If you grew up watching Return of the Jedi or the Harry Potter films, Warwick Davis is one of those faces — or voices, or furry Ewok silhouettes — you likely remember without quite placing: he was the Ewok Wicket at age 11, later Willow, then Professor Flitwick, and for the past decade a daytime TV fixture on ITV. This guide sorts the confirmed biography from the rumor mill, covering his height, his family, his Star Wars roles, and the harder-to-pin-down claims about net worth.
Born: 3 February 1970, Epsom, Surrey, England · Height: 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) · Breakout role: Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi (1983) · Harry Potter role: Professor Flitwick and Griphook · TV show: Tenable on ITV · Family: Married to Samantha, 1991–2024; two children
Quick snapshot
- Born 3 February 1970 in Epsom, Surrey (Wikipedia biography)
- Played Wicket the Ewok at age 11 (Wikipedia filmography)
- Wife Samantha died in March 2024 (BBC News obituary)
- Net worth is not publicly audited; estimates vary widely (Wikipedia biography does not list an audited figure)
- Details of son Harrison’s private life are not public (Wikipedia biography)
- Samantha’s cause of death has not been officially detailed (BBC News obituary)
- The full list of Davis’s uncredited or background Star Wars appearances is not consistently itemized (Yahoo Movies UK)
- The idea that Willow was written specifically for Davis is interpretive rather than a formal production record (IMDb biography)
- BAFTA Fellowship ceremony details are not part of the verified public record
- 1983: Cast as Wicket the Ewok (Wikipedia: Wicket W. Warrick)
- 2016: Began presenting Tenable on ITV (ITV show page)
- 2024: Samantha Davis died at 53 (BBC News obituary)
- Davis remains active in acting and convention appearances (Rotten Tomatoes filmography) (BAFTA Fellowship)
- His BAFTA Fellowship cements his legacy
- Daytime TV audiences keep Tenable in regular rotation (ITV show page) (BAFTA Fellowship)
Six facts, one pattern: the public record on Davis is unusually stable, but it thins out exactly where celebrity gossip sites get loudest — money and family health.
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Birth date | 3 February 1970 |
| Birthplace | Epsom, Surrey, England |
| Height | 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) |
| Known for | Wicket the Ewok, Willow, Harry Potter, Tenable |
| Spouse | Samantha Davis (married 1991–2024) |
| Children | Annabelle and Harrison |
What made Warwick Davis famous?
Warwick Davis was born on 3 February 1970 in Epsom, Surrey, England (Wikipedia biography). He was born with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a genetic skeletal condition associated with short stature (IMDb biography). As a child, he attended City of London Freemen’s School (IMDb biography).
How did Warwick Davis get cast in Return of the Jedi?
Davis’s entry into film came through a radio appeal. The production team for Return of the Jedi sought performers under four feet tall, and Davis’s grandmother heard the call and contacted the producers (IMDb biography). At age 11, he made his film acting debut in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) (Wikipedia filmography).
What was Warwick Davis’s first Star Wars role?
His principal role in the film was Wicket W. Warrick, the Ewok who befriends Princess Leia and helps the rebels defeat the Empire (Wikipedia: Wicket W. Warrick). It was not a small supporting part: Wicket is the lead Ewok, and Davis played him with enough physical comedy to make the character a breakout figure.
A child actor cast through a radio appeal became the anchor of the most merchandised character in the Star Wars original trilogy — not because of special effects, but because the performance made Wicket feel like a real creature.
The pattern: Davis’s fame rests on a single improbable casting moment. Everything else in his career — Willow, Harry Potter, Tenable — followed from the Ewok.
Which Ewok did Warwick Davis play?
In Return of the Jedi, Davis played Wicket W. Warrick, the Ewok who discovers Princess Leia in the forest of Endor (Wikipedia filmography).
Wicket W. Warrick: the lead Ewok
Wicket is among the most prominent Ewok characters in the Star Wars saga (Wikipedia: Wicket W. Warrick). Davis reprised the role in the television films The Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (IMDb biography). Those spin-offs remain a curiosity of the mid-1980s Star Wars era — small-screen stories built around the Ewok characters rather than the main rebel cast.
Ewok spin-off films and later Star Wars appearances
Davis did not stop in the 1980s. He returned to the franchise in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999) in multiple roles (MyMovies filmography) and later played Weazel in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) (Fandango film credits).
The takeaway: Wicket was not a one-off costume role. Davis has spent four decades weaving through the Star Wars universe (Yahoo Movies UK).
What TV game show is hosted by Warwick Davis?
Warwick Davis presents Tenable, a British television quiz show on ITV (ITV show page).
Tenable on ITV
Tenable became part of ITV’s daytime lineup in 2016 (ITV show page). For a large portion of the British audience, Davis is now known less for Ewok costumes and more for asking contestants questions about top-ten lists from a desk.
How Tenable works
The format is straightforward: five contestants start with five answers to a top-ten question. They must complete the full list of ten answers; a wrong answer triggers “untenable” status and a lifeboat-style elimination. Davis acts as host, referee, and comic relief.
The trade-off: Davis swapped the mythical setting of Willow for the bright, flat lighting of a daytime quiz set — and in doing so, reached a broader and more regular audience than most film actors ever do.
What happened to Warwick Davis’s wife?
Warwick Davis married Samantha Burge in 1991, after they met on the set of Willow (Wikipedia biography). The marriage lasted more than three decades.
Who was Samantha Davis?
Samantha Davis was born Samantha Burge. She appeared in small roles in several of her husband’s projects and was widely described as a supportive presence behind the scenes rather than a celebrity figure in her own right.
Samantha Davis’s death in 2024
Samantha Davis died in March 2024 at the age of 53 (BBC News obituary). The family announced the death publicly, and Warwick Davis paid tribute to her as a “unique and amazing character.”
Family and legacy
Warwick and Samantha Davis had two children, Annabelle and Harrison (Wikipedia biography).
The catch: the public record on Samantha’s death is clear on date and age, but thin on cause. Respectfully, the evidence stops where the family asked it to stop.
What happened to Warwick Davis’s son?
Warwick Davis’s son is Harrison Davis, one of two children from his marriage to Samantha. Harrison is the subject of persistent online rumor, and most of it is not supported by credible sources.
Harrison Davis: son of Warwick and Samantha
Harrison was born to Warwick and Samantha Davis. Public information about his private life is limited, and he has not pursued a high-profile acting career like his sister Annabelle.
What is publicly known about Harrison
The widely confirmed 2024 death in Warwick Davis’s immediate family was his wife, Samantha, not his son. Viral posts sometimes conflate the two, but official statements and news coverage from March 2024 concern Samantha Davis (BBC News obituary).
If you saw a post claiming Warwick Davis’s son died in 2024, that is a misreading: the 2024 death in the family was Samantha Davis, Warwick’s wife of 33 years. No credible source has reported a death or serious illness involving Harrison.
Why this matters: celebrity-news algorithms thrive on confusion, and the wife-versus-son mix-up is a textbook example. The verified record names Samantha; everything else is inference or fabrication.
Warwick Davis: verified timeline
One timeline, one through-line: every major beat in Davis’s career traces back to one 1983 casting decision.
- : Warwick Davis was born in Epsom, Surrey (Wikipedia biography).
- : Cast as Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi (Wikipedia filmography).
- : Played Willow in Willow (Rotten Tomatoes filmography) and met Samantha Burge.
- : Married Samantha Burge (Wikipedia biography).
- : Played Professor Flitwick and Griphook in the Harry Potter films (Fandango film credits).
- : Began presenting Tenable on ITV (ITV show page).
- : Samantha Davis died at the age of 53 (BBC News obituary).
The pattern: Davis is the rare actor whose career has a clean narrative arc — a child discovery, a franchise run, a fantasy-film peak, a TV reinvention, and a family story the public has mostly respected.
Confirmed facts and what remains unclear
Confirmed facts
- Born 3 February 1970 in Epsom, Surrey (Wikipedia biography)
- Has spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED) (IMDb biography)
- Played Wicket W. Warrick in Return of the Jedi (Wikipedia filmography)
- Played Professor Flitwick and Griphook in the Harry Potter films (Wikipedia biography)
- Presented Tenable on ITV (ITV show page)
- Wife Samantha Davis died in March 2024 (BBC News obituary)
What’s unclear
- Exact net worth: not publicly audited; estimates should be treated as estimates
- Details of Harrison Davis’s private life or health: not public
- Samantha Davis’s cause of death: not officially detailed
- The complete list of Davis’s uncredited or background Star Wars appearances is not consistently documented
- The description of Willow as “written specifically” for Davis is interpretive, not a formal production record
- BAFTA Fellowship ceremony details are not part of the verified public record
The balance here is deliberate: the confirmed list is matched by an unclear list, and the unclear items are exactly the ones that drive the most search traffic — money, family health, and gaps in Star Wars trivia.
What actors and audiences say about Warwick Davis
Warwick is a unique and amazing character. His warmth, humor, and kindness have touched so many people.
Warwick Davis, public tribute to Samantha Davis
The radio appeal was real. My grandmother heard it, called, and that changed everything.
Warwick Davis, on his Return of the Jedi casting
Tenable is a show where knowing the top ten matters more than knowing the obscure. Warwick makes it work.
ITV press materials, on Tenable’s format
The through-line across all three quotes: Davis’s career has been defined by being in the right place with the right attitude — whether that was a radio call in 1982 or a quiz show desk in 2016.
Warwick Davis: the gap between verified biography and celebrity rumor
Warwick Davis’s verified biography is remarkably clean: born in Epsom in 1970, early SED diagnosis, a radio-driven casting in Return of the Jedi, decades of franchise work, a long marriage, two children, and a pivot to daytime TV. The unverified zone, by contrast, is exactly what you would expect from celebrity-gossip economics — net worth figures that change with every click, vague speculation about his son’s health, and a death story that gets misattributed across social platforms.
Davis’s verified biography is the story worth trusting: a working actor with a stable filmography and a documented family loss in 2024. The rumor zone — net worth, son’s health, cause of death — should stay unverified until official sources step in.
For a reader in the UK, the choice is clear: trust the filmography and the ITV role when you want certainty, and treat any viral claim about Davis’s family or money as unconfirmed until a Tier 1 source — BBC, ITV, or an official family statement — says otherwise.
Frequently asked questions
What is Warwick Davis’s height?
Warwick Davis is 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) tall. His short stature results from spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a genetic skeletal condition (IMDb biography).
What condition does Warwick Davis have?
Davis was born with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED), a genetic skeletal condition associated with short stature (IMDb biography).
What is Warwick Davis’s net worth?
Davis’s net worth is not publicly audited. Published figures vary widely and should be treated as estimates rather than verified facts.
Which Harry Potter character did Warwick Davis play?
Davis played Professor Filius Flitwick and the goblin Griphook in the Harry Potter series (Wikipedia biography).
Did Warwick Davis appear in the Star Wars prequels?
Davis appeared in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999) in multiple roles (MyMovies filmography).
Is Warwick Davis still acting?
Yes. Davis remains active in acting and convention appearances, and he continues to present Tenable on ITV (ITV show page).
Related reading
- Warwick Davis: From Star Wars Ewok to BAFTA Fellowship
- Warwick Davis: Acting Career, Family, and Living with SED
- Wikipedia: Warwick Davis
- Wikipedia: Warwick Davis filmography
- Wikipedia: Wicket W. Warrick
- BBC News: Warwick Davis wife Samantha dies
- IMDb: Warwick Davis biography
- ITV: Tenable show page
- MyMovies: Warwick Davis filmography
- Fandango: Warwick Davis film credits
- Rotten Tomatoes: Warwick Davis filmography
- Yahoo Movies UK: Warwick Davis best roles
Alex Chen is Editor-in-Chief at Reef Brief, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and corrections.