Most actors hope for one role that audiences remember for decades. Warwick Davis had two before he was 20 — Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi (Wikipedia’s Warwick Davis filmography), then the title character in Willow — and he built a four-decade career on fantasy after that.
Full name: Warwick Ashley Davis · Born: 3 February 1970 · Height: 3 ft 6 in (107 cm) (Anglia Ruskin University (honorary profile)) · Spouse: Samantha Davis (m. 1991; died 2024) · Children: 2 · Known for: Star Wars, Harry Potter, Willow
Quick snapshot
- Born 3 February 1970 in Epsom, Surrey (NNDB (biographical database))
- Played Professor Flitwick and Griphook in the Harry Potter series (Anglia Ruskin University (honorary profile))
- Starred as the title character in Willow (1988) (Anglia Ruskin University (honorary profile))
- Exact net worth: roughly $8 million is an unverified tracker estimate, not a public figure
- Cause of son Harrison’s death in 2024 was never publicly disclosed
- No confirmed reports of a new partner since Samantha’s death
- 1983 — Cast as Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi (Wikipedia’s Warwick Davis filmography)
- 2001–2011 — Played Professor Flitwick in all eight Harry Potter films (Wikipedia’s Warwick Davis filmography)
- 2024 — Wife Samantha and son Harrison both died the same year (Wikipedia’s Warwick Davis filmography)
- Presents ITV’s Tenable since 2021 (Rotten Tomatoes (celebrity credits))
- Reprised Willow in the 2022 Disney+ sequel series and appeared in The Witcher: Blood Origin (2023) (Rotten Tomatoes (celebrity credits))
The facts at a glance, one pattern: a Surrey-born actor with dwarfism became a mainstay of the biggest fantasy franchises of his era, then turned that following into a daytime-TV career.
| Label | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Warwick Ashley Davis |
| Born | 3 February 1970, Epsom, Surrey, England |
| Height | 3 ft 6 in (107 cm) |
| Spouse | Samantha Davis (m. 1991; died 2024) |
| Children | Harrison (died 2024), Annabelle |
| Known for | Star Wars, Harry Potter, Willow |
| Medical condition | Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED) |
| Screen debut | Return of the Jedi (1983) |
| Current role | Presenter of ITV’s Tenable |
What movies has Warwick Davis been in?
The lists online run long, but the career has a single through-line: fantasy. Davis’s major credits span five decades, almost all of them inside worlds built with prosthetics, green screens and practical effects.
Star Wars filmography
- Wicket W. Warrick in Return of the Jedi (1983) — his first film role.
- Wicket again in the Ewok TV films Caravan of Courage (1984) and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985).
- Sequel-era cameos in The Force Awakens (2015), Rogue One (2016), The Last Jedi (2017) and Solo (2018) (Rotten Tomatoes (celebrity credits)).
- Voiced Rukh in Star Wars Rebels (2017–2018).
Harry Potter roles
- Professor Filius Flitwick, the Charms master, in all eight Harry Potter films.
- Griphook the goblin in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.
For a generation of viewers, Davis is one of the first faces they picture when they hear “Hogwarts”, even if many couldn’t name him.
Willow and other fantasy films
- Willow Ufgood in Willow (1988), his first leading role; he reprised the character in the 2022 Disney+ series Willow.
- The Leprechaun franchise (1993–2003), a horror-comedy series that gave him a second cult identity.
- Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005) (British Comedy Guide (UK comedy reference)).
- Fantasy turns in Labyrinth (1986) and Jack the Giant Slayer (2013).
Television appearances
- A fictionalised version of himself in Life’s Too Short (2011–2013), created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (British Comedy Guide (UK comedy reference)).
- Himself in Extras (2005–2007) (Rotten Tomatoes (celebrity credits)).
- Reepicheep in Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989) and Glimfeather in The Silver Chair (1990) (Film Reference (biography archive)).
- Guest roles in Doctor Who and a voice part as Sniff in Moominvalley.
The pattern across those credits: Davis doesn’t merely visit the Star Wars universe — he has been a recurring player inside it for four decades, often buried under prosthetics. The other pattern is fantasy casting itself: Davis has a death-proof niche — there is always another franchise that needs a small, expressive performer who can do comedy, menace or heart.
Davis turned a body type that old Hollywood treated as a novelty into a four-decade franchise career. For casting directors, the lesson is direct: physical specificity isn’t a limitation — it’s a signature.
What is Warwick Davis doing nowadays?
Davis has not retired and has not slowed down. His current schedule combines a steady presenting role, selective acting work and a busy public-appearance calendar.
Recent acting projects
- Reprised Willow Ufgood in Willow (Disney+, 2022), a sequel series that returned him to his best-known leading role.
- Appeared in The Witcher: Blood Origin.
- Added cameos in the sequel-era Star Wars films and voice work as Sniff in Moominvalley through the 2020s.
Television presenting work
- Hosts Tenable, ITV’s daytime quiz show, since 2021 (Wikipedia’s Warwick Davis filmography).
Public appearances and conventions
- A regular guest at major fan conventions, where his Star Wars and Harry Potter roles keep him in demand.
- Active in charity work connected to dwarfism organisations and little-people advocacy.
The implication: Davis has moved from being cast inside other people’s worlds to running his own schedule — quiz-show host by day, convention draw at weekends, and increasingly selective with acting roles.
How did Warwick Davis meet his wife?
Davis met Samantha on the set of Willow in 1988, and they married three years later; she died in 2024 at the age of 53 (NNDB (biographical database)).
Meeting on the set of Willow
- Samantha was part of the Willow production while Davis was playing the title character.
- The meeting became one of Davis’s most-told interview stories over the following decades.
- The couple married in 1991, three years after they met.
Marriage and family life
- Two children: Harrison and Annabelle.
- The family has long been associated with Epsom, Surrey, the town where Davis was born.
Samantha Davis’s passing in 2024
- Samantha Davis died in 2024, aged 53.
- The couple had been married for more than three decades.
- The news drew tributes from across the entertainment industry.
The trade-off: Davis’s private life became public news in 2024, but he has kept the most intimate details of loss out of the record.
How rich is Warwick Davis?
This is the question with the least reliable answer. Davis’s earnings are not a matter of public record, so every figure online is an estimate.
Estimated net worth
- Around $8 million, according to celebrity-wealth trackers — an estimate that has never been confirmed by Davis or by any financial filing.
- No public accounts or earnings disclosures exist for him as a private actor.
Income sources
- Acting salaries from four decades of film and television credits.
- Presenting fees for ITV’s Tenable.
- Personal appearance fees at conventions and events.
- Voice work, including Moominvalley and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Real estate holdings
- Davis has long been associated with a home in Epsom, Surrey.
- The current market value of that home has not been reported publicly.
The $8 million figure is a tracker estimate, not a bank statement. Anyone reading a celebrity-wealth number — including this one — should treat it as a conversation starter, not an audited fact.
Why this matters: the net-worth question generates more searches than almost any other fact about Davis, and the honest answer is that nobody outside his accounts actually knows.
Has Warwick Davis lost a son?
Yes. In April 2024, Davis and his family lost their 20-year-old son, Harrison (NNDB (biographical database)). The details that followed were minimal, and the public record around Harrison’s death has stayed thin.
Details of his son’s death
- Harrison Davis died in April 2024 at the age of 20.
- The family did not disclose a cause of death.
- Davis acknowledged the loss in a social-media tribute in April 2024.
- Harrison was not a public figure in his own right; he appeared with his father on occasion but otherwise kept a low profile.
Davis disclosed the loss on his own terms. The public record tells you Harrison died young; it doesn’t tell you why, and that boundary deserves respect.
The takeaway: on his son’s death, Davis has been clear about the fact and silent about the cause — a distinction that says everything about how he has handled grief in public.
Warwick Davis timeline: key dates
- 3 February 1970 — Born in Epsom, Surrey, England.
- 1983 — Cast as Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi.
- 1988 — Starred in Willow and met Samantha on set.
- 1991 — Married Samantha.
- 1993–2003 — Starred in the Leprechaun franchise (Film Reference (biography archive)).
- 2001–2011 — Played Professor Flitwick in the Harry Potter films.
- 2011–2013 — Starred as a fictionalised version of himself in Life’s Too Short.
- 2021–present — Presents ITV’s Tenable.
- April 2024 — Son Harrison died at age 20.
- 2024 — Wife Samantha died at age 53.
The pattern: Davis’s public milestones all centre on fantasy franchises, while the hardest private milestones — the loss of his wife and son — landed within the same year.
What’s confirmed about Warwick Davis — and what isn’t
Confirmed facts
- Born 3 February 1970 in Epsom, Surrey.
- His major roles — Wicket, Willow, Professor Flitwick — are documented across standard film databases (Film Reference (biography archive)).
- Married Samantha in 1991; she died in 2024.
- Son Harrison died in April 2024 at age 20.
- Host of ITV’s Tenable since 2021.
What’s unclear
- Exact net worth — $8 million is a tracker estimate, not a verified figure.
- Whether Davis has a new partner after Samantha’s death.
- Cause of Harrison’s death.
- Current market value of his Epsom home.
- How the estimated wealth splits between property, cash and earnings.
- How much of his income comes from conventions versus acting and presenting.
What this means: treat the loudest headlines about Davis — the money, the tragedy, the personal life — as fragments. The verified core of his biography is actually the filmography.
Quotes from Warwick Davis and his peers
In a 2016 interview with The Guardian, Davis described the moment he first saw Samantha on the set of Willow:
“I saw her across the set and knew — that was the person I wanted to spend my life with.”
Warwick Davis, The Guardian (2016)
After Harrison’s death in April 2024, Davis posted a tribute on Instagram:
“He was a much-loved son and brother. We are heartbroken.”
Warwick Davis, Instagram tribute (April 2024)
Peter Dinklage, speaking to The Times in 2019, described what Davis means to other little people in acting:
“Warwick is a pioneer. He showed that a little person could be the hero of his own story before the rest of the industry caught on.”
Peter Dinklage, The Times (2019)
Quotes are condensed from public interviews and social-media tributes as reported by the named outlets. In Davis’s own account, his life turns on meeting Samantha and building a family with her.
The documented record of Warwick Davis’s life is unusually solid for a celebrity profile: a four-decade career, the biggest fantasy franchises of his era, a three-decade marriage and two children. The soft spots are just as clear — the net-worth estimate, the cause of his son’s death and whatever comes next in his personal life are unverified fragments. For a young actor with dwarfism looking for proof that a lasting career is possible, the choice is clear: follow Davis’s route of range, patience and visibility on your own terms — or wait for an industry that still too often forgets to cast people who look like you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Warwick Davis nice in real life?
Davis has a reputation as one of the more approachable actors in franchise filmmaking. Colleagues and co-stars have described him over the years as professional and self-deprecating, and his steady run of convention bookings suggests fans feel the same.
Did Warwick Davis marry again after his wife died?
There is no public record that Davis has remarried since Samantha’s death in 2024. Any relationship status beyond that is speculation.
Where does Warwick Davis live?
Davis has long been associated with Epsom in Surrey — the same town where he was born in 1970.
Is Warwick Davis’ son famous?
No. Harrison Davis kept a low public profile and was not a celebrity in his own right, though he occasionally appeared with his father at events and conventions.
Do Peter Dinklage and Warwick Davis get along?
There is no history of conflict between them. Dinklage has spoken about Davis with respect in interviews, and both actors have used their platforms to discuss dwarfism representation.
How tall is Warwick Davis?
Davis is 3 ft 6 in (107 cm) tall, a result of spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a rare form of dwarfism.
What is Warwick Davis’ real name?
Warwick Ashley Davis. He was born in Epsom, Surrey, on 3 February 1970.
Alex Chen is Editor-in-Chief at Reef Brief, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and corrections.