WARWICK DAVIS's career as an actor came about purely by chance. Back in 1981 his Grandmother heard a radio announcement calling for people under four foot tall to appear in the new Star Wars film Return of the Jedi.
He played the tiny Ewok, Wicket, who became one of the film's lead creature characters.
In 1984, after the success of Return of the Jedi, Lucas went on to make two Ewok movies for ABC television Caravan of Courage and in 1985, Battle for Endor. Davis reprised his performances as Wicket in both. In the same year, Davis appeared alongside David Bowie in this fantasy film Labyrinth (1986).
In 1987 Davis was called to Elstree Studios in London for a meeting with Ron Howard and George Lucas. They discussed a new project Willow, written specifically with Davis in mind.
This epic fantasy has since become a firm favourite with family audiences throughout the world.
After the success of Willow, Davis was cast in two series of the BBC television classic, The Chronicles of Narnia. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Davis portrayed the swashbuckling mouse Reepicheep and in The Silver Chair he played Glimfeather the owl.
Up until this point in his career, Davis had always been cast as a "goodie. " On reading the script for Leprechaun, he was thrilled to learn that this Leprechaun was in fact a 'baddie'. The film achieved cult status with movie fans in America, which prompted no less than four sequels to be made.
Currently, Davis is working on two series for the BBC. An episode of the mystery series Murder Rooms and Steve Coogan's Hammer House homage Dr Terrible's House of Horror.
