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Warwick Davis looked smart in a suit as he cozyed up with his wife Samantha and kids during a screening of Willow’s Disney+ series on Tuesday night.
Warwick, 52, reprises the role of Willow Ufgood 34 years after playing the part and was in good company at the event at the Regency Villa Theater in Los Angeles.
Samantha, 51, looked fabulous in a black satin dress. Their children Annabelle, 25, and Harrison, 19, had turned up to support their parents.
Family Time: Warwick Davis, (second from right), cozying up with wife Samantha and children Annabelle (far right) and Harrison, (far left) at the premiere of the Willow Disney+ series at the event at the Regency Villa Theater in LA
Looking good: Warwick looked good in his suit as he posed on the green carpet
Annabelle looked fabulous in a green satin plunging neckline. Harrison paired a black suit with a bold blue shirt.
Ellie Bamber, 25, also attended the night wearing a tan cut-out number.
Warwick describes Samantha as his ‘soul mate’ and they have been married for 31 years.
Samantha, 16 years old when they met, and daughter of co-star Peter Burroughs had an extra role in the film and the pair fell in love, dating for four years before getting married in 1991.
Star Studded: (L-R) Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Roopesh Parekh, Tony Revolori, Amar Chadha-Patel, Ellie Bamber, Adwoa Aboah, Erin Kellyman, Kevin Pollak, Warwick Davis, Christian Slater, Annabelle Davis, Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, Jonathan Kasdan, Joanne Whalley, Michelle Rejwan, Ruby Cruz, Max Taylor, Dempsey Bryk and Tommy Harper
Wow: Ellie Bamber looked impressive in her brown cutout dress
The new series shows how Warwick warns his friends of a looming threat in their fantastic lands.
In the teaser trailer, he says, “We are the world’s best hope against the evil that comes to destroy us all!”
Warwick previously discussed how filming the original movie at the tender age of 17 and the mental toll it took on him.
He said, “The only reason I got through it sooner was because of Ron Howard, the director, and Val Kilmer for me [who played Madmartigan],’ said the actor.
“Because between the two of them, they didn’t let me feel the pressure of this.
“Today, to star and be the title character of a movie, I would feel the pressure of that. But when I was 17, I just thought, ‘Well, this is kinda funny this.’
New toys! Last Saturday, Disney+ revealed the first full trailer for the Willow sequel, featuring Warwick Davis wielding a flamethrower as the titular character Willow Ufgood.
“Madmartigan lives on!” As for Val Kilmer – who played the mercenary swordsman Madmartigan – he may not appear in Willow’s first season, but he’s still a big part of this one.
A true love story: Warwick and Samantha have been married for 31 years
Warwick was born with Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED), a rare genetic form of dwarfism inherited by both Annabelle and Harrison.
Sam has achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism.
In 2018, Star Wars actor Warwick revealed his heartbreak over the death of two of his children when they were babies.
Warwick and Samantha’s children, Lloyd and George, inherited two forms of dwarfism from their parents, which proved fatal for the babies.
He opened up about the tragedies during his performance with Bear Grylls on Tuesday’s Bear’s Mission with Warwick Davis.
Long-lasting love: Warwick and Samantha on their 1991 wedding
He said, “Prior to Annabelle and Harrison, we had a little boy, Lloyd, who inherited both of our ailments… and that’s something that turns out to be fatal.
“It’s something a baby won’t survive. But Lloyd he lived for survived for nine days, but yes, he was beautiful… but it was a hard time. And yes, we also had a stillborn.’
The star said he and his wife got through the painful time together and said, “Things like that, it just makes you stronger” [as a couple].’
Annabelle and Harrison inherited their father’s condition and are both aspiring actors, having appeared in Harry Potter.
Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2014, Sam said: ‘We found out later that Lloyd was the first in the world to survive at all. The doctors have really learned a lot from him, hopefully other people will benefit from it. But it hit us like a train.’
Over the next week, they gradually realized that there was no hope. Lloyd’s lungs were too small to function normally. “It was heartbreaking,” says Sam.
“When they wanted to turn the machine off, I said, ‘No, no, no,’ but they said, ‘Look, we’ll just give it to you and it’ll just go to sleep in your arms.’ And he did. I’m so glad he didn’t die from the machine now. We gave him everything we could.’
‘I was proud at Lloyd’s funeral. I was his mother and how lucky was I? I had the best nine days ever. You have to turn it around like this.’
Warwick says they never got over Lloyd’s death. “People who lose a baby never do. But, and it may sound strange to say, we are better people for it. I think you develop a certain empathy when you’ve been through what we’ve been through. It could have easily broken us, but it didn’t. We have become stronger as a couple.’
It took them years to try for another baby and when they had another tragedy when George was stillborn at 19 weeks, Sam miscarried. The pregnancy that resulted in Annabelle was “terrifying.”
“When she arrived, she was in special care for two months. But she was fine. She had SED, so we knew there would be challenges, but she was beautiful, perfect,” said Sam.
Another miscarriage ensued and Sam said that ‘it was very difficult to even get Warwick to consider trying for Harrison’. But their desire to start a family was stronger than their fears.
Warwick rose to fame at the age of 13 as an Ewok extra in Star Wars, but when Kenny Baker, who was originally cast as Wicket, fell ill, Warwick filled the position in 1983’s Return of the Jedi.
He also played Professor Filius Banning in the Harry Potter movies.
Willow premieres on Disney+ on November 30.
In the teaser. Willow tells his group, “We have to go beyond the edge of our world, into the unknown. Our true enemy is still out there, around the forces of evil, and the only thing standing in his path is us’