Willow 's Warwick Davis on the Grief After Losing His First Son: 'You Never Quite Get Over It'

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Actor Warwick Davis — undoubtedly one of the most prolific and famous actors under four feet tall in cinematic history — is currently enjoying life in the spotlight once again, reprising his role of Willow Ufgood, in the Disney+ series based on his 1988 cult classic film Willow.

However, despite his success throughout four decades of stardom (and being recognized everywhere he goes — "It's all about the selfies these days," he says), he notes that he's always remained humble. "My wife would agree I'm not a diva!" he says with a laugh.

It was also his wife, actress Samantha Davis, whom he credits as being a source of strength after the couple heartbreakingly lost their firstborn son Lloyd nine days after his birth, due to complications from the dwarfism genes he inherited from both of his parents.

"I think it brings you closer together, or something like that," he says of their shared tragedy. "But it's an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone. It's devastating."

He continues, "You do learn to live with it. Eventually, over time, you're able to better understand why it happened and can come to terms with it a bit more. But you never get over it."

The couple, who also run the Willow Agency, a talent company that represents short actors, were dealt another horrific blow several years later when they lost a second baby, whom they'd named Lloyd, to miscarriage at 20 weeks. In 1996, they welcomed a healthy daughter Annabelle, 26, and in 2001, their son Harrison.

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Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock The Davis family, from left: Harrison, Warwick, Samantha, and Annabelle

RELATED: Warwick Davis Reflects on 41-Year Acting Career Ahead of 'Willow' Series Premiere: 'Really Grateful'

"I think the losses shaped our family dynamic," Davis says. "We love Annabelle and Harrison all that more because they're here with us." He adds, "We'll always remember what happened with George and Lloyd. We'll always be grateful that we had them for the short time that we did."

The Davis family, who still all live together near London, are extremely close-knit and Davis says they enjoyed working on the Willow series together. (Samantha was part of their "pod," as they filmed during the pandemic; Harrison was Davis's stand-in; Annabelle plays his onscreen daughter Mims.)

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"It was really just the fans saying they wanted a sequel and me saying that it would be great to do," he says, of how the series came to be, 34 years after the original movie was released.

Davis, who has also starred in all eight Harry Potter films (as both Professor Flitwick and the goblin Griphook) and several Star Wars films is also the most successful supporting actor in the highest-grossing films of all time. However, the accolades are something he shrugs off.

"My aim is to entertain people, and transport them with the characters I play," he says. Davis also enjoyed getting to show off his comedic side, noting that Willow director Jon Kadan allowed him to improvise a ton of lines.

"If you think about the film, one of the things that made it stands out was it was never a fancy film that took itself too seriously," Davis says. "So we really liked to have a laugh where we could."