Warwick Davis: Career, Loss, and the BAFTA Fellowship

Born: February 3, 1970 ·
Height: 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) ·
Notable roles: Willow, Harry Potter, Leprechaun ·
Spouse: Samantha Davis (m. 1991; died 2024) ·
Children: Annabelle and Harrison

Six facts, one pattern: everything the public knows about Davis starts with the body he was born with — and everything about his life outgrew it.

How many characters did Warwick Davis play in Harry Potter?

The answer: two named roles, plus a cameo. Davis played Professor Filius Flitwick and the goblin Griphook, roles BBC News (UK public broadcaster) says he filled across the eight-film Harry Potter series — and he added a third turn as a goblin bank teller in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia)).

Who is the Leprechaun actor?

• Warwick Davis played the title character in the Leprechaun horror franchise — a series that made him a genre icon far outside fantasy fandom (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia)).
• He also headlined the 1988 fantasy film Willow and reprised the role in the 2022 Disney+ sequel series Willow (USA Today (US national news outlet)).

The Leprechaun answer matters because it shows range: the same actor who played a gentle farmer in Willow spent years as a murderous horror villain — and made both careers work.

The pattern: Davis’s résumé isn’t a single franchise — it’s four of them, often at the same time. Few actors have played the hero, the villain, the comic professor, and the horror monster within one career.

Where does Warwick Davis live today?

Davis is based in Worcestershire, England — the same county where he and Samantha raised their two children (Lucasfilm (production studio)). It’s a deliberately quiet home base for a man whose career has always been loud.

Beyond that, Davis keeps his private life private. What’s documented is his work, his family, and the institutions he built around them.

Has Warwick Davis a new partner?

• No new relationship has been publicly confirmed since Samantha’s death.
• That silence is consistent with how the Davises have handled grief: privately, and rarely in interviews.

Is Warwick Davis’ son famous?

• Harrison Davis is an actor — best known so far for appearing in the 2022 Disney+ series Willow alongside his father (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia)).
• His sister, Annabelle Davis, is also an actress (Lucasfilm (production studio)).

Why this matters: Davis built the family life he always said he wanted in an unglamorous English county — and that stability is the backdrop to everything he’s survived since.

Why did Warwick Davis’ wife pass away?

Samantha Davis — Warwick’s wife of more than 30 years — died on 24 March 2024, aged 53 (CBS News (US news network)).

Initial reports did not state a cause of death (USA Today (US national news outlet)). A year later, an inquest changed that: Samantha suffered an arrhythmic cardiac arrest after complications associated with surgery and achondroplasia complicated by spinal-cord compression (RTÉ (Irish public broadcaster)).

• Samantha was an actor herself — she appeared as a goblin in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (CBS News (US news network)).
• The couple met on the set of Willow in 1988 and married in 1991 (CBS News (US news network); USA Today (US national news outlet)).

How many kids has Warwick Davis lost?

• The couple’s first child, a son, died shortly after birth in 1991 (USA Today (US national news outlet)).
• Two children survive: Annabelle Davis and Harrison Davis (Lucasfilm (production studio)).

How much did Warwick Davis’ wife leave him?

• Samantha’s will left her estate to Warwick and the couple’s two surviving children (RTÉ (Irish public broadcaster)).
• The monetary value was never published — so any specific figure circulating online is speculation, not reporting.
• For a wider fact file on the family’s story, see our related guide: Warwick Davis: Wife’s Death, Love Life, Net Worth & More (2025).

What this means: the couple’s final chapter had three layers — a private tragedy, a medical record, and a public fascination with numbers. Davis has answered the first two with openness and the last with silence.

Is Warwick Davis nice in real life?

The evidence says yes — and it’s not just anecdote. Davis co-founded Little People UK in 2012 with Samantha, a charity supporting people with dwarfism and their families (RTÉ (Irish public broadcaster)). Before that, in 1995, he and Samantha founded Willow Management, an agency created to represent short actors (WFTV (US news station)).

Those two institutions are the practical answer to “is he nice”: Davis used his leverage to build infrastructure for other short actors rather than just for himself.

The pattern: everything Davis built — a charity, an agency, a family — points the same way: making the world big enough for people who look like him.

What is Warwick Davis doing today?

In 2025, Davis received the BAFTA Fellowship, the British Academy’s highest honour — a date worth correcting, because the award is frequently misdated to 2024 — and he used the moment to remember Samantha, the wife he once called his “favourite human” (BBC News (UK public broadcaster)). He continues to act and make public appearances (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia)). For the full arc of that journey, from Ewok to Fellowship, see our companion feature: Warwick Davis: From Star Wars Ewok to BAFTA Fellowship.

When did Warwick Davis have a stroke?

• A 2024 claim that Davis suffered a stroke spread online — but no reliable outlet has confirmed it, and the actor hasn’t publicly addressed it.
• What is documented is his public appearance at the 2025 BAFTA ceremony, where he honoured Samantha (BBC News (UK public broadcaster)).

So the honest answer is: working, grieving, and being honoured — often in the same season.

The implication: the man who once played a goblin bank teller in the most successful film franchise in history is now receiving the industry’s lifetime-achievement award. Hollywood rarely writes that kind of symmetry.

Warwick Davis: career and family timeline

Nine dates tell the story — from a Surrey schoolboy to a BAFTA Fellow, with the private losses tucked in between.

The pattern: every public peak arrived with a private cost attached — a child lost in 1991, a wife lost in 2024 — and Davis kept working through both.

What’s confirmed — and what’s still unclear

The trade-off: respecting a family’s privacy means accepting incomplete information. The verified record is substantial enough to honour their story without filling in the blanks.

In their own words

She was my favourite human.

Warwick Davis, in a statement reported by BBC News (UK public broadcaster)

Her passing has left a huge hole in the family’s lives.

Warwick Davis, via RTÉ (Irish public broadcaster)

Samantha was a cherished member of our community.

Lucasfilm, official statement (production studio)

What the record shows: the people who knew the Davises best describe warmth, not fame — and no tabloid has been able to improve on that.

For four decades, Warwick Davis hid in plain sight: millions laughed at Flitwick, cheered Wicket, and screamed at the Leprechaun — often without ever seeing the man underneath. He carried the losses privately: a son in 1991, his wife in 2024. At the 2025 BAFTA Fellowship, he turned the spotlight toward Samantha, his “favourite human.” For the industry that made him famous while keeping his face covered, the verdict is clear: cast short actors in roles that let them be seen, not just disguised — or keep building fantasy worlds that look less and less like the real one Davis helped create. For fans, the choice is simpler: remember the characters, but don’t forget the man — Warwick Davis.

Frequently asked questions

The questions people keep asking about Davis — money, health, love — are the same ones the press can’t fully answer. The verified record is the respectful place to stop.