An interesting memoir

Warwick Davis, who played the lead in the fantasy film Willow and an Ewok (and, briefly, Yoda) in the Star Wars movies, has published a book of reminiscences about his career. The Daily Mail has summarized it in an article. Here's a brief extract.

I was 11 [years old] and 2ft 11in at the time - perfect, as it turned out, for an Ewok. I was in. Shooting for Return Of The Jedi, the third film in the original trilogy, began in 1982.

Nearly all the Ewok village scenes were shot at Elstree, but not without problems. The costumes for the Ewoks, furry, forestdwelling creatures, were incredibly unstable. As heat built inside the bodysuits, the orange eyes steamed up, so none of us could see.

At the end of any scene half-adozen Ewoks would be rolling on the ground, having tripped up or fallen over something or someone, or having run into one another.

Luckily I was able to get up on my own. When some of the more rotund Ewoks fell it was almost impossible for them to get up - or stop rolling. I had visions of some fellow carrying on down Elstree High Street still rolling strong on his way to the A1.

I was among six Ewok actors chosen to fly to America to film the final phase of Return Of The Jedi. George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, gave me the part of Wicket, the Ewok who has a five-minute scene with Carrie Fisher. Wicket finds Carrie, as Princess Leia, unconscious after she crashes her speeder bike.

When she appeared on set, Carrie showed her concern for my wellbeing in the sweltering Ewok costume. 'Are you OK in there, Warwick?' she said. 'It must be so hot.'

She reached down behind a log and pulled out a carton of chocolate milk with a long straw and fed me cookies in between takes. She was everything an 11-year-old Ewok could possibly wish for. By this time, Carrie was battling drink and drug addiction.

But if there was a bottle of vodka hidden behind another branch, I didn't see it. Whenever there was a pause, she asked if I needed anything. 'Could I have another one of those cookies?' became my standard reply.

. . .

Somehow, I must have impressed George Lucas. When I was 17 - and 3ft 4in tall - he gave me the lead role in his fantasy adventure Willow.

I played an aspiring sorcerer who cares for a baby princess. My co-stars Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley became a couple during filming. Indeed some scenes had to be reshot because their sexual chemistry suddenly became so much better.

I, on the other hand, brought out Joanne's maternal instincts. One scene involved Val and me going down a mountain in New Zealand on a tiny, brakeless steel sled.

Cameras positioned on a glacier captured our wide-eyed, non-acted terror as we zipped by, screaming. I could see where the ice ended and the rocks began.

Thankfully, someone had piled up a mountain of snow in our path, which we hit at the speed of sound, disappearing in a hump. After we'd been dug out, we hugged. 'We're alive!'

Val shouted, and whooped with relief. Director Ron Howard said excitedly: 'That was great, let's go again!' We reluctantly did a second take, but Val refused a third.

There's more at the link.

It's very interesting to read Mr. Davis' perspective on those involved in the Star Wars series, which I've always enjoyed. Recommended reading for fans.

Peter