- Born
- Birth nameWarwick Ashley Davis
- Height3′ 6″ (1.07 m)
- English actor Warwick Davis was born in Epsom, Surrey, England, the son of Susan J. (Pain) and Ashley Davis, an insurance broker. Davis was born with the condition spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenital (SED), which caused his dwarfism. He was educated at City of London Freemen's School. When he was 11 years old, his grandmother heard a radio appeal for people under four feet tall to appear in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). A huge Star Wars fan, Davis auditioned successfully and was cast as an extra, playing an Ewok. Kenny Baker was cast as lead Ewok Wicket, but fell ill so George Lucas chose Davis to replace him. The film was a smash hit, and Davis went on to reprise his role as Wicket in further TV projects - The Ewok Adventure (1984) and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985).
Davis next big role came with a part specifically written for him, as the titular hero in Willow (1988). Other successes followed with roles in such projects as Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989) and two distinctly different film series - the 'Harry Potter' and 'Leprechaun' film series. In 2006, he appeared in a cameo role in Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's hit sitcom Extras (2005), which led to the pair writing a series specifically for Davis, the comic mockumentary Life's Too Short (2011).
Davis, along with his father-in-law Peter Burroughs, is also the director of an acting agency for very short and tall actors called Willow Management. He is married to Samantha Davis and they have a son and a daughter.- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous
- SpouseSamantha Davis(June 29, 1991 - March 24, 2024) (her death, 3 children)
- ChildrenLloyd DavisGeorge Davis
- ParentsAshley DavisSusan J. Davis (Pain)
- Frequently plays non-human characters
- Runs Willow Personal Management, "The biggest agency for short actors in the world".
- Warwick's grandmother heard a radio announcement calling for people under 4 feet in height to try out for Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). She took him, then 2-foot-11, to the audition. He was originally cast as a background Ewok, but his role was expanded during filming as he impressed the filmmakers, and when Kenny Baker fell ill, Warwick was chosen to take his place in the key role of the first Ewok met by Princess Leia.
- He owned a line of Star Wars action figures as a kid. When he was cast in "Return of the Jedi", Mark Hamill bought Warwick a set of action figures that wasn't in his collection.
- Met his wife Samantha Davis when she was an extra on the set of Willow (1988).
- Cast as the body of Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), while Marvin's voice was provided by Alan Rickman. Coincidentally, both actors play characters in the Harry Potter film series.
- I love the slapstick element. I don't think we see enough of that in comedy, so it was fun to have that opportunity. My life is quite physical anyway. When you are three-foot-six you kind of have to climb stuff now and again, and you find yourself in quite precarious situations just to manage in what is quite a big world.
- [2016, on 'Star Wars' co-star Carrie Fisher's sudden passing]: Princess Leia, Carrie Fisher now one with the Force. Your kindness and sharp wit will be missed.
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