Few actors have spent more of their life inside blockbuster franchises than Warwick Davis — and fewer still have done it from a height of 3 ft 6 in. He was 11 when he first stepped onto a Star Wars set as Wicket the Ewok, a role that made him a childhood icon and opened a four-decade career that now includes the 2025 BAFTA Fellowship, a year of grief, and a family that followed him into acting.
Date of Birth: 3 February 1970 ·
Height: 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) ·
Notable Role: Wicket the Ewok in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi ·
Spouse: Samantha Davis (m. 1991–2024) ·
Children: 2 (Annabelle and Harrison) ·
BAFTA Fellowship: 2025
Quick snapshot
- His first screen role was Wicket the Ewok in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, aged 11 (BBC (UK public broadcaster))
- He played Professor Filius Flitwick and the goblin Griphook in the Harry Potter film franchise from 2001 to 2011 (Radio Times (UK entertainment magazine))
- He received the BAFTA Fellowship in February 2025 (The Irish News (Northern Irish daily))
- Exact net worth: estimates vary, with no verified public figure
- Samantha’s will and any inheritance: a private matter, not disclosed
- Whether any new film or TV projects are in development: not announced
- Relationship status after wife’s death not publicly confirmed beyond early 2025 statements
- Born 3 February 1970, in Epsom, Surrey (BAFTA (UK film and television academy))
- Samantha Davis, his wife of 33 years, died in March 2024 after a long illness (BBC (UK public broadcaster))
- BAFTA Fellowship awarded in February 2025 — the academy’s highest honor (BAFTA) (BAFTA (UK film and television academy))
- Davis continues to take acting and voice work; no specific new projects have been announced
- The Fellowship year has refocused attention on his advocacy for dwarfism representation
One profile, seven figures that stay constant across every interview and archive piece about Davis — the essentials in a single line each:
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Warwick Ashley Davis |
| Born | 3 February 1970 |
| Height | 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) |
| Spouse | Samantha Davis (1991–2024) |
| Children | Annabelle and Harrison |
| Occupation | Actor, Comedian, Presenter, Talent Agent |
| Years Active | 1982–present |
Who did Warwick Davis in Star Wars?
The shortest answer is a name — Wicket the Ewok. The longer answer is that Davis did not play one character in Star Wars; he played several, across several different decades, and the first one made him famous while he was still a child.
Warwick Davis’ Role as Wicket the Ewok
- Born in Epsom, Surrey, with a rare form of dwarfism, Davis was 11 when a talent scout spotted him and cast him as Wicket in Return of the Jedi (1983). BAFTA credits that single role with launching his screen career (BAFTA (UK film and television academy))
- Wicket was one of the lead Ewoks in the film’s forest-moon battle — a character whose big eyes and small, determined body language made him an instant fan favorite
- The part made him, at 11, one of the youngest central performers in the franchise’s history
Return of the Jedi closed the original trilogy in 1983, and Wicket’s hooded, furry face became one of its defining images. Davis took the role, and essentially never left the industry.
What this means: Wicket was not a lucky accident that Davis outgrew. It was the exact opposite — a role he built an entire career on top of.
Other Star Wars Appearances
- Davis returned to the franchise in The Phantom Menace, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, playing different characters rather than one returning role. The Rise of Skywalker (2019) remains his most recent Star Wars film to date (The Irish News (Northern Irish daily))
- Across those later films the roles were smaller — cameos and background characters — but each one quietly confirmed his standing in the saga
The result is a rare thing in Star Wars: an actor who appeared in films spanning the original trilogy, the prequels and the sequels, and whose first character is still the one fans remember.
What TV show did Warwick Davis host?
For UK audiences, the answer to this one is a teatime ritual: the ITV quiz show Tenable. But the fuller answer involves a BBC mockumentary, a famous comedy cameo and a string of presenting credits.
Life’s Too Short (2011–2013)
- Davis co-created and starred in Life’s Too Short, the BBC mockumentary he made with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. It ran from 2011 to 2013 (BBC (UK public broadcaster))
- The show cast Davis as a heightened version of himself — a celebrity agent whose clients keep abandoning him. The joke worked because Davis’s real career was, by then, genuinely famous
It also gave Davis a showcase for a deadpan comic style that his fantasy roles rarely used — and that later translated directly into his quiz-show presenting.
Other TV Appearances and Hosting Credits
- Beyond Life’s Too Short, Davis’s TV credits include Labyrinth (where he appeared alongside David Bowie), Extras, and the ITV game shows Tenable and Celebrity Squares, which he has presented (Evening Standard (London newspaper))
- He has also appeared on panel shows including The Cube and Celebrity Juice, and presented the documentary The Dark Side of Fame
The TV work is what made Davis a household name in Britain in a way the franchise films never quite did — the quiz host and the panel-show guest are the versions of him that show up in living rooms on a regular basis.
What this means: Davis is one of the few actors who crossed from cult cinema into weekend primetime without changing register. For a generation of British viewers, he is not the Ewok — he is the bloke hosting the quiz.
What is Warwick Davis doing now?
The Fellowship, awarded in February 2025, is the British Academy’s highest honor — and it came with Davis still mid-career: still acting, still running his agency, still the most visible advocate for performers with dwarfism in UK film.
Recent Projects and BAFTA Fellowship
- He has said he found out about the award in the least ceremonious setting imaginable — the toilet (The Irish News (Northern Irish daily))
- His most recent on-screen work in the Fellowship record runs through The Rise of Skywalker (2019), with no new film roles announced since
The Fellowship was never framed as a farewell. BAFTA’s own announcement emphasizes a career that is still in motion, and Davis has continued to appear at events, in voice work and in advocacy around dwarfism representation.
Net Worth and Continued Career
- The filmography around the Fellowship is strikingly wide: the 1988 fantasy Willow, the Leprechaun horror-comedies, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Jack the Giant Slayer and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Radio Times (UK entertainment magazine))
- Alongside acting, Davis runs Willow Management, the talent agency he founded for performers under five feet and over seven feet tall
- Public estimates of his net worth usually land around $5 million, but the figures come from celebrity-wealth trackers, not official records — treat them as estimates
The pattern: Davis’s current career is less about chasing new roles than about consolidating what he built — the Fellowship, the agency, the advocacy. That is a different kind of ambition than the one that got him cast at 11, and it is working.
What has happened to Warwick Davis’ wife?
The biggest change in Davis’s life is not a career fact at all. In March 2024, his wife of 33 years, Samantha, died after a long illness, and much of what he has said publicly since has circled around that loss.
The search data around Davis’s wife is blunt — people want to know what she left him and whether he has moved on. The honest answer is that almost all of it is private, which is precisely the part the public is not owed.
Samantha Davis’ Illness and Death
- Samantha and Warwick were married from 1991 until her death in March 2024, after a long illness. In his BAFTA Fellowship speech, he described her as the love of his life (Evening Standard (London newspaper))
- He has spoken about the grief in interviews, including how continuing to work has helped him process it
The marriage spanned the entirety of his fame: Samantha was with him from the years of creature suits and low-budget horror sequels through to the Harry Potter and BAFTA era. Her death, in that context, cuts through every phase of the story at once.
Inheritance and Financial Matters
- Samantha’s will and any inheritance have not been made public, and Davis has not discussed them
- The “how much did she leave him” question is therefore unanswerable from public records — and the attention around it says more about the search engine than about Davis
Is Warwick Davis Dating Now?
- Davis has said publicly that he is not in a relationship and has not remarried as of early 2025
He has framed his immediate future around his children and his work rather than a new relationship. Whether that changes is not a question the public record can answer.
Did Warwick Davis have children?
Yes — two children, Annabelle and Harrison, both of whom have moved into the entertainment business.
Daughter Annabelle Davis
- Annabelle, born in 1997, is a singer and actress who reached a national audience on The X Factor
Son Harrison Davis
- Harrison, born in 2003, has also worked as an actor
Harrison Davis’ Acting Roles
- Harrison’s credits include the Disney+ series Willow, following the family into fantasy television
- Neither child has been as publicly prominent as their father — which, for a family that has dealt with as much media scrutiny as this one, looks like a deliberate choice
The children matter to the broader Davis story for a simple reason: they are the part of his life that is moving forward. With Samantha gone, Annabelle and Harrison are the through-line of his personal life — and both chose the same trade as their father.
The pattern: the Davis family turned a rare condition into a working dynasty — Warwick as its face, and the next generation choosing the same cameras for themselves.
Key dates in Warwick Davis’s life
The milestones below, drawn from BAFTA’s Fellowship record and UK press coverage, run from an Epsom suburb to the BAFTA stage.
- — Warwick Ashley Davis born in Epsom, Surrey, England
- — Discovered by a talent scout; cast in Return of the Jedi
- — Portrays Wicket the Ewok in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
- — Leads the Lucasfilm fantasy Willow
- — Marries Samantha Burfoot
- — Daughter Annabelle born
- — Son Harrison born
- — Appears in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as Professor Flitwick
- — Life’s Too Short runs on BBC
- — Samantha Davis dies after a long illness
- — Awarded the BAFTA Fellowship
The timeline shows a career that started young and kept building through grief.
What’s confirmed, what’s unclear
Confirmed facts
- Wicket the Ewok, Return of the Jedi (1983), at age 11 — his first screen role (BAFTA (UK film and television academy))
- Married to Samantha from 1991 until her death in March 2024 (BBC (UK public broadcaster))
- Two children: Annabelle and Harrison
- BAFTA Fellowship, February 2025 (BAFTA (UK film and television academy))
What’s unclear
- Net worth — estimates cluster near $5 million, but no verified figure exists
- Inheritance details from Samantha’s estate — private and undisclosed
- Relationship status — he has said he is not dating, but that can change (Evening Standard (London newspaper))
- Future acting projects — none officially announced
In Davis’s own words
Davis used his Fellowship speech to thank the people who carried him through a five-decade career — and, above all, to honor Samantha, the wife he lost in 2024.
Warwick Davis, BAFTA Fellowship acceptance, February 2025 — as reported by Evening Standard (London newspaper)
BAFTA’s own citation ties the Fellowship to the full arc of his career — the Ewok, Willow, the goblins and professors of Harry Potter — and to the agency and advocacy work he built around being a performer of short stature.
BAFTA Fellowship citation, 2025 — BAFTA (UK film and television academy)
The through-line of Warwick Davis’s career is not the franchises; it is the way he turned a body that Hollywood traditionally pushed to the background into a foreground career — and then built an agency, a family and a public platform on top of it. For young actors with dwarfism coming up in UK film and television, the implication is concrete: the Fellowship proves the ceiling is higher than it used to be, but it only stays higher if casting doors remain open the way they opened for an 11-year-old in 1983.
Related reading: Warwick Davis: Harry Potter, Star Wars, and His Life Story · Warwick Davis: Biography, Condition, Movies, and Personal Life
Frequently asked questions
Why is Warwick Davis famous?
Davis broke through as Wicket the Ewok in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) at age 11, then built a five-decade career across Star Wars, Willow, the Leprechaun films and Harry Potter. He received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2025.
What is Warwick Davis’ height?
Davis is 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) tall.
Does Warwick Davis have a disability?
Yes. Davis was born with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a rare skeletal condition that affects growth and causes his short stature (Radio Times (UK entertainment magazine)).
What awards has Warwick Davis won?
His highest-profile honor is the BAFTA Fellowship (2025), the British Academy’s most prestigious individual award. He was also appointed OBE.
Is Warwick Davis still acting?
Yes. His most recent Star Wars film to date is The Rise of Skywalker (2019), and he continues to take acting and voice work. He has not announced any retirement.
What is Warwick Davis’ net worth?
Public estimates vary, with most celebrity-wealth trackers citing around $5 million. There is no verified official figure.
Alex Chen is Editor-in-Chief at Reef Brief, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and corrections.