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Star Wars Insider: Beyond the Valley of the Ewoks

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A list of nearly thirty film and television appearances is impressive for any performer, but to land the gig of a lifetime in Episode IV of the Star Wars saga at the age of 11 while harboring no real intention of becoming a professional actor... well, that's just plain amazing. Such is the case for actor Warwick Davis - a.k.a. Wicket W. Warrick, Wald, Weazel, and a number of other characters from the space fantasy series.

Don't let his 3'6" stature fool you. Davis is every bit as commanding as a movie mogul. He has to be in order to spearhead Willow Personal Management - the agency he co-founded in 1995, specializing in the representation of short actors throughout the United Kingdom. Yes, the "Eveready Ewok" continues to live up to the nickname given him on the set of Return of the Jedi more than 20 years ago, and he shows no signs of letting up.

Family Affair

While Davis never tires of discussing his stint as an Ewok, relaying his experiences as if they happened yesterday, he is always quick to put the credit for his breakthrough role where it is due.

"The reason I'm an actor, basically, is because of my grandmother," he says. It's not a usual practice, but it's been done and obviously was done by Lucasfilm for the casting of Jedi - they put out a commercial on the radio for shorter people to play Ewoks. My grandmother just happened to hear this, so she phoned my mum and told her."

Upon inquiring, Davis's mother was informed that the production already had enough short people for the project. But after hearing that her son was a mere 2-foot-11, Lucasfilm expressed an interest in possibly casting Davis as a young Ewok extra. "So my mum took me up to the Elstree Studios near London," recalls Davis, "and I met with Production Assistant Pat Carr. And she just said hi and sent me down to get measured up for a costume, and that was it. There was no audition or anything. Then I started filming in January of '82."

Davis was indeed cast as one of the many furry extras inhabiting Endor's treetop Ewok village. After only four weeks of filming, an unexpected event dramatically changed his participation in the film. "The scene was all set to shoot with Carrie Fisher the next day," remembers Davis, "and Kenny Baker was down on the call sheet to play Wickett. I've got call sheets here, and it says Kenny Baker as Wickett with two T's - another bit of interesting trivia - but the day of the shoot they called and said, 'We want Warwick to come in and do this because Kenny's ill with food poisoning.' So I went in, and I didn't know the importance of the sequence really; I was just doing what I always did in the Ewok costume - what felt natural. And it ended up being the first time you see an Ewok [in the film]."

Shortly after his promotion to leading Ewok, Davis began noticing the strange behavior of the crewmembers around him. At the time, however, he was unable to pinpoint exactly what that behavior meant. "One day they suddenly said, 'We need to take a picture of you, [but] we don't need the costume - just you,'" notes Davis. "And so they put up a piece of white Styrofoam there on the set and took a headshot of me. I didn't think much of it, but what they were doing was - I hadn't got a passport at that time, you see - they were getting all that organized without letting me know. And I forget when exactly, but they said, 'Warwick, you - along with about five or six other shorter actors - we want to take you to America to complete the filming for eight weeks."

Even though he believes he was the beneficiary of one fortuitous break after another ("I look back and go, 'Wow, there were a lot of lucky breaks in there'"), Davis would never have been allowed to continue in the role of Wicket had it not been for his acting prowess - specifically, his ability to emote through the cumbersome Ewok costume.

"The reason I think I was taken to America was because they liked the things I did," says Davis. "I would improvise. For some reason, I 'picked up' on R2-D2. Maybe it was my own Warwick curiosity as much as anything because I was a big Star Wars fan. I don't know if it was that or if I was totally in character - I did feel that an Ewok would be inquisitive about this sort of metallic object. So I was just naturally curious as a character and also as a young lad as well. And they liked all of this stuff you see, and they'd set up closer shots once they spotted what I was doing. And I think that was one of the reasons I was picked out to go over to America."

Another member of Davis' family, this time the unlikeliest of them all, helped inspire that trip-winning performance. "I remember thinking about my dog at the time, the way that he would hear a strange sound if you would whistle or something," says Davis. "They tilt their head from side-to-side and perk their ears up, and it's quite cute. I would use a little bit of that in the performance of Wicket."

Costume Party

Aside from his grandmother's keen tip and his dog's inadvertent acting lessons, Davis cites one other advantage he had over the rest of the short actors in Return of the Jedi.

"I happened to get quite a good-looking Ewok costume, just by luck again," remarks Davis. "He's got a little white belly and a little white on the middle of his face, you know, and he's got a very nicely proportioned look to him. Second, I was able to get my own tongue through between the teeth in the head. These heads were inanimate; there was no movement. So, luckily, I could get my tongue through, which actually gave the face a bit of life and there was a little bit of movement there. They were able to insert some little sounds of dialogue in those places as well, and it just helped to give that little extra bit of life to it all. Again, it was just by luck the way the head fitted me I could do that. I don't know of any other Ewoks that were able to do that."

The costumes themselves were an elaborate design of individual pieces that only together formed the familiar furry creatures Star Wars fans have grown to love. "It was fairly confining," remembers Davis, "but the more you wear those things the more they loosen up. We had a foam undersuit, which would change my shape to the shape of Wicket, and then over the top would be the fur. Of course, there were joints at the wrists for the gloves and joints at the ankles for the feet. There weren't any shoes inside; they were purely sort of a foam sculpture of the feet, so when you were walking around you were walking on an inch and a half of foam latex, which is quite funny because it gave a bit of spring to your step but also sent you sort of meandering a little bit."

Getting accustomed to the Star Wars equivalent of Air Jordans was only the first in a series of challenges posed by the Ewok costumes. There were some days when the suits were downright uncomfortable, to say the least.

"The head went on, and that's when things got pretty hot," admits Davis. "Your body generates an awful lot of heat. Without the head on, that's fairly bearable, but once the head's on you've got all the heat rising up from the neck, and there's no escape from that. Plus, the eyes were made of an orange plastic, so everything you saw was kind of tinted orange. Minutes after the head went on, they started to mist over so you just saw this orange blur. They were spending millions of dollars on these movies, and they couldn't figure out a way to keep these eyes from misting up [laughs]. And the leather hood really was designed to cover any sort of joints around the neck area, so that's why Ewoks wore hoods you see, for no other reason than that."

Number-One Fan

Ultimately, Davis took all of these adversities in stride, citing the mere fact that he was involved in something he truly loved as reason enough to endure any difficulties.

"I was seven years old; I went to Sutton Cinema just on the outskirts of London," recalls Davis of his introduction to the Star Wars phenomenon. "I remember I waited in line because the film, while it wasn't opening day, hadn't been out that long. I was with a school friend of mine and we waited, and we didn't manage to get in to that showing. It was quite a hot day, and I remember sitting outside the cinema in line waiting for that showing to finish, and then we got into the next one. I went home that evening and I told my mum the whole story. And I remember that they arranged special screenings at Elstree one we started filming, so that people who hadn't seen the movies could catch up with what we were a part of at that point. And, of course, I went in to see those again. So I was a fan, and I remember going on the set and not seeing Harrison Ford - I only saw Han Solo. They were all their characters to me."

Eventually, Davis did manage to see through to the actors and not just the characters they portrayed. And as much as he'd adored Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, he found the real life performers to be even more wonderful.

"Sometimes now as an actor when I work with a big name, you can be slightly intimidated, but at that point - being a kid - I would just go over and chat with them," says Davis. "I became really good friends with Mark Hamill, who said to me one night, 'Make a list of the toys you haven't got.' It's embarrassing now, but I made this huge list at home and a couple of days later, he came in with all the stuff I had on my list, and I've still got all this stuff now! Carrie Fisher, I remember, was particularly concerned about me when we were doing the scene in the forest when I find her. She used to be ever so worried that I was getting hot, constantly there tending me with chocolate milk and a cookie trying to make sure I had enough energy. They were all very lovely, lovely people to work with."

Hindsight being 20/20, one can't help but wonder whether the cast and crew sensed that, almost twenty years later, the original trilogy would become such an international sensation.

"At the time, I was excited because it was a Star Wars movie," says Davis. "I'll bet the older crewmembers and the actors realized kind of what they were involved with. I just remember having such fun. But I'm amazed - I mean, it seems to get more popular the older it gets. And because you are involved in Star Wars, that kind of elevates you to another level as an actor. Very rarely do films last that long and also be accepted by generations to come; I'm sure in twenty year's time, we'll still be talking and saying how amazing it is that Star Wars is still popular."

The Actor's Manager

After the success of Return of the Jedi, George Lucas went on to make two Ewok movies for ABC television - Caravan of Courage in 1984 and Battle for Endor in 1985. Heading the cast of furry woodland warriors for both telefilms was Davis as a more technologically advanced Wicket.

First Assistant Directir David Tomblin explains a scene to Davis.

"I hadn't gotten over the excitement of doing [Return of the Jedi], and then we get a call saying George wants to have us over to America again to film the Caravan of Courage," notes Davis. "For that one they actually gave Wicket some animatronics. Basically, I was able to move the eyes around by using a mechanism on my wrist. They also tried to give the mouth a bit of movement with a chin cup, and when I'd move my mouth Wicket's mouth would also move, but it was a different build - a different costume at that point. And then in '85, that's when we did Battle for Endor. We filmed some of it near Skywalker Ranch and locations all around the Marin county area. They've got redwoods there, and they were able to replicate a similar environment [to the one we had] in Oregon [for Return of the Jedi]."

Since that time, Davis has gone on to make a name for himself as both a supporting actor (in such films as Labyrinth and the Harry Potter series) and headliner (Willow, Leprechaun). He's even managed to finagle his way back into the Star Wars mythos, making no fewer than four cameo appearances in the first chapter of Lucas' new trilogy, The Phantom Menace ("Grimey," the nickname given to one of the characters roaming the Mos Espa streets; Wald; Weazel; and, briefly, a walking Yoda.)

Perhaps none of these roles measures up to his most rewarding venture, however - that of a talent management company owner. Willow Personal Management has been in business since 1995 and represents nearly 100 clients, all with a key attribute in common. "We represent short actors," says Davis. He explains that he named the operation after his starring vehicle "because that film has very positive connotations for any of the short actors who worked on it. It represented short people in a very positive light, which films have often failed to do in the past."

To keep luck on his side, Davis once again relied on the help of a relative to launch this new venture. Peter Burroughs is Davis's father-in-law as well as a 45-year veteran of the film industry, with roles in both Star Wars and Return of the Jedi.

Davis recalls Burroughs lamenting the state of the acting industry for shorter actors: "He was saying, 'Oh, it's a shame that everybody doesn't stick together and we could actually ask for more money and things. But there'll always be somebody who will kind of say, 'No, I'll do it for that.' Then the work goes to them, and nobody ever improves conditions.'" They were especially distressed about the way some agents treated shorter actors like a commodity. "Our initial vein was to set up an agency that really addressed those things: to see all of the people as individuals - to know about them so we could then represent them to people for what they were, who they were, and what they could achieve."

With a healthy influx of aspiring actors anxious to get on Willow Personal Management's books, Davis admits that his company must be choosy when it comes to taking on potential clients. With that said, the company has recently opened a new division - one that caters to another group of under-represented actors.

"We get average sized actors applying to us, which of course we can't take on," says Davis. "I would be doing them a disservice, because we don't get inquiries for average-sized actors. But we did start to notice we were getting lots of actors sending things in and they happened to be over seven feet tall. And I said, 'Look, we've got five people here and they all sent stuff in to us, but they're over seven feet. Why don't we start another division called 'Willow Tall' and look after these guys?' - which we started to do a year or so ago. We're getting inquiries for them now. So we go from over seven feet to under five feet."

Ultimately, Davis' quest to make a better environment for shorter actors affords him the opportunity to give to others the same chance his grandmother once provided for him. It's not always easy work, but he's found truth in the old adage, "It's better to give than to receive."

"It's a very rewarding business to have," he says. "For many of the people, we are providing their livelihood. To phone someone up after an audition and actually give them the news - 'Congratulations, you got the part!' - it's really a nice thing to do. There's negotiations you have to do, but it's all overshadowed by actually phoning someone up and telling them that they got a role they really wanted."

The article included mini-interviews with several other Ewok actors. You can learn more about them on the Willow Personal Management website.

Peter Burroughs

Ewok Claim to Fame: "I was the one swinging from tree to tree."

On Return of the Jedi: "While we were filming [The Dark Crystal], it came about that they wanted some dwarfs to be in Return of the Jedi, and they were measuring how wide our arm span was to see whether we were capable of hanging onto a rope - whether we could climb it and hang onto it, which I did do. Then we had Peter Diamond, who was the stunt arranger at the time, and he said, 'Well, what we'll do is have you as the stunt chap, kind of swinging from tree to tree.' And that was a bit of fun."

Most Memorable Moment: "I always remember the director saying to us one day, 'I want you to swing across when you hear action, but not until you hear the count of one, two, you go on three. I thought that was fine but [didn't know] he'd already directed some Ewoks to go around the tree at the same time that I was going to be in full flight, and we knocked over like a ten pin bowling alley."

What He's Up To Today: "I met Warwick [Davis] on Return of the Jedi, and then we worked together on Labyrinth. Of course, Warwick went on to do other things, and it wasn't until I'd met him later on - he'd met and married my daughter - and then we thought it was a good idea to start an agency [for shorter actors]. We thought there was something else that [Willow Personal Management] could fill that was lacking over here. We thought we could do it better. I still do the odd bits and pieces [of acting], but I leave it to the younger generation now."

Nicky Read

Ewok Claim to Fame: "When C-3PO is telling the story inside the hut of how they all came to be [on Endor], when you get a shot from outside the hut, I'm the one in the gray suit jumping up in the back trying to see in. And I'm the one at the end party scene who does the cartwheel."

On Return of the Jedi: "My mother went to school in the area where the film studios are, and a lot of her school friends ended up in the film industry. They were ringing her up saying, 'Look, they want little people down here to play the part of Ewoks. Why don't you come down? There's good money to be made.' So she gave [the casting director] a call and asked about me - whether they were interested, and they said 'Yeah,' to bring me down. So we went down, had a very quick interview, and that was it really. They went, 'Yeah, you're hired.' I ran home all the way. It was like having Willy Wonka's golden ticket."

Most Memorable Moment: "We were shooting a scene at the end of the film - the party scene. I'd been practicing doing a cartwheel - I could do cartwheels, but I wanted to see if I could do it in the costume. Of course, we started the scene, I started cartwheeling and I stopped. Then all of a sudden I heard this voice shout, 'Do another one!' So I did another one. After the shot had cut, I took the head off and Mark Hamill was there and he said, 'Did you hear me?' It was him that had shouted because he actually saw the camera that was on me. So that was really cool."

What He's Up To Today: "I do all sorts of clowning, from working on circuses and working in nightclubs, to doing films, TV, theater. I'm doing pantomime at the minute."

Katie Purvis

Ewok Claim to Fame: "I'm holding a baby and there was a puppeteer at my feet with his hand up the baby's bottom. I'm known as the 'Maternal Ewok.'"

On Return of the Jedi: "My father was Jack Purvis, who had actually been in all three Star Wars films, so it had been part of my life since I was about ten years old. Automatically, when they needed a lot of little people for Return of the Jedi, my dad's agent kept saying to me, 'Katie, they're going to want a lot of small people. Do you want to do it?' The trouble was I was 15 or 16 at the time, and I was actually studying and doing my exams at school. My dad was a bit reserved to let me do it because it meant taking time out of school But I pestered and pestered him to let me do it. So I was allowed to do it."

Most Memorable Moment: "I remember Mark Hamill came to our house for tea, and dad used to tell this story of how they were sitting in a bar and [dad] said to this other chap, 'See this guy,' pointing to Mark. 'In six months time you'll see his face on every billboard and you'll know his name.' And they just went, 'Yeah, yeah.' And, of course, it came true."

What She's Up To Today: "I'm open to [acting] offers, and I never say no. I do tend to think there's more work for little men than little women, but the last job I did was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It is difficult, obviously, with having three children to sort out, but like I say I'm always open to things when people phone up. If I can do them, I try my best to because I do enjoy it and it's in my blood."

Mike Edmonds

Ewok Claim to Fame: "Logray, the medicine man of the Ewoks. It's quite a hard thing to do work in skins or even a heavy costume, [but it was] kind of like what I did before, so I figured I'd stick to that."

On Return of the Jedi: "I initially appeared in The Empire Strikes Back as one of the Ugnaughts. I was one of the Ugnaughts that put Han Solo into the carbon-freezing chamber, and I was also in the scene where C-3PO was in the scrap yard. The agency I was working for at the time handled the Ewoks as well, so I was sent up to cast for the Ewoks, and that's how I got it."

Most Memorable Moment: "We were all there together, and I couldn't believe that I was involved in this movie - Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill. Everybody who was in the final scene - that party scene - and I thought that was wonderful.

"One day, Robert Watts said, 'Hey mate, I've got the perfect job for you.' He took me over to where they were actually building Jabba the Hutt and said, 'Sit in here, and I'll have you move Jabba's tail.' And that's how I became the tail operator.

What He's Up To Today: "Pantomiming is what I'm doing now; I'm up in Manchester, [England] at the moment. It's a traditional thing over here, and I'm usually involved every year. I'm working with one of the top comedians in England. Aside from that, I'm very busy. I do all sorts of stuff - a lot of TV work and things like that. I did a bit in Harry Potter, and there's stuff lined up for next year."