Warwick Ashley Davis (born 3 February 1970 in Epsom, England) is an English actor.
Since his debut playing the Ewok Wicket W. Warrick in Return of the Jedi at the age of twelve and his Star-Making Role in Willow at the age of eighteen, he went on to play roles in many major franchises, including two different versions of The Chronicles of Narnia and he played three different characters over the course of the Harry Potter films. In The '90s, he starred in his own series of slasher films, Leprechaun, which may come as a surprise to fans who discovered him through his more family-friendly roles. He also starred in Ricky Gervais' 2011 series Life's Too Short.
He's 3'6" (107 cm) tall, and co-founded a talent agency
that specializes in representing performers on the extreme ends of the height spectrum. Davis has spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita ("spinal end-of-bone congenital malformation"), which is a rarer cause of dwarfism (compared to the more common achondroplasia, which his wife Samantha has). All of his children inherited that condition, including the two who survived into adulthood, Annabelle and Harrison.
He's also recently founded his own theatre company, the Reduced Height Theatre Company as an opportunity for short actors to get away from the panto, sci-fi, and fantasy roles they usually get Typecast in and prove their acting chops in the classical roles they usually don't play. They toured the UK with a production of the classic farce See How They Run.
Notable Roles:
- Star Wars: He has a long story of taking part to the franchise despite never being one of the leads, usually playing aliens with a short stature.
- Played Wicket Wystri Warrick the Ewok in Return of the Jedi when he was 12. He reprised the role for a cameo in 2019's The Rise of Skywalker, alongside his own son playing Wicket's son.
- Played Wald (Anakin's Rodian friend), a Mos Espa merchant, and Weazel (a pod race spectator) in The Phantom Menace. He also doubled for Yoda, of all people, when he's walking at the end, before the George Lucas Altered Version.
- Voiced Rukh in Star Wars Rebels.
- Played Wollivan in The Force Awakens.
- Played Weeteef Cyubee in Rogue One.
- Played Wodibin in The Last Jedi.
- Reprised his role as Weazel in Solo, a bit more prominently than in The Phantom Menace. Notably, Weazel is a human, so Davis plays him without an alien mask.
- Willow as Willow Ufgood, a role that George Lucas created specifically for him after being impressed by his performance in Return of the Jedi.
- Reprised the role in the 2022 sequel series, also titled Willow.
- Labyrinth as a member of the Goblin Corps.
- Zorro (1990s series) as Don Alfonso Figueroa.
- The Leprechaun series as Lubdan the Leprechaun.
- Harry Potter as Professor Filius Flitwick in seven of the eight films, a goblin bank teller in Philosopher's Stone, and Griphook in both halves of Deathly Hallows. note
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) as the body of Marvin the Depressed Android. (Alan Rickman played the character's voice.)
- The Chronicles of Narnia as Reepicheep and Glimfeather in the 1980s BBC miniseries, and as Nikabrik in the 2000s film series.
- Merlin as Grettir the Bridge-Keeper, a quintessential example of a
One-Scene Wonder. - In the Doctor Who episode "Nightmare in Silver" as Porridge, the Emperor of an entire galaxy who goes undercover to enjoy freedom and excitement for a while.
- In 2013 he guest-hosted Have I Got News for You. This is likely what lead him to become host of a short-lived revival of Celebrity Squares on ITV.
- Hosted the 2013 documentary The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz.
- Himself in Ashens and the Quest for the Game Child; he's the man behind the Silver Skull's mask. Considering the Silver Skull is abnormally tall, Stuart Ashen is rather surprised at this development.
- Also as a fictionalized version of himself in the Mockumentary sitcom Life's Too Short.
- Host of the daytime quiz show Tenable, 2016 to present.
