 | Agent One-Half | Agent One-Half | |
| The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian | Nikabrik | ||
| Invasion of the Not Quite Dead | |||
| 2009 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Professor Flitwick | |
| 2009 | Tell Him Next Year | Santa's Elf | |
| 2010 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I | Professor Flitwick/Griphook[2] | |
| Merlin[3] | |||
| 2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II | Professor Flitwick/Griphook[4] | Final filming of the Harry Potter film series was held on Saturday 12 June 2010. |
References
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Spoiler alert! Scenes from the last instalment of Harry Potter and a heartbreaking farewell to a faithful friend
- ↑ Truitt, Brian (23 June 2010). "‘Merlin’ star Colin Morgan talks dragons and guest stars". USA Weekend. http://whosnews.usaweekend.com/2010/06/merlin-star-colin-morgan-talks-dragons-and-guest-stars/. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
- ↑ of Harry Potter