Return to the world of Willow
WARWICK DAVIS GOES BACK TO AN ICONIC CHARACTER HE FIRST PLAYED 34 YEARS AGO FOR A NEW DISNEY SHOW – AND THE STAR WARS ACTOR COULDN’T BE HAPPIER TO REPRISE THE ROLE, HE TELLS
FANTASY adventure film Willow, starring a teenage Warwick Davis as the title character, captured the hearts of millions when it was released in 1988.
Its wonderful characters, special effects and storyline remain beloved by fantasy fans, but now, 34 years later, the story of the Nelwyn sorcerer is returning to the small screen with a series on Disney+.
“I played the character originally when I was 17 years old, so very inexperienced with life, and acting as well,” Warwick, 52, reminisces.
“Coming back to the character now, I’ve got a lot more life experience, I’m older, wiser, hopefully a better actor now, and so I brought all those things to the character.
“So, that was a delight actually, coming back to this guy, because I know him so well.”
Returning to Willow as part of a series, rather than a feature-length film, was a fantastic opportunity to explore the character and world in more detail, the Star Wars and Harry Potter actor adds.
“The series gives us kind of long form to tell the story, and to develop characters, and to really explore the world of Willow which, if you look at the series compared to the film, it’s really a drop in the ocean what we see in the film,” says the star.
“The world is much, much bigger than that. Much, much bigger.”
Decades after overcoming the evil queen Bavmorda, the series sees Willow set off on an epic, dangerous quest with a band of unlikely heroes to rescue the twin brother of a princess, played by Dempsey Bryk – and save the world.
Making up this misfit bunch of courageous youngsters are Ruby Cruz as the princess Kit; Solo: A Star Wars Story’s Erin Kellyman as her best friend and knight-in-training Jade; Ellie Bamber as Dove, a kitchen maid; The Grand Budapest Hotel star Tony Revolori as scholar Graydon; and Amar Chadha-patel as thief and swordsman Boorman.
“I was so thrilled to get the opportunity to be a part of this show,” says Ruby of landing the role of Kit.
“The original is just so filled with heart. It’s so important to so many people, so many people’s childhoods, that I thought that was a really cool opportunity to be part of something nostalgic.”
“I love Kit. Kit is a crazy, crazy girl,” Ruby adds. “I really look up to her, how opinionated she is. I think she definitely knows what she likes and what she doesn’t, and she’s very vocal about it. I think it taught me a lot to be in that headspace. I’m excited for people to meet her.”
“I think the cast breakdown for Boorman said that he’s the Han Solo, Jack Sparrow, of the group. I just sort of looked at it and went: ‘Well, that’s the best thing in the world. I want to do that’,” says Amar of his role.
it’s not my choice. So, I just vigorously auditioned and hoped. And then they gave it to me. I was like: ‘Whoa, whose soul did I sell for this?’ Dream come true.”
“I grew up with fantasy. I grew up with 80s and 90s, Neverending Story, Dark Crystal, all of those things. I never saw myself in that,” adds the British-asian actor, who is excited for the diversity Willow brings to the fantasy genre.
“I remember one of my first meetings with Jon (Kasdan, showrunner), after we did the audition, I was still very nervous. I remember before I logged off I was like: ‘By the way, I’ve never seen myself in this kind of show. And I believe I can do it, and I will work 1,000 times harder than any other actor so I don’t screw this up!’ Just, you know, representation.”
It is impossible not to love Willow’s jovial, colloquial and modern script, which brings moments of dry humour and hilarious exclamations throughout the perilous quest our heroes embark upon. The scripting was also a highlight for the series’ stars, who say they loved the opportunity to improvise and the unexpected mild profanity that helps the story maintain its light-hearted edge.
“It was great,” says Warwick of the humorous script. “One thing that surprised me, I got to swear in it as well. I never thought that would be something that Willow would do. But it just felt right for the moment. “This is on Disney+, we don’t hold back on anything like that. It’s kind of fun just to play with that. If the situation demands, you know – it’s like, if Willow’s really miffed and annoyed, he will say it in words that maybe aren’t the politest that I won’t use now!”
“The hardest part for me was I kept saying, ‘Oh God’, and ‘oh Jesus’, and Jon would be like: ‘Jesus doesn’t exist in this’. I was like: ‘Yeah, he doesn’t exist in India! So I don’t know why I’m saying it, man!”’ adds Amar. “We had so much fun trying to come up with Willow world swear words, like ‘burgen“but quoife’. Just crazy stuff. Jon would be like: ‘Call him a framp!’. And I was like, ‘Okay, you framp!”’
There is plenty to love about the new series for new and existing fans of Willow because, as Warwick says, the cast and crew worked hard to ensure the sequel is “the best we can make it”.
“They brought a lot to the series,” the star says of his castmates.
“They’re people that weren’t even born when the movie came out, many of them, but were excited, knew of the history.
“And also had a great responsibility to do the best work they could.
“We all did, with this, because we have responsibility to the fans of the original film to make this the best we can make it, because as we’ve seen too many times in the past, sequels – although this isn’t like your traditional sort of sequel – can often kind of mess up the memory and the cherished nature of a project for people.”
“If you’re familiar with the film, which you don’t have to be to enjoy the series, you’ll love the callbacks. They were my favourite bit,” Warwick adds. “Whenever I spoke about something that we’d done in the film, that was really cool and exciting and fun. “People coming to this afresh will enjoy the humour and the characters and the magic and the fun, really.
“We had fun making it, and Jon Kasdan’s note all the way through was: ‘Just have fun with this, let’s have fun’. It is funny, it’s cool, it’s hip, and modern as well.”
One thing that surprised me, I got to swear in it as well. Warwick Davis