Published: 5 October 2013
Actor Warwick Davis:
‘I want to be remembered as the actor who just happened to be short’
We ask a celebrity a set of devilishly probing questions – and only accept THE definitive answer. This week it’s actor Warwick Davis’s turn…
The prized possession you value above all others... My MacBook Pro laptop. I use it all the time for work and leisure, like watching TV and to make video calls to my family when I’m away.
The biggest regret you wish you could amend... Giving up learning the piano when I was eight because the lure of the BMX bike was too strong. I longingly look at people who can play.
The way you would spend your fantasy 24 hours, with no travel restrictions... I’d have breakfast at home in Cambridgeshire with my wife Sam and our kids Annabel, 16, and Harrison, 10 – porridge and a slice of toast with marmalade to dip in. We’d fly to Islamorada in the Florida Keys to go out on a boat to a sand bar. The water’s shallow there and is the only place I can swim and touch the bottom [Warwick is 3ft 6in]. The whole family find [actor and TV presenter] Karl Pilkington really entertaining so we’d have lunch with him at a pie and mash shop in London. Then we’d go to the stunning Wrynose Pass in the Lake District, followed by a cream tea in Ambleside. I’d love to be able to stand on a glacier anywhere after that, before having dinner at The Cheesecake Factory in Los Angeles. I’d end the day with fresh orange juice on a terrace at Miami’s Acqualina hotel.
The temptation you wish you could resist... Chocolate. My brain tells me to eat fruit, then my emotions overrule it and I eat a bar of Dairy Milk.
The book that holds an everlasting resonance... Giants: The Dwarfs Of Auschwitz, about the Ovitz family of seven dwarfs who survived the death camp. It’s so powerful and inspiring.
The priority activity if you were the Invisible Man for a day... I’d listen in on my agent to hear what he says about me. I’d like to know how he reacts when someone doesn’t want me for a job! The pet hate that makes your hackles rise... People throwing litter, particularly out of cars. I once saw some builders throwing fish and chip wrappers out of their van, and I threw them back in.
The film you can watch time and time again... Planes, Trains And Automobiles – a great comedy with a big heart.
The person who has influenced you most... George Lucas. He cast me as an Ewok in Return Of The Jedi when I was 11. It changed my life, and I’ve worked with him a lot since. He’s always been there to give me advice.
The figure from history for whom you’d most like to buy a pie and a pint... Hitler. I’d like to understand what his problem was with people he considered not ‘normal’, especially those with disabilities.
The piece of wisdom you would pass on to a child... Don’t wish away your life.
The unlikely interest that engages your curiosity... I’ve raced 1/10th scale radio-controlled cars for years, but my kids are into it now and I’ve been relegated from driver to mechanic!
The treasured item you lost and wish you could have again... My free time. I can’t shake off the ethos that I should take every job because it might be the last, so I end up working 52 weeks a year.
The unending quest that drives you on... To entertain people.
The poem that touches your soul... I’m not into poetry but I connect with Yoda’s words to Luke Skywalker when training him to be a Jedi: ‘Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no "try".’ It’s how I live.
The misapprehension about yourself you wish you could erase... That, as an actor, I earn millions of pounds!
The event that altered the course of your life and character... The day in 1981 when my grandmother Eileen heard Star Wars were looking for small people. She called my mum, who contacted the film studio, and I got the part.
The crime you would commit knowing you could get away with it... I’d do a sophisticated heist on Barclays, because they weren’t very nice to me once!
The song that means most to you... A Groovy Kind Of Love by Phil Collins. It was the song Sam and I did the first dance to at our wedding in 1991.
The happiest moment you will cherish forever... Scoring my one and only goal in football, when I was eight. I never used to get the ball and just stood around. But in one big match the ball bounced off me and went in the goal. The lads went nuts and lifted me up because it meant we’d won the game!
The saddest time that shook your world... The death of our son Lloyd after nine days in 1991. He’d inherited different genetic conditions of dwarfism from Sam and me, which is always a fatal combination. It was awful, but he touched many people in that short time and brought a lot of good.
The unfulfilled ambition that continues to haunt you... To direct a big-budget action comedy film, preferably with Will Ferrell and Chevy Chase.
The philosophy that underpins your life... Enjoy everything as if it’s the last time you’ll do it.
The order of service at your funeral... I’d probably have a traditional church service. I want my ashes scattered in the Lake District so I can waft around those beautiful hills for eternity.
The way you want to be remembered... The actor who happened to be short.
The Plug... Warwick Davis appears in Spamalot at The Playhouse Theatre, London until 19 October, for tickets visit www.spamalotwestend.co.uk.
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