Interview with Warwick Davis

Review by By Clint Morris

This morning I had the chance to briefly interview character actor, Warwick Davis, currently appearing in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. We talked briefly about the Star Wars series, which he appears in, and the sequel he is dying to do, Willow 2.

I’m sure you were one of the squillion that went and saw Return of the Jedi back in ’83 - he played Wicket the Ewok in that - and I’m even more confident you were at Star Wars : The Phantom Menace, that was Warwick playing both the pint-sized race spectator and Wald. More recently you’ll remember Warwick’s Prof. Flitwick from Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, now regarded as one of the highest grossing films of all time.

Warwick Davis became an actor by mistake. It was actually his Grandmother who encouraged him to try out for a role as an Ewok in the third Star Wars movie, then called Revenge of the Jedi. Then, at 11, he was chosen from hundreds of pint-sized actors for the role of Wicket, a role he would later reprise for two TV movies, and even an unseen short film.

Because of his role in Return of the Jedi (it was retitled shortly before release from ‘Revenge’) One would think Warwick’s favorite Star Wars film would be the one he starred in, but no. “Empire” he says is his favorite. It was released three years before Warwick even met George Lucas. Regardless of the fact that the Ewoks didn't pop up in his fave instalment, Warwick believes it's his role as Wicket the Ewok that carved his career.

It’s not widely known, but Warwick reprised his role of Wicket for a short film. The film, “Return of the Ewok”, was shot during lunch breaks on the Return of the Jedi set. Warwick played himself in the film, an aspiring actor whose first taste of watching the Star Wars movies pushes him to become an actor. What’s surreal is that the part of Wicket was originally supposed to be played by Kenny "R2-D2" Baker. When Baker became ill on the day of Wicket's big scene, Warwick was chosen to take over the role.

Warwick’s relationship with George Lucas is strong, and in 1986 Warwick was asked to play the lead in Willow, which was written with Warwick in mind.

Director Ron Howard was a little dubious about casting Warwick at first. You see the actor was only 17 at the time and audiences were supposed to believe Willow was the father of two children. This hurdle proved an easy one to overcome – and Warwick convinced both Lucas and Howard of his ability to play the role.

The film, released in 1988, didn't exactly set box office records on fire, but even today, Warwick says he would love to return to the character, even though a sequel mightn't even be on Lucas' mind. “This is one of the most frequently asked questions I get!”, Warwick says. “The answer is I don't know - although I'd love to”.

George Lucas has a pretty full plate it seems. “I've put the question to George. He's got many projects he wants to do after Star Wars is finished”. Sadly, Warwick tells me, he hasn’t been offered a role in “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones”, despite having appeared in nearly all of Lucas' films. Still, there’s one more movie still on the Star Wars horizon. Warwick has constantly hinted to Lucas that he would love another role in the prequel series. Possibly a villainous role, but only time will tell if his wish comes true.

As much as he is well known in sci-fi circles, Warwick’s got a steady fan base with Horror buffs because of his role as the evil “Leprechaun” in the five movies of the same name. In the movie, he played a torturous Leprechaun who goes on a murdering rampage after discovering his bag of gold coins is stolen. And it seems the only weapon that works on the pint-sized demon is a four leaf clover.

The most recent in the series is “Leprechaun in the Hood”. Fans seem to want more though. “I’m always getting asked – will there be a Leprechaun 6. But like Willow 2, I don’t know – but I’d love to do both!” Asked about getting typecast in the sci-fi or fantasty genre, Warwick says “If employment is given to me, it really doesn't matter. I’m very happy when I'm offered something.”

The biggest part of Warwick’s life was as a husband. In 1991, Warwick married Samantha Buroughs, whom he had worked with on a Jim Henson film called Labyrinth.

One of Warwick’s most recent parts has been that of Proffesor Flitwick in the enormously successful Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone. “I read the first book before the movie, and my agent called and asked if I wanted to audition for a part in the movie. I auditioned and ended up playing Flitwick and a Goblin”.

For the role of Flitwick, Davis had to be spend about 4 hours a day in the make-up room. For the part of the Goblin, which mainly consisted of wearing contacts and dentures, he had to put in an additional 4 hours getting done up. Warwick says that he wasn’t offered much advice about playing Flitwick but J.K Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter stories, informed Warwick that Prof. Flitwick’s first name was Filius.

In a matter of days, January 14th, to be exact Warwick’s due on set on the sequel. “Yes, I will be reprising his my role of Prof. Flitwick for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”. We look forward to it.

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